Congratulations to David O’Shaughnessy on his ERC Consolidator award of €2m to do research on the finances of eighteenth-century theatre

’THEATRONOMICS: The business of theatre, 1732-1809’ is a 5-year project that will use econometric analysis to offer a new perspective on  theatrical culture of eighteenth-century London. David will lead a postdoctoral team of theatre historians and cultural economists will analyse voluminous manuscript archives of financial data that are held at the Folger Library in Washington D.C. and the British Library in London.

David explains: “By using novel econometric methodology, the project will reveal a hidden part of London’s social history and shed new light on the careers of the actors, playwrights, and managers of the Covent Garden and Drury Lane. THEATRONOMICS will help provide the basis for a new understanding of the history of eighteenth-century London theatre. I want to thank my colleagues in the School of English, Sarah Nangle and Bevin McKeever from the Trinity Research Office, and Maureen Burgess from the Long Room Hub for their fantastic support through the application process. I am also extremely grateful to the ERC for funding this project.”