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Professor Dennis Kennedy

Professor Dennis Kennedy

Fellow Emeritus, Drama

http://people.tcd.ie/dkennedy

Biography

Dennis Kennedy is Emeritus Professor and Fellow in Trinity College Dublin, where he held the Samuel Beckett Chair of Drama from 1994 to 2006. His books include The Spectator and the Spectacle: audiences in modernity and postmodernity (2009), Shakespeare in Asia: contemporary performance (edited with Yong Li Lan, 2010), and The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance (2010, revised edition 2011). Other works include The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance (2 vols., 2003), Looking at Shakespeare: a visual history of twentieth-century performance(second edition, 2001), Foreign Shakespeare (1993), Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre (1985), and Plays by Harley Granville Barker (1987). He was an advisory editor for The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (2001). His novel, Fossil Light, was published in 2023. His latest book, Creating Jesus, is a literary and historical approach to the gospel of Mark, and is due to be published in 2024. His essays have appeared in numerous books and journals and he has delivered papers and lectured widely on theatre and performance subjects around the world, from Los Angeles to Shanghai and from St Petersburg to Kyoto. Previously he was Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, and has held distinguished visiting professorships at the University of California Santa Barbara, the Chinese Central Academy of Drama, the National University of Singapore, the Salzburg Seminar, McMaster University, the University of Victoria, and the University of Wisconsin, and was Senior Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Karachi in Pakistan. In 2010 he was a Fellow at the international research institute "Interweaving Performance Cultures' in Berlin. He has twice been a fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities in the USA, twice won the Freedley Award for theatre history, received the Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award at the University of Pittsburgh, the Berkeley Fellowship at Trinity College Dublin, and is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Academia Europaea (the Academy of Europe). He has organized major international conferences in New York, Dublin, and Singapore, including the large-scale Beckett Centenary Symposium in Trinity College Dublin in 2006. His own plays have been performed in New York, London, and at regional theatres across the US, and he has frequently worked as a dramaturg at such theatres as the Long Wharf in New Haven, the Lyric Hammersmith in London, and the Shaw Festival in Canada. He also works as a professional director and gives workshops in acting Shalespeare around the globe. In 2005 he directed Shakespeare's As You Like It at the Chinese Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, and in 2006 directed and designed Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle in Dublin. He also writes fiction; his short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines and journals.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • The Open-Stage Movement in, editor(s)Arnold Aronson , Routledge Companion to Scenography, Abingdon, Routledge, 2018, pp243 - 248, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2018
  • Preface: On Memorials in, Bi-qi Beatrice Lei, Judy Celine Ick, and Poonam Trivedi , Shakespeare's Asian Journeys: Critical Encounters, Cultural Geographies, and the Politics of Travel, Abindon, Routledge, 2017, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2017
  • Dennis Kennedy, The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, Reprint with corrections, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016Book, 2016
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003, 1 - 1650ppBook, 2003
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Looking at Shakespeare: A Visual History of Twentieth-Century Performance, second, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001, 1 - 408ppBook, 2001
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Looking at Shakespeare: A Visual History of Twentieth-Century Performance, first, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press , 1993, 358 + xxiiippBook, 1993
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Foreign Shakespeare: Contemporary Performance, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993, 311 + 28ppBook, 1993
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Plays by Harley Granville Barker, Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 1987, 257ppBook, 1987
  • Kennedy, dennis, Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre. , Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 1985, 231 + xivppBook, 1985
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre. , Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 1985, 231 + xiv ppBook, 1985
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre. , Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 1985, 231 + xiv.ppBook, 1985
  • British Theatre 1895-1946: art, entertainment, audiences in, editor(s)Baz Kershaw , The Cambridge History of British Theatre, vol. 3 (the introduction), Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 2004, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2004
  • Histories and Nations (foreword) in, editor(s)Ton Hoenselaars , Shakespeare's History Plays: Performance, Translation and Adaptation in Britain and Abroad, Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 2004, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2004
  • Confessions of an Encyclopedist in, editor(s)W. B. Worthen and Peter Holland , Theorizing Practice: Redefining Theatre History, London, Palgrave/Macmillan, 2004, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2004
  • Shakespeare and the Cold War in, editor(s)Ton Hoenselaars and Angel-Luis Pujante , Four Hundred Years of Shakespeare in Europe, Delaware, University of Delaware Press, 2003, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2003
  • Three programme essays in, editor(s)Denis Johnston , Granville Barker at the Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Academy of the Shaw Festival, 2002, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2002
  • Shakespeare Worldwide in, editor(s)Margreta di Grazia and Stanley Wells , Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2001
