Hertford Fellow Emma Smith joins RSC Board

11 September 2024

Today, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced that Professor Emma Smith will join the Company’s Board, following their AGM. At Hertford, Professor Smith is a Tutorial Fellow in English and Fellow Librarian and Archivist, as well as the Oxford Professor of Shakespeare Studies.

She was announced as an RSC Associate Scholar in 2021 alongside Professor James Shapiro and Professor Ayanna Thompson and co-Chaired the RSC Expert Research Group for the landmark Time To Act project which reveals ground-breaking insights into the impact arts learning has on young people’s language development and confidence, and was launched in February 2024.

Professor Emma Smith said:

I am absolutely chuffed and honoured to be joining the RSC board at such an exciting and dynamic time for the Company. I really look forward to lending my support to its ambitious programme, and to learning more about all its activities, on and off stage.

 

RSC Chair Shriti Vadera added:

Emma is one of the UKs leading Shakespeare scholars and has been helping us make our house playwright’s work accessible to audiences and participants of all ages for many years. We are absolutely delighted she has agreed to join our Board.

 

The RSC’s Board is made up of 15 people all chosen for their varied skills and experience. Andrew Leveson, Executive Director, and the Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, are members of the Board which works closely with the senior management team in leading the Company. Full details of the RSC’s Board can be found here.

Alongside her work at Hertford, Emma is also the author of numerous books including Shakespeare’s First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book and This Is Shakespeare. Professor Smith also edits the journal Shakespeare Survey, is the General Editor for the Oxford World’s Classics Shakespeare and is currently working on a new edition of Twelfth Night for the Arden series.