Theatre, Anatomy and the Early Modern Doctor On Stage

This interdisciplinary symposium plus theatre performance will explore the theatrically performative nature of early modern medicine, and the representation of doctors on stage, through an academic, medical, and theatrical lens. A keynote lecture will be delivered by Vishy Mahadevan, Professor of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons of England (‘The Surgical Operation and Anatomical Dissection as Theatre’), followed by a panel of short papers on the topic of doctors and medicine in the early modern period (details below). This afternoon symposium will lead to an evening performance by King Edward’s Boys—a Stratford-on-Avon theatre company specialising in boys’ company plays from the sixteenth century—who will perform a thematised medley of extracts about doctors on stage in early modernity, from English drama and Moliere. We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on the topic of doctors and medicine in the early modern period. Please submit your abstracts (max 250 words) and a short biography (max 100 words) by January 31 2022 to Jennifer Edwards (jennifer.edwards@queens.ox.ac.uk) and Laurie Maguire (laurie.maguire@magd.ox.ac.uk).