
Overview
Background
Emma is Director of the Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing, and Senior Lecturer in Drama at UQ.
Emma is a dramaturg, classicist, and a theatre and performance studies scholar. She works across industry and academia, with particular expertise in the performance of Greek tragedy in contemporary theatre. She has received funding from the Australian Research Council for her work on tragedy and translation, and from the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK for her work with British theatre company Punchdrunk. Her monograph Punchdrunk on the Classics: Experiencing Immersion in The Burnt City and Beyond showcased the research emerging from her work with Punchdrunk and was awarded the 2024 ADSA