  • Shakespeare and Cultural Tourism in, editor(s)Edward J. Esche , Shakespeare and His Contemporaries in Performance, London, Ashgate, 2000, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2000
  • Koreya Senda and Political Shakespeare in, editor(s)Takashi Sasayama, Ronnie Mulryne and Margaret Shewring , Shakespeare on the Japanese Stage, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998, [Kennedy, Dennis and Rimer, J. Thomas ]Book Chapter, 1998
  • Performing Inferiority: Shakespeare's Lesser Plays in the Twentieth Century in, editor(s)Jill Levenson, Jonathan Bate and Dieter Mehl , Shakespeare in the Twentieth Century: Selected Papers from the World Shakespeare Congress in Los Angeles, Delaware, University of Delaware Press, 1998, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1998
  • The New Drama and the New Audience in, editor(s)Michael Booth and Joel Kaplan , The Edwardian Theatre: Essays on Performance and the Stage, Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 1998, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1998
  • Shakespeare without His Language in, editor(s)James C. Bulman , Shakespeare, Theory, and Performance, London, Routledge, 1996, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1996
  • The Transformations of Granville Barker in, editor(s)Jan McDonald and Leslie Hill , Harley Granville Barker: An Edinburgh Retrospective, Glasgow , Theatre Studies Publications, 1993, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1993
  • His Majesty in Performance in, editor(s)Jan McDonald and Leslie Hill , Harley Granville Barker: An Edinburgh Retrospective, Glasgow, Theatre Studies Publications, 1993, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1993
  • A Wide-Awake Dream in, editor(s)Sandra L. Williamson & James E. Person, Jr. , Shakespearean Criticism, Detroit, Gale Research,, 1991, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1991
  • Shakespeare Alive in, editor(s)Sandra L. Williamson & James E. Person, Jr. , Shakespearean Criticism, vol. 15 , Detroit, Gale Research, 1991, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1991
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare, Histories and Nations, European Review, 13, 2005Journal Article, 2005
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Director, the Spectator, and the Eiffel Tower, Theatre Research International, 30, (1), 2005, p1-13Journal Article, 2005
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Sports and Shows: Spectators in Contemporary Culture, Theatre Research International, 26, (3), 2001, p277-284Journal Article, 2001
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare and the World, Theatre Arts (Shanghai), October, 2000Journal Article, 2000
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare and Cultural Tourism, Theatre Journal, 50, 1998, p175-188Journal Article, 1998
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Language of the Spectator, Shakespeare Survey, 50, 1997, p29-40Journal Article, 1997
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare and the Global Spectator, Shakespeare Jahrbuch, 131, 1995, p50-64Journal Article, 1995
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare Played Small: Three Speculations about the Body, Shakespeare Survey, 47, 1994, p1-13Journal Article, 1994
  • Shakespeare Played Small: Three Speculations about the Body in, The Cambridge Shakespeare Library, Cambridge , Cambridge University Press, 2003, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2003
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Ich Bin ein (Ost) Berliner: Hamlet at the Volksbühne, Western European Stages, 2, 1990, p1-15Journal Article, 1990
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Re-viewing Shaw: Recent Biographical Publications, Nineteenth Century Theatre, 17, 1989, p93-106Journal Article, 1989
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Director as Scenographer: Ciulei's Shakespeare at the Guthrie, Theatre Three, 7, 1989, p35-47Journal Article, 1989
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Granville Barker's Sexual Comedy, Modern Drama, 23, 1980, p75-82Journal Article, 1980
  • Kennedy, Dennis, King Lear and the Theatre, Theatre Journal, 28, 1976, p35-44Journal Article, 1976
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Shiraz-Persepolis Festival, Theatre Journal, 25, 1973, 516-21Journal Article, 1973
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare ja stsenograafia: XX sajandi lavastuste ajalugu, trans. Lilja Blumenfeld , Tallinn, Estonian Theatre Institute, 2004Book, 2004
  • Shakespeare without His Language in, editor(s)Dennis Kennedy , Foreign Shakespeare, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1993
  • Shakespearean Orientalism in, editor(s)Dennis Kennedy , Foreign Shakespeare, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 1993
  • Shakespeare without his language in, editor(s)Christie Carlson and Jacky Bratton , The Cambridge King Lear CD-ROM Text and Performance Archive, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001, [Kennedy, Dennis]Book Chapter, 2001
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Review of Orghast at Persepolis, by A.C.H. Smith , Theatre Journal, 25, 1973Review, 1973
  • Lillah McCarthy, The New Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2004
  • 20 entries, Dennis Kennedy, Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2003
  • 22 entries, Stanley Wells and Michael Dobson, The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, 2001, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2001
  • Theatrical style, Alan C. Purves, Encyclopedia of English Studies and Language Arts, New York, Scholastic, 1994, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 1994
  • "Man and Superman" and "Major Barbara", The International Dictionary of the Theatre, 1, London, St James Press, 1991, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 1991
  • Harley Granville Barker, The International Dictionary of the Theatre, 2, London, St James Press, 1994, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 1994
  • Peter Stein, The International Dictionary of the Theatre, 3, 1996, [Kennedy, Dennis]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 1996
  • Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, Oxford, Oxford University Press, [eds.], 2001Editorial Board, 2001
  • Kennedy, Dennis, poems published in literary magazines, 1965, -Miscellaneous, 1965
  • Kennedy, Dennis, 12 original plays, 1999, -Theatre Production, 1999
  • Kennedy, Dennis, numerous theatre productions directed, 2005, -Theatre Production, 2005
