Annual Shakespeare fellow

The annual Dr Alice Griffin Shakespearean Fellowship brings experts in Shakespearean studies to the University of Auckland.

The Dr Alice Griffin Fellowship in Shakespearean Studies was established thanks to the generosity of Mr John Griffin, President of Blue Ridge Capital in New York.

Mr Griffin's donation to the Faculty of Arts established the scholarship in the name of his mother Dr Alice Griffin who held a PhD from Columbia University, served as associate editor and drama critic for Theatre Arts Magazine, and taught modern drama at the City University of New York.

Alice Griffin's ten books on theatre include Living Theater, Understanding Tennessee Williams, Understanding Arthur Miller, and Understanding Lillian Hellman. The latest of her four books on Shakespeare is Shakespeare's Women in Love.

The Dr Alice Griffin Shakespearean Fellowship brings experts in Shakespearean Studies to the University of Auckland and allows Arts students to benefit from their teachings. A public lecture is given by each visiting fellow.

2022 Alice Griffin Fellow: Rob Conkie

Rob Conkie, the 2022 Alice Griffin Fellow

Rob Conkie’s teaching and research integrates practical and theoretical approaches to Shakespeare in performance. He is the author of Writing Performative Shakespeares: New Forms for Performance Criticism(Cambridge University Press, 2016) and The Globe Theatre Project: Shakespeare and Authenticity (Edwin Melllen Press, 2006), and the editor (with Scott Maisano) of Shakespeare and Creative Criticism (Berghahn Books, 2019).

Rob has directed, sometimes with professionals, but mainly with students, about a third of Shakespeare’s canon for the stage. He is currently teaching at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and his latest project is a comics-form ekphrasis of live theatrical production.

Previous fellows

  • Professor Bridget Escolme, 2019
  • Professor Liam Semler, 2018
  • Professor Deanne Williams, 2018
  • Professor Peter Holbrook, 2017
  • Professor Gil Harris and Professor Madhavi Menon, 2016
  • Professor Peter Holland, 2015
  • Dr Emma Smith, 2014
  • Professor Stephen Orgel, 2013
  • Professor Lorna Hutson, 2012
  • Professor John Kerrigan, 2011
  • Professor Tiffany Stern, 2010
  • Professor Gary Taylor, 2009
  • Professor Jean Howard, 2008
  • Professor Adrian Poole, 2007
  • Professor Dympna Callaghan, 2006
  • Professor Andrew Gurr, 2005