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Dr Catherine Love-Smith
Lecturer in Theatre

Profile

Biography

I joined the School as a part-time Lecturer in Theatre in September 2021, having previously taught across several modules on both the BA in Theatre: Writing, Directing and Performance and the MA in Theatre-Making. I have also taught in the Drama Department at the University of Manchester and in the Drama, Theatre and Dance Department at Royal Holloway, where I completed my PhD in 2018.
 

My research interests span a range of contemporary theatre practices, with a focus on playwriting, the relationship between text and performance, and ecodramaturgy. I have published journal articles and book chapters on the work of practitioners including Simon Stephens, Katie Mitchell, Tim Crouch and Elevator Repair Service.

Alongside my teaching and research, I work as a freelance arts journalist and theatre critic. I regularly review theatre across the North of England for the Guardian, as well as contributing to other publications, podcasts and radio shows.

Research

Overview

My research interests include the relationship between text and performance, contemporary playwriting, adaptation, and ecodramaturgy.
 
My PhD thesis investigated the perceived divide between so-called ‘text-based’ and ‘non-text-based’ practices in contemporary English theatre and re-examined common understandings of the relationship between text and performance. This research went on to inform my first monograph, Text and Performance in Contemporary British Theatre, which is published by Routledge.
 
My current research is concerned with the representational challenges posed by the Anthropocene and how contemporary theatre practitioners are responding to climate and ecological crisis.

Publications

Selected publications

  • Text and Performance in Contemporary British Theatre (London: Routledge, 2023)
  • ‘Prelude: The (play)text is the set’, in Michael Pinchbeck (ed.), Acts of Dramaturgy: The Shakespeare Trilogy (Bristol: Intellect, 2020), pp. 26-40
  • 'From facts to feelings: The development of Katie Mitchell’s ecodramaturgy', Contemporary Theatre Review, 30.2 (2020), 226-235 
  • Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree (Abingdon: Routledge, 2017)
  • ‘New Perspectives on Home: Simon Stephens and Authorship in British Theatre’, Contemporary Theatre Review, 26.3 (2016), 319-327
  • ‘By the Book: Adaptation, Work and Elevator Repair Service’s Gatz’, Contemporary Theatre Review, 26.2 (2016), 183-195

Contact details

Dr Catherine Love-Smith
School of Arts and Creative Technologies
University of York
York
YO10 5GB

Tel: +44 (0)1904 32 5220