The second talk in the Archives and Texts Seminar series will be on Monday, 4th November:
‘Exploring Black British Women’s Theatre’, by Dr Nicola Abram, University of Reading (English) *6pm in Humss Room 301* (Note the later time)
This talk takes place as part of Reading’s Black History Month.
Nicola’s recent research asks the question: “How have black British women used experimental performance aesthetics to engage with ‘race’ and gender identities?” Pursuing this enquiry has propelled her to various kinds of archives. In this talk she will showcase some findings from large public collections, online digital repositories and individuals’ private holdings. As well as encountering production recordings, playscripts and still images dating back to the 1980s, Nicola has also been confronted with many empty citations, gaps where items should be; her talk will briefly reflect on some of the inequitable preservation processes that produce these silences. By looking back through archives covering three decades of black British women’s theatre, Nicola has identified the continuity of what she terms an ‘intersectional aesthetic’. She will demonstrate this interpretive tool by commenting on the work of post-millennial black British playwright debbie tucker green.
Dr Nicola Abram is based in the Department of English Literature at the University of Reading. She is currently working on a book developing her research in black British women’s theatre, and is enjoying the opportunity to teach on black British fiction.
All welcome!
For more information about the Archives and Texts seminar series, see our blog:
http://archivesandtexts.wordpress.com/