David Mayer

I am a theatre historian. Much of my teaching in Manchester’s department related to understanding how stage drama has reflected and spoken to diverse cultures over many centuries. Questions of theatre history have also guided some 60 years’ of research. I acknowledge a preoccupation with the drama of the long 19^th century and with the late-Victorian stage’s many links with early [silent] film. Some of my books and many of my essays explore these links. For the past 25 years, as well as continuing theatre research, I have been involved as a contributing scholar and researcher to the annual Pordenone Silent Film Festival (le Giornate del Cinema Muto) and to a lesser degree with a related annual festival (il Cinema Ritrovato) in Bologna.