Faculty Member, English
Teaching Associate in Medieval Langauge and Literature
Thesis Title: Sound, Body and Space: Audience Experience in Late Medieval English Drama
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Janette Dillon
Nicola Royan |
About
My research focuses on early English drama, particularly the period c. 1350-1550, and emphasises the live and experiential qualities of medieval and early Tudor drama. My AHRC-funded doctoral thesis offers a new approach to the study of actor-audience relations in late medieval English drama and endeavours not only to emphasise the performative elements of medieval plays, but also the effects that they may have produced in performance. Adopting a phenomenological perspective, the work focuses on the audience’s corporeal experience of the drama and draws on modern theories of performance, including the intersections with anthropology and, more recently, cognitive neuroscience. The literary, poetic and dramatic aspects of the chosen texts are analysed in depth with supporting evidence from the literature, iconography and theory of the period.
I have published (or am in the process of publishing) an essay on Henry Medwall's 'Fulgens and Lucres' and a research paper on medieval site-specific performance, while also preparing the thesis for publication in leading journals. In addition, I am currently developing a new project examining the spatial, conceptual and experiential relationship between late medieval East Anglian lay piety and the region's distinctive drama, with the aim of capturing major grant-based funding.
I have taught on core first- and second-year modules covering medieval language, literature and drama,Year Three modules on sixteenth-century Scottish lyric and Shakespeare and Jonson, and a Masters module on early Scottish literature. I also have teaching interests in drama and performance studies, and have taught modern drama and performance theory in addition to theatre history.
