Cora James

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Contact details

Address

Street

21 Buccleuch Place

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH8 9LN

Biography

Background

I joined Edinburgh's School of Literature, Languages and Cultures as a Leverhulme Early Career Research fellow in 2025, having obtained a PhD in Restoration theatre at the University of Sheffield (2018–2022) where I also taught on Shakespeare, Early Modern Literature, and the Long Eighteenth Century. Since that time, I have undertaken a short-term research fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library where I began research for my current project on stage families and professional networks, 1680–1810.   

Research summary

My research is primarily focused on theatre and performance history from the Restoration to the end of the long-eighteenth century, including women and comedy; stage families; and theatre research in performance.

Current research interests

My current project, 'Training and Trading' investigates the relationships between professional theatre networks and the dynastic stage families responsible for the active exchange of actors, playwrights, and managers across the British Isles in the long eighteenth century. Exploring the intersection of the domestic and professional, this project draws together the practical conditions behind the growth of regional theatres and the literary implications of these familial relationships to provide a deeper understanding of the interregional history of the British and Irish stages and the crucial impact these migratory networks continue to have.

Past research interests

My doctoral research explored the contributions of actresses to the creation and performance of comic characters in the post-interregnum period, focusing on the under-researched bit-part players that were crucial to the repertory success of the London stages following their revival.

Project activity

Training and Trading: Professional Networks and Stage Families, 1680–1810

Current project grants

Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship (2025–2027)

Past project grants

The Shakespeare Folger Library Short-term Research Fellowship (2024)
University of Sheffield Publication Scholarship (2022)
WRoCAH AHRC Open Competition Studentship (2018-2022)

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