European Theatre across borders and languages: Remembering David Bradby

The reissue of an enlarged edition of David Bradby and David Williams’ Directors’ Theatre, 30 years after its first publication, offers a chance to revisit David Bradby’s seminal contribution to the field of pan-European Theatre Studies. Celebrating Bradby’s scholarship on continental approaches to writing and staging, as well as his translation into English of numerous French playwrights, this event examines the continuing impact of Bradby’s expansive body of work that acted as a catalysing intermediary between languages, and across borders. Today, new generations of scholars draw on Bradby’s perspectives on working ethics and performance aesthetics, on directors’ work with actors as a central creative source, and on his reassessment of theatre’s role and function in contemporary culture. This is particularly evident in the second edition of Contemporary European Theatre Directors – a volume dedicated to Bradby – and the publication of a new companion volume on Contemporary European Playwrights which is inspired by Bradby’s scholarship on new European writing.

These three recent publications offer an opportunity to reengage with – and to celebrate – the lasting influence of Bradby’s body of work, and his dedication to a European cultural sphere and exchange. The editors of these volumes — David Williams, Peter Boenisch, Dan Rebellato, Bryce Lease and Maria Delgado — are joined by Clare Finburgh Delijani and Janelle Reinelt — to discuss why David Bradby’s scholarship continues to matter.