Dr Mark A P France

Mark France is an educator and theatre pratcitioner and is primarily concerned with the process of theatre making, especially rehearsal practices. 

His PhD at the University of York in 2017 was a case study of Gregory Doran’s work as a director at the Royal Shakespeare Company.  This had a particular focus on Shakespearean rehearsal practices and the relationship between method and outcome,  He is currently developing an interdisciplinary project with colleagues at the University of Bristol that explores the relationship between verse and memorisation, focussing especially on embodied workshop practices for young people.

In 2023, France jointly led a staff-student collaborative practice-as-research project, performing Jane Lumley’s Early Modern translation of Iphigenia, supported by the Institute for Greco-Roman Classical Tradition (IGRCT). Using data on student experience gathered during the project, he is developing models that seek to mitigate power imbalances and increase student agency and value in future projects.