BSA 2025 Conference – Call for Participation now open!

Practising Shakespeare: new collaborations, expanding horizon

Submissions are now open for the BSA 2025 Conference at the University of York!

The complex relationship between text and performance is uniquely felt in Shakespeare Studies, and has been continuously reconstituted and reframed. Meanwhile, academic study and practice (both professional and amateur) often run in parallel but separate streams – a phenomenon often reinforced by handbooks on how to ‘do’ Shakespeare. These advocate resisting ‘academic analysis’ in favour of ‘exercises and approaches that can aid the acting and directing process’, a position which risks placing the two into an antagonistic relationship. Yet despite this apparent impasse, explorations which move across and between the spheres of research, practice and pedagogy have demonstrated the rich potential of collaboration and sharing approaches to early modern drama. As Shakespeare and his contemporaries continue to be explored and reinvented on stage, screen and new media, we ask what new horizons might Shakespeare Studies look towards in performance and practice? What challenges, by placing practice and performance as a central focus, must we confront, problematise, or solve when working with Shakespeare and his contemporaries? How might we continue and develop productive conversations and collaborations between teaching, practice and research?

The full CfP and links to submit are available here: https://www.britishshakespeare.ws/call-for-participation-first-round/