  • Kennedy, Dennis, dramaturg for many theatre productions, 1999, -Theatre Production, 1999
  • Dennis Kennedy, '"The Woman on the Fifth Floor"', Antioch, Antioch Review, 2019, 682 - 694Fiction and creative prose, 2019
  • Dennis Kennedy, Shakespeare's Refugees, Shakespeare Survey 77, 77, 2024, p217 - 225Journal Article, 2024
  • Dennis Kennedy, Creating Jesus: The Earliest Record of Yeshua of Nazareth, Eugene, Wipf and Stock, 2024, i-x, 1-209ppBook, 2024
  • Politics and/on the Stage in, Dirk Delabatista, Jo Devos, and Paul Franzen , Shakespeare and European Politics, Delaware, University of Delaware Press, 2008, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2008
  • Memory, Performance, and the Idea of the Museum in, editor(s)Peter Holland , Shakespeare: Remembering Performance, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2006
  • "Shakespeare and Globalized Performance" in Portuguese translation in, editor(s)João Almeida Flor, Maria Helena Serôdio, Alexandra Assis Rosa and Rita Queiroz de Barros , Shakespeare entre nós, Porto, Campo das Letras, 2009, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2009
  • Dennis Kennedy, The Oxford Encylopedia of Theatre and Performance, electronic edition online, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005Book, 2005, URL
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Spectator and the Spectacle: audiences in modernity and postmodernity, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009Book, 2009
  • Dennis Kennedy and Yong Li Lan, Shakespeare in Asia: contemporary performance, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010Book, 2010
  • Dennis Kennedy , The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2010Book, 2010
  • The spectator, the text, and Ezekiel in, editor(s)Graham Bradshaw, Tom Bishop, David Schalkwyk , The Shakespeare International Yearbook, vol. 10, Farnam, Surrey, Ashgate, 2010, pp39 - 45, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2010
  • "The Future Is Fusion" in, editor(s)Bi-qi Beatrice Lei and Ching-Hsi Perng , Shakespeare and Culture, Taipei, National Taiwan University Press, 2012, [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2012
  • Dennis Kennedy, The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, Revised paperback edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011Book, 2011
  • Dennis Kennedy, '"War Babies"', 2013, -Fiction and creative prose, 2013, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, ''Underway Replenishment' (fiction)', 2014, -Fiction and creative prose, 2014, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, ''Casualty Report' ', 2013, -Fiction and creative prose, 2013, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, ''No Clocks' (fiction)', 2013, -Fiction and creative prose, 2013, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, ''The Wessex Fragment' ', 2013, -Poetry, 2013, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, 'Mrs Gomez and Father Murphy (fiction)', 2014, -Fiction and creative prose, 2014, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, 'Learning French (fiction)', 2014, -Fiction and creative prose, 2014, URL
  • Dennis Kennedy, 'Art Lesson (fiction)', 2014, -Fiction and creative prose, 2014
  • Dennis Kennedy, 'Dutchtown', New Letters, 2015, -Fiction and creative prose, 2015, URL
  • Global Shakespeare and Globalized Performance in, editor(s)James Bulman , Oxford Handbook to Shakespeare and Performance, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017, pp441-457 , [Dennis Kennedy]Book Chapter, 2017
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture , Review of Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture , by Douglas Lanier , Around the Globe, 23, (spring), 2003Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis Gibson, Melissa, William Archer, Review of William Archer, by Peter Whitebrook , Theatre Survey, 35, 1994Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, The Social Significance of Modern Drama, Review of The Social Significance of Modern Drama (re-issue), by Emma Goldman , Theatre Three, 5, 1988Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Granville Barker, Review of three books on Granville Barker, by Eric Salmon, Jan McDonald, Christine Dymkowski , Theatre Journal, 39, 1987Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Royal Shakespeare Company, Review of Antony and Cleopatra and The Changeling, Theatre Journal, 31, 1979Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Betrayal at the National Theatre, London, Review of Betrayal , Theatre Journal, 31, 1979Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Free Shakespeare, Review of Free Shakespeare, by J.R. Brown , Theatre Journal, 28, 1976Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Review of Olivier, by Logan Gourlay , Theatre Journal, 27, 1975Review
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Public lectures around the world in universities and other forums (e.g., Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Kyoto, Singapore, Lisbon, St Petersburg, Cambridge, Bristol, Paris, Bochum, Berlin, many locations in North America, conferences, etc, variousInvited Talk
  • Kennedy, Dennis, over 70 keynote lectures or conference papers, various, variousConference Paper
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare in the New Asias, June 2002, SingaporeMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Shakespeare and Ireland, March 1997, DublinMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Where extremes meet: Re-reading Brecht and Beckett, April 2001, DublinMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Symposium on Harold Pinter, April 1997, DublinMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Kennedy, dennis, Beckett 90, April 1996, 1996, DublinMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Kennedy, Dennis, Theatre in Crisis/Theatre of Crisis, November 1994, In:American Society for Theatre Research, New YorkMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Kennedy, Dennis, over 20 programme essays for professional theatre productions, variousReport
  • Dennis Kennedy, Fossil Light: A Novel in Films, Dublin, Blackrock Press, 2023, 1 - 285ppBook
  • Kennedy, Dennis , The Bard in China, Around the Globe, 21, 2005, p34 - 35Journal Article
  • Kennedy, Dennis et al., The Beckett Centenary Symposium, April 2006, 2006, Trinity College DublinMeetings /Conferences Organised
  • Dennis Kennedy, The Beckett Centenary Symposium, April 2006, 2006, Trinity College DublinMeetings /Conferences Organised

