I joined the Theatre Studies team at Glasgow in 2018, having previously worked at the University of Birmingham, the University of Leeds and Manchester Metropolitan University. I hold a PhD in Theatre Studies (Aberystwyth) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (Birmingham), and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Originally from Barcelona, Spain, I arrived to theatre scholarship enjoying the scenic route. I completed a BA in Journalism and a BA in English Philology (both at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and an MA in Post-1900s Literatures, Theories and Cultures (Manchester). My first professional experiences were as a producer in international festivals and, later, as a radio host and broadcast journalist (performing arts and news editor, presenter and producer). This academic and professional background nurtured my interest in the latest developments in playwriting and dramaturgy, the connections between theatre and other artistic and academic disciplines, and theatre's responses to current affairs - particularly in a UK/European context. These interests led me to pursue a PhD in Theatre Studies (on the politics of experimental characterisation in contemporary British theatre), and still continue to be at the heart of my research. My subsquent research in and contribution to professional participatory performances with theatre company Quarantine further developed my interest in socially-engaged practice. 

My research specialism is in contemporary British/European theatre since 1990 and its relationship to political and philosophical questions pertinent to our socio-historical conjuncture. Much of my research has focused on politically-motivated theatres, but I am also keen to find the political elsewhere in theatre-making. My recent publications and conference presentations have explored the ways in which theatre articulates and anticipates forms of resistance to – or indeed compliance with – hegemonic ideology. I have written on contemporary theatre and queer identities, collective agency, dissident understandings of time, the dramaturgical uses of consensus and consent, ecological crisis, and theatrical visions of democracy. 

Following the publication of my first monograph, Rethinking Character in Contemporary British Theatre: Aesthetics, Politics, Subjectivity (2015 - based on my PhD thesis, which received the 2014 CDE Award, First Prize), I co-edited the collection Affects in 21st-Century British Theatre: Exploring Feeling on Page and Stage (2021) with Prof Mireia Aragay (Barcelona) and Prof Martin Middeke (Augsburg/Johannesburg). This was the first output of an international research project entitled "British Theatre in the Twenty-First Century: Crisis, Affect, Community", led by Prof Aragay and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund. I have previously taken part in two other European research projects with Profs Aragay and Middeke as co-investigator.

I am currently completing a monograph that focuses on the political theatre of British theatre-maker Tim Crouch. This is under contract with Manchester University Press.

List by: Type | Date

• 2017-2020: “British theatre in the twenty-first century: crisis, affect, community”. Role: Co-investigator. Principal Investigator: Prof Mireia Aragay (Barcelona). Funding bodies: Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; European Regional Development Fund. Funds: €50,000.

• 2014: “Representations of precariousness in contemporary British theatre”. Role: Co-investigator. Principal Investigator: Prof Martin Middeke (Augsburg). Funding body: German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Funds: €6,690.

• 2013-2016: “Ethical issues in contemporary British theatre since 1989: globalisation, theatricality, spectatorship”. Role: Co-investigator. Principal Investigator: Prof Mireia Aragay (Barcelona). Funding body: Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Funds: €62,000.

Future projects/proposals

I very much welcome enquiries from potential PhD students interested in pursuing their project at the University of Glasgow focusing on any of these fields:

• Political theatres, socially-engaged theatre practice and delegated performance.
• Theatre and political/cultural theory.
• Contemporary playwriting, theatre and performance in Britain.
• Contemporary European theatre and performance.

I also welcome enquiries from visiting postgraduate researchers wishing to spend time at the University of Glasgow working under my supervision.

You can email me to discuss your project at Cristina.DelgadoGarcia@glasgow.ac.uk.

Current supervision

I am currently lead supervisor on three PhD projects, and co-supervisor on a fourth PhD.

Nic Green's project focuses on engagement, participation and social impact in (post)pandemic Scottish theatre, developed in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland. Léa Moniotte's doctoral research examines the politics and poetics of multilingualism in contemporary Scottish theatre. Marina Galanou's PhD interrogates playwrights' use of historicization to examine the contemporary silencing of political/religious dissent. Finally, I am co-supervisor on Alan McKendrick's a practice-research project exploring new approaches to studying, creating and publishing performance work that straddles and exceeds the traditions of dramatic playwriting and live art. 

• Moniotte, Léa
  Reclaiming Voices: Challenging Monolingualism through Linguistic Variations in Contemporary Scottish Theatre

Supervision and examination: Past projects

I have supervised one PhD project to completion (University of Birmingham) on documentary strategies in contemporary theatre and performance.

