Personal statement

Olivia is a Senior Lecturer in Drama Studies. She joined Bath Spa University after completing an MA and Ph.D. at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA. Her doctoral thesis was entitled 'Bringing Down the House' and examined the challenges facing regional theatres in Britain over the last half-century, and most particularly since 1979 and the 18-year Conservative rule. The work was revised and updated, and published by Intellect in November 2008.

Prior to coming to BSU, Olivia worked as a lecturer for three years in the Performing Arts Department at Emerson College and in the Theatre Department at Pine Manor College, both in Boston. Her professional background is in directing - she also holds a postgraduate diploma in directing - and in addition to her academic work, has produced and directed numerous works across Britain and in the United States.

Academic qualifications

  • BA Trinity College, Dublin
  • MA Tufts University, MA
  • PhD Tufts University, MA.

Professional qualifications

Department of Drama and Dance, Tufts University

  • Ph.D. Drama. (Bringing Down the House: The Inevitable Crisis in Regional Theatres in England, 1979-97). Award high pass, November 2004
  • MA (Drama). September, 2001.

Trinity College Dublin

  • Drama Studies and English Literature: BA, First Class Honours, Drama Studies and English Literature.

Professional memberships

  • American Society for Theatre Research
  • Association of Theatre in Higher Education
  • Popular Culture Association
  • Theatre and Performance Research Association.

Teaching specialism

  • Gender and Performance
  • Performance and New Media
  • Directing for the Stage
  • Experimental/Avant Garde performance
  • Writing for Performance.

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce

Bringing down the house: the crisis in England's regional theatres
book

Turnbull, O (2008) Bringing down the house: the crisis in England's regional theatres. Intellect Books, Bristol. ISBN 9781841502083

dreamthinkspeak: a new vision for theatre
book_section

Turnbull, O (2011) 'dreamthinkspeak: a new vision for theatre.' In: Paterson, R, ed. Stages to performance: in the rehearsal room. McNidder & Grace, Carmarthen. ISBN 9781904794301

Salisbury Playhouse: anatomy of a theatre in crisis
book_section

Turnbull, O (2010) 'Salisbury Playhouse: anatomy of a theatre in crisis.' In: Merkin, R and Dorney, K, eds. The glory of the garden: English regional theatre and the Arts Council 1984-2009. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, pp. 151-172. ISBN 9781443820592

'Paula Vogel', 'The Baltimore Waltz', 'John Patrick Shanley', 'Lanford Wilson', 'Fifth of July', 'Jose Rivera' and 'Albert Innaurato'
book_section

Turnbull, O (2007) ''Paula Vogel', 'The Baltimore Waltz', 'John Patrick Shanley', 'Lanford Wilson', 'Fifth of July', 'Jose Rivera' and 'Albert Innaurato'.' In: Cody, G and Sprinchorn, E, eds. The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231140324

It’s all about you: immersive theatre and social networking
article

Turnbull, O (2016) 'It’s all about you: immersive theatre and social networking.' Journal of Contemporary Drama in English, 4 (1). pp. 150-163. ISSN 2195-0164

Shunting bodies through space: shunt collectives re-siting of performance
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2008) Shunting bodies through space: shunt collectives re-siting of performance. In: TaPRA Conference 2008, 3 - 5 September 2008, Leeds University.

Were virtually there: blast theorys dramatic trust games in cyberspace
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2007) Were virtually there: blast theorys dramatic trust games in cyberspace. In: TaPRA Conference 2007, 5 - 7 September 2007, University of Birmingham.

Salisbury playhouse: bringing down the house
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2006) Salisbury playhouse: bringing down the house. In: The Glory of the Garden: Regional Theatre in Britain Since 1980, 2 – 3 September 2006, John Moores University Liverpool.

Documentary theatre and the democratic deficit
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2005) Documentary theatre and the democratic deficit. In: Bridging communities, engaging creativity: the Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference, 28 - 31 July 2005, San Francisco.

Shepards and crooks: the three trials of tectonic theatre project
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2003) Shepards and crooks: the three trials of tectonic theatre project. In: Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference, 16-19 April 2003, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Revisiting Laramie: the theatre of shame
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2003) Revisiting Laramie: the theatre of shame. In: Far West Popular Culture Association conference, January 2003, Nevada.

Pressing bills: satire, politics, and the wild west in the news
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2002) Pressing bills: satire, politics, and the wild west in the news. In: Far West Popular Culture Association conference, February 2002, Nevada.

Changing faces: from Indian to American
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2001) Changing faces: from Indian to American. In: Far West Popular Culture Association conference, February 2001, Nevada.

Picturing the past: dramatically advertising America
conference_item

Turnbull, O (2001) Picturing the past: dramatically advertising America. In: Mid-America Theatre Conference, March 2001, Chicago.

Jane Austen's Bath time!
performance

Turnbull, O (2011) Jane Austen's Bath time! In: Bath Comedy Festival, Bath.