David Edgar

Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Drama (2014-2015)

The Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Drama brings playwrights, actors, and directors to share their craft and explore the rich thought-provoking field of the theatre.

The Visiting Professorship in Drama is hosted by Brasenose College, Oxford. During the years 2010-2013 the professorship was generously supported by Eric Abraham. From 2014 onwards it has been made possible by the generous support of André Hoffmann.

David Edgar is a British playwright and writer.

In his week of events, playwright David Edgar used his Humanitas residency to explore the causes and consequences of the anti-writer trend.

Along with David Greig, April de Angelis, Howard Brenton and Bryony Lavery he asked is the anti-writer trend really happening? And do the charges against the playwright stack-up? Can playwrights work effectively in a collective framework? What effect is the controversy having on training, on the profession of playwriting, on criticism and the theatre as a whole?

In the closing symposium he was joined by Michael Billington, Chris Goode, Liz Tomlin and Rachel De-lahay to discuss ‘Plays for Today’. The various responses offered suggested that whilst the act of creating plays is indeed alive and kicking, the concept of a singular playwriting entity is perhaps becoming outmoded by the newer idea of devising– something which offers a more collaborative– and perhaps democratic– approach to playmaking.