Elizabeth Schafer

My research focusses around two main areas: Shakespeare in production and Australian drama and theatre. I am particularly interested in the different meanings Shakespeare’s plays acquire in different cultural locations – different times, different countries, different social structures. I have written a performance history of The Taming of the Shrew (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and Twelfth Night (Cambridge University Press, 2009). I have also written on women directors and their contributions to Shakespeare theatre history, MsDirecting Shakespeare (Women’s Press, 1998). My Lilian Baylis: A Biography (University of Hertfordshire Press, 2006) offers a completely new different view of this extremely influential woman, who has a claim to be seen as a founder of the National Theatre, the English National Opera, Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Ballet.