Elizabeth Schafer

My research focusses mainly around Shakespeare in production and the different meanings Shakespeare’s plays acquire in different cultural locations – different times, different countries, different social structures. I have written a performance history of The Taming of the Shrew (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and Twelfth Night (Cambridge University Press, 2009). I have also written about women directors and their contributions to Shakespeare in production, MsDirecting Shakespeare (Women’s Press, 1998). My Lilian Baylis: A Biography (University of Hertfordshire Press, 2006) offers a completely new different view of this extremely influential woman, who has a claim to be seen as a founder of the National Theatre, the English National Opera, Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Ballet. Most recently my Shakespeare and Eco-Performance History: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Routledge, 2024) argues that eco-criticism should be applied to Shakespeare's plays in performance. My study of Phyllida Lloyd's Shakespeare productions, co-written with David Bullen, will be published in May 2026.