Research Expertise

Theatre and performance history and theory, especially in 19th and 20th century Europe. History and theory of the spectator. Shakespeare in performance. Scenography (stage design). Theatre directing and dramaturgy.

  • Title
    The Persistence of Orientalism
    Summary
    A philosophical investigation of the nature and meaning of exoticism. While the background is historical and will involve questions about tourism and the touristic, the purpose is to investigate the West's relation to East and Southeast Asia in cultural and political performance, in and out of the playhouse.
    Funding Agency
    Research Centre 'Interweaving Performane Cultures', Berlin

Performing arts,

Recognition

  • Royal Irish Academy (2005), Academia Europaea (the Academy of Europe, 2004), Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (1998), Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, University of Pittsburgh (1994), George Freedley Award for theatre history (1993, 1985), Office for Advanced Drama Research award for playwriting (1977).
  • Academia Europaea, American Society for Theatre Research, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Dramatists Guild, International Federation for Theatre Research, International Shakespeare Association, Royal Irish Academy, Shakespeare Association of America
  • Corresponding Scholar, Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada 1998-2002
  • Chair, Committee for the Study of Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication, Royal Irish Academy 2014-18
  • Board of Advisors, Quantum Theatre, Pittsburgh 1990-2000
  • Board of Advisors, Centre for International Theatre and Performance Research, Royal Holloway, University of London 2010-
  • Board of Advisors, the New Rude Mechanicals, New York 1987-1992
  • DISTINGUISHED VISITING APPOINTMENTS:University of California, Santa Barbara, Distinguished Visiting Professor, January-April 2008. Chinese Central Academy of Drama, Beijing, Distinguished Visiting Director, April-June 2005. National University of Singapore, Meyer Fellow, March 2003. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Halls Visiting Scholar, November 1997. University of Victoria, Visiting Orion Professor, February 1995. McMaster University, Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor, September 1994.
  • Frequent external examiner, assessor, and reviewer in UK, Canada, and USA. various
  • Board of Directors, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin 1996-2003
  • Board of Advisors, Asian Shakespeare Intercultural Archive (A-S-I-A), a web-based archive of media 2009-