I also supervised several visiting doctoral researchers: Qinhan Zhou on the theatre of David Greig (Shanghai Theatre Academy, 2024-25), Claudia Maya on contemporary British theatre and affect (Universitat de Barcelona, 2024) and Elisabeth Massana on queerness, terror and contemporary British theatre (Universitat de Barcelona, 2019); 

In addition to this, I have examined five PhDs, nationally and internationally (University of Glasgow; Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Birmingham City University; Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; University of Western Australia).

In the academic year 2025-26, I teach in and/or convene the following courses:

• Reading the Stage (Level 1)
• Performance Theory and Analysis (Level 4)
• Theatre Studies Dissertation (Level 4)
• 21st Century Theatre in Britain: New Writing in Context (Level 4, Convenor)

• 21st Century Theatre in Britain: New Writing in Context (MLitt, Convenor)
• Debating Dramaturgy (MLitt, convenor)
• Playwriting 1 (MLitt, convenor)
• Playwriting 2 (MLitt, convenor)
• Individual Research Project (MLitt, convenor)

Current & recent convening roles at the University of Glasgow

• PGR convenor for the School of Culture and Creative Arts (2021-26)
• PGR convenor for Theatre Studies (2025-26)
• MLitt Playwriting & Dramaturgy convenor (2023-26)
• MLitt Theatre Studies convenor (2023-24; 2025-26)

Current & recent external roles

• Advisory board member for the Journal of Contemporary Drama in English (2025 - present)
• Editorial board member for the Playwriting and the Contemporary: Critical Collaborations series at Liverpool University Press (2023 - present). Series editors: Siân Adiseshiah, Jacqueline Bolton, Nicholas Holden and Chris Megson.
• Member of the International Network of Latin American and European Theatre Researchers (RIITLE, 2024 - present).
• Co-convenor of the Political Performances Working Group of the International Federation for Theatre Research (2018-22). 
• External Examiner for the MA Theatre and MRes Performing Arts at the University of Lincoln (2019-22).
• Reviews Editor for the journal Performing Ethos (2018-22).

Conference co-organisation & facilitation

• Co-convenorship and curation of the Political Performances Working Group sessions for the annual IFTR congress, with Prof Trish Reid and Dr Julia Boll: 
  • Shifting Centres (In the Middle of Nowhere) (Reykjavík, July 2022)
    
  • Theatre Ecologies: Environments, Sustainability, and Politics (Galway, July 2021)
  • Theatre, Performance and Urbanism (Shanghai Theatre Academy, July 2019)
  • Theatre and Migration (Belgrade, July 2018).
• Co-facilitator of two workshops on theatre and democracy, with Lucy Ellinson, Dr Aneta Mancewicz and Chris Thorpe. Radical Mischief: A Conference Inviting Experiment in Theatre, Thought and Politics. The Other Place, RSC. Stratford-Upon-Avon. July 2018.
• Co-organiser of the Standing Conference of University Drama Departments (SCUDD), with Dr Caroline Radcliffe and Dr Paul Geary. University of Birmingham. June 2018.
• Co-organiser of the 24th annual conference of the German Society for Contemporary Theatre and Drama in English (CDE), with Prof Mireia Aragay and Dr Enric Monforte. Theatre and Spectatorship. University of Barcelona. June 2015.

Keynotes and invited research seminars

• Inaugural lecture. 'The centre cannot hold: research in the arts and humanities towards a sustaining future'. Cultural Identities PGR symposium. Universitat de Barcelona, Nov 2023.
• Invited talk. 'Approaching theatrical character against anthropocentric cultural orientations'. Cambridge Graduate Drama and Performance Seminar. University of Cambridge, March 2023.
• Keynote presentation. '"Birth me in reverse": Returning to character otherwise'.  Resisting Theatre: Plays, Politics and the Academy. Royal Holloway University of London and University of York, June 2021.
• Invited research seminars. 'Labours Lost: Delegated Performance and the Work of Erasure'. University of Lincoln, December 2017; University of Reading, November 2017.
• Keynote presentation. 'The Work of Others: Delegated Performance, the Workers and Their Double'. Theatre, Performance & Employment symposium. Queen Mary, University of London. February 2017.

Conversations and public engagement

• Invited speaker. Different Stages research showcase event, part of 'Different Stages: Exploring public engagement for Drama and Theatre early career academics', a British Academy-funded project run by Dr Naomi Paxton. Glasgow Women’s Library, January 2020.