Research

My main research areas are in the fields of theatre dramaturgy, as it reflects the intersection of theatre and society, theatre direction (Regietheater, with a particular focus on the German- and Dutch-speaking countries) and institutional contexts of theatre-making, where I am specifically interested in how theatre in Europe responds to the new societal plurality of the 21st Century, in particular outside the major cosmopolitan European centres. My research is informed by my interest in political theory and philosophy, in particular in the works of Slavoj Žižek, Jacques Rancière and Andreas Reckwitz. I am particularly inspired by Hans-Thies Lehmann and Bertolt Brecht, and aware that all five named are old white men...

Profile

I am originally from Munich (Germany) and have worked for 15 years in the UK, among others at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Since 2019, I am Professor of Dramaturgy at Aarhus University’s Department of Dramaturgy. In 2024, I have been elected as President of the European Association for the Study of Theatre and Performance EASTAP (https://eastap.com/). My main interest are the intersections of theatre and society, as they become manifest in aspects such as the institutional conditions of theatre production, spectatorship, and theatre's responses to a globalised, plural European society. I live in Aarhus and Berlin.

Cooperation and dissemination

In both my research and teaching work, I regularly cooperate with a number of theatre institutions and theatre artists, both in Aarhus, nationally in Danmark, and across Europe. Particularly close regular partners are Schauspiel Dortmund in Germany, Blaagaard Teater Copenhagen, Aarhus Teater, Teater Svalegangen, Katapult Aarhus, Schaubühne Berlin, as well as the theatre directors Julia Wissert, Sigrid Johannesen, Simon Boberg and Thomas Ostermeier. I also work together with the ILT Festival Aarhus, where we work on the development of new strategies for the professional festival side-programme.

Teaching

I teach dramaturgic theory and practice and theatre production both in classroom and studio contexts. On AU’s Dramaturgy programme, I particularly teach the courses Theatre Poetics and Production (BA 4th semester), Dramaturgic Practice (MA 1st semester) and the MA fieldwork project (MA 3rd semester). I supervise BA, MA and PhD projects, as well as mentoring Post-Doc research.

Job responsibilities

I am Professor of Dramaturgy and Co-Director of the AU IKK Research Programme "Cultural Transformations". Furthermore, I am a member of the IKK Institutforum, where I represent the Department of Dramaturgy and Musicology.