Claire French

Claire French is a performance maker and researcher, specialising in multilingual, applied and autobiographical performance.

Biography

Born in Australia, she has a degree in Arts Management from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, a BA in Theatre Studies from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in Applied Theatre (distinction), Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London and a PhD in Theatre Studies , University of Warwick from the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies and the Centre for Applied Linguistics.

Currently an early career Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, her professional career has previously included stints as:

Programme Director, bamBOO Mainstage Amphitheatre, Perth

Communications Director, events and outreach for emerging filmmakers, FilmFestivalLife, Berlin (in partnership with Berlinale Film Festival).

Researcher, Annual Report for participatory video organisation, InsightShare, Oxford.

Project Facilitator, community performance company "Housed" by David Watson, Old Vic New Voices, The Old Vic, London.

Research Administrator to Professor Jakelin Troy at the University of Sydney, Department of Linguistics, School of Literature, Art and Media, Sydney.

Programme Director, Visible Theatre Ensemble, London.

She has published a number of pieces in her field, including articles on the conflux of creative writing and language diversity.

Contribution to South African theatre and performance

The thesis for her PhD in Theatre Studies (2015-2019), entitled Methodologies for mobilising languaging: Facilitating dynamic linguistic resources in applied performance praxis is an interdisciplinary methodological investigation into (collaborative) theatremaking in multilingual/multicultural contexts, based on study of South African examples, notably the theories and practice/praxis of H.I.E. Dhlomo, Barney Simon, Mandla Mbothwe and Micia de Wet.