The TORCH Theatre and Performance Network provides a forum to bring Oxford academics working on drama and theatre together, and at the same time to connect them with theatre professionals both within Oxfordshire and beyond. The University of Oxford has no drama department, yet there are many scholars here whose research focuses on theatre. The Theatre and Performance Network provides a much-needed research base and also looks outwards to the region’s thriving theatre scene involving talented playwrights, directors and actors. The Network aims to foster collaborations between academics and theatres, providing fertile ground for knowledge exchange and impact projects. Members of this wide-ranging network come together for the first time across Faculties to share their expertise on Anglophone theatre, but also on theatre in French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Sumerian, Akkadian, Georgian and Chinese.

Events will range from lunchtime talks and reading groups to seminars to full day conferences often bringing external scholars and theatre makers to Oxford. Activities will focus on theory and practice: on texts, performances, theories of drama, translation issues, and staging. These events and activities are entirely led by current scholarly interests at Oxford on theatre and performance.