Research in Action: Global Early Modern Stage

Join this special workshop in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse which invites us to reconsider the global nature of early modern English drama. Reshape your understanding of how playwrights engaged with cross-cultural encounters and identities, discovering how Shakespeare and other early modern dramatists represented the world, and people, beyond England’s borders. Join Professor Matthew Dimmock (University of Sussex) and Dr Sarah Dustagheer (University of Kent) who are leading a major new digital project to identify every non-Christian and non-European dramatic character on the Renaissance stage. This event is part of our Research in Action series, where actors – with scripts in hand – perform scenes from early modern plays to explore a research question. The workshop brings together artists and academics, inviting the audience to join a lively conversation about how staging choices shape theatrical meaning. Whether you’re a researcher, student, or curious theatregoer, join us in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for an evening of collaborative discovery. This event is part of the Shakespeare and Race Festival 2026.