Personal profile

Biography

Leslie Hill is a Professor of Theatre and Performance Making at the University of Roehampton, London.  She is interested in the intersections of theatre and Live Art with politics, activism and social justice movements.  Her new book Devising Theatre & Performance: Curious Methods (2021) is a deep dive into creative practice, offering a range of performance making and practice-based research prompts, exercises and wisdom. Her recent book Sex, Suffrage and the Stage: First Wave Feminism in British Theatre was recently published for the UK suffrage centenary in 2018. Other recent publications include The Artist’s Border Panic Compendium(2018) and Performing Proximity (2014).  Previously, Hill was Associate Professor and Artistic Director of Stanford’s Department of Theatre & Performance Studies (2011-2017); she also served as convenor of the interdisciplinary arts Practice-Based PhD programme at the University of East London (2006-2010).  Hill teaches undergrad and grad level courses on performance making, arts activism, British theatre, dramaturgy, directing and Artistic Research methodologies.  Originally from New Mexico, Hill holds a double BA in English and Philosophy from the University of New Mexico, an MA in Text & Performance from the University of Birmingham (UK) and a PhD in feminist theatre history from the University of Glasgow.  Hill was awarded a NESTA (National Endowment for Science Education and the Arts) fellowship and has been Visiting Professor at institutions such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Brasenose College, Oxford.

Hill is co-director, with Helen Paris, of the London-based performance company Curious (https://www.curiousperformance.com).Curious has produced 50+ innovative works for theatres and festivals including the London Cultural Olympiad, the Edinburgh Festival, Centre Pompidou and Sydney Opera House. Frequently edgy, often humorous and always authentic, Curious plough a furrow between theatre, live art, installation and research.  Curious combine rigorous dramaturgy and community outreach with performance-making to create impactful work that has been called ‘as smart as it is seductive’ (Irish Times).  Curious deliver an international programme of workshops and mentoring alongside award winning publications and research.  Curious are produced by Artsadmin.  

Curious’s current projects are Wild Longings, a new performance for gardens and Uproot, a creative community workshop.  Both celebrate survival, diversity and interconnectivity in this current moment of upheaval and change. In these linked projects, Curious employ rooting and uprooting as metaphors for personal and botanical stories at a time when 65 million people are displaced worldwide. 

 

External positions

Artistic Director, Curious International Ltd

1 Jan 1996 → …

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
  • UpRoot

    Hill, L. (Organiser)

    4 May 20195 May 2019

    Activity: Public engagement and outreachPublic speaking engagements

  • Wild Longings

    Hill, L. (Organiser)

    8 Jun 20199 Jun 2019

    Activity: Public engagement and outreachPublic speaking engagements

  • Wild Longings

    Hill, L. (Organiser)

    14 Sept 201915 Sept 2019

    Activity: Public engagement and outreachPublic speaking engagements

  • Curious Methods

    Hill, L. (Presenter)

    20 May 201924 May 2019

    Activity: Public engagement and outreachMedia Article or Participation

  • Wild Longings

    Hill, L. (Organiser)

    20 Mar 2019

    Activity: Public engagement and outreachPublic speaking engagements