dr callan davies
Contact:
"DAVIES'S EXCITING AND READABLE BOOK IS A THEATRE-HISTORY GAMECHANGER"
--- Prof. Emma Smith, Oxford (author of This is Shakespeare)
Hello!
I'm a writer and researcher specialising in people having fun in 16th- and 17th-century England. I also concentrate on accessible, public forms of history and heritage. I'm enthusiastic about teaching and sharing research with new audiences and collaborative creativity. I'm Lecturer in Seventeenth-Century Literature and Culture at the University of Southampton.
I was awarded a prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2025; its funds will support my future research on the history and cultural legacy of Shakespearean theatre and entertainment. I am currently writing a popular history under contract with Yale: Curtain: The Story of a Shakespearean Playhouse (Yale, 2027/8).
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You can find out more about my writing and research here. My latest book, What is a Playhouse?, is an accessible exploration of England's earliest playing spaces. It was one of History Today's Books of the Year 2023. ​
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I have a wide range of teaching, research, and engagement experience, from national collections and museums consultancy to higher education and drama institutions, as well as designing educational resources, websites, events, and workshops. You can find out more about my experience here.
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I'm a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
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Hire me:
Click below to book or find out more about...
Creative, Events, & Education Consultancy
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"Davies brilliantly explores and expands our understanding of what an early modern playhouse was in London and beyond,"
--- Heather Knight, MCIfA, FSA, archaeologist who led the excavations of Curtain, Theatre and Boar’s Head playhouses.
"Callan Davies' new book, What is a Playhouse? England at Play, 1520-1620, offers a fresh and stimulating perspective for anyone interested in the history of theatre and popular entertainment."
---Prof. Sally-Beth MacLean, University of Toronto, Director Records of Early English Drama
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Kind words about What is a Playhouse?
Cover design by Tyler Davies
"Rigorous yet engaging, What is a Playhouse? is a welcome corrective to Globe-centric conceptions of playing spaces, accentuating a plurality and diversity of venues that ‘housed’ play in all its forms.''
--- Prof .David McInnis, University of Melbourne