Abigail Longmate

Collaborative Doctoral Award Title: Theatrical Communities and Collaborations: Artistic Networks, Professional Partnerships, and Shared Visions, 1880-1947

Supervisors: Professor Sos Eltis, Professor Rebecca Beasley

Doctoral Research:

My DPhil explores the cultural politics of twentieth century theatrical networks, paying particular attention to the material spaces in which communities gathered to discuss, rehearse and perform theatrical work. I'm interested in domestic spaces and alternative buildings that have been converted into performance venues, and I use network theories to reposition non-human, material spaces and objects as key players in theatrical networks. By examining how these networks were formed, how they operated, and how they were recorded, we can understand more about the influence collaborative activities had upon the theatre-making and political movements of the twentieth century. My primary focus is Smallhythe Place, a National Trust property in Kent which was formerly owned by Victorian actress Ellen Terry, and upon her death, was converted into a memorial museum by her daughter, Edith Craig (director, actress, costumer designer and political activist). With the help of her theatrical network, Craig converted the Elizabethan barn at Smallhythe into a memorial theatre, producing an annual dramatic festival to commemorate Ellen Terry, along with a regular programme of local, amateur theatre with the Barn Theatre Society.

My Collaborative Doctorate is in partnership with the National Trust, and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)'s Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership scholarship and the Clarendon Fund at the University of Oxford.

I am committed to widening participation work for undergraduate and postgraduate study, working on Oxford's flagship access programmes, UNIQ and UNIQ+. Prior to beginning doctoral study, I worked as a researcher for an arts and culture audience research agency, collaborating with clients such as heritage sites and museums to help them better engage and understand their audiences.

Research Interests:

Theatre History; Modern and Contemporary Theatre; Modernist Literature, Twentieth-Century Women's Writing; Victorian Fiction and Drama; Literary and Artistic Communities; Feminist Theory; Cultural Heritage, Performance Archives and Museum Collections

Teaching:

• Oxford: I have worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant on Paper 6: Contemporary British and American Theatre, and teach on Prelims 4 (Literature 1900-present) at Exeter College as part of the Faculty's Teaching and Mentoring Scheme
• Outreach: I have designed and taught a summer school as part of Oxford's UNIQ access programme, I am a seasonal lecturer with the English Faculty's Outreach Team, and have given essay-writing sessions to A Level students with Oriel College

Education: 

• MLitt in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture, University of St Andrews (Distinction)
• BA in English Literature, Durham University (First Class Honours)