Catz Fellow Leads Landmark Project on European Theatre
St Catherine’s College is delighted to announce that Professor Kirsten E. Shepherd, Catz Fellow and Professor of English and Theatre Studies, has recently edited a ground-breaking new play, which will be spotlighted in an upcoming TORCH event.
On Wednesday, 26th November, TORCH will mark the publication of a new Oxford World Classics volume as part of its landmark Book at Lunchtime series. The new edition brings together Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and When We Dead Awaken, as well as the first English translation of Laura Kieler’s Men of Honour.
Professor Kirsten Shepherd has played a vital role in bringing this project to life. Besides co-editing the forthcoming volume A Doll’s House, Men of Honour, When We Dead Awaken (2025, Oxford World Classics), she has collaborated with DPhil candidate Tzen Sam and renowned translator Gaye Kynoch to produce new English versions of the three plays.
Professor Shepherd has also supported a theatrical adaptation of the edition; in partnership with Breach Theatre, she has provided key research contributions for Burning Down the House, a devised play which reimagines Kieler’s story as a stage performance.
Throughout her career, Professor Shepherd has been committed to combining her research specialisms with public engagement. This has previously been highlighted by her appointment as Knowledge Exchange Champion at the University of Oxford. This new achievement is the pinnacle of such a mission. In an interview with Torch, she explains that by bringing Kieler’s own writing into English translation, the project intends to “introduce a new writer, a woman writer” and to prompt fresh conversations about authorship, gender and legacy for a new age.
You are warmly encouraged to attend this exciting session of Books in Lunchtime, and you can secure your place here.
Professor Kirsten Shepherd
Professor Kirsten E. Shepherd is Catz Fellow in English and Theatre Studies and Tutor for Undergraduates. She is also Professor of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Oxford, where she specialises in modern drama, Ibsen studies, and the relationship between science and performance. Her work spans major cross-disciplinary initiatives across the humanities, and she has been recognised for her remarkable work with numerous titles and professional appointments. These span knowledge exchange, literary innovation, and public-facing theatre research.
At the University of Oxford, she contributes to the teaching and development of drama and performance studies, supervises research at undergraduate and graduate levels, and leads significant scholarly projects such as the forthcoming Oxford World’s Classics edition of A Doll’s House, Men of Honour, When We Dead Awaken. She also collaborates closely with theatre practitioners and cultural organisations, serving as an advisor and research partner while maintaining active research interests in modern drama, theatre history, scientific discourse in the arts, and women’s writing.
Image courtesy of Faculty of English