Gwyneth Donlon

I am a College funded researcher working at the intersections of performance, visual and material cultures. My project explores the function of objects and bodies rendered object-like in contemporary feminist performance. It aims to extend thinking on practices and theories of representation by interrogating the contribution of material culture discourse. In developing my thesis, I will discuss performances by Lucy McCormick, Narcissister, Rose English, Amber Hawk Swanson, Project O, Figs in Wigs, Melanie Jame Wolf and Sin Wai Kin, to explicate how a consideration of objects enriches discourse on the ethics of spectating and nature of representation.

Prior to joining the Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance at Royal Holloway, I obtained an MA in Theatre and Performance from Queen Mary, University of London and an MA in Arts Management from RMIT University, Melbourne.

I was part of the teaching teams for Theatre & Ideas in the 2020/21 academic year and Staging the Real and The Idea of Casting in 2021/22. In the 2022/23 academic year, I am the GTA for three undergraduate modules; Theatre & Ideas, Skills Lab and London's Theatrical Geographies.

I was editor of the Performance Responses section for the Balancing Acts issue of Platform,  a postgraduate and early-career performance studies journal. I remain the acting PGR Student Representative for my cohort on the School of Digital and Performing Arts Student-Staff Committee. I am a member of the Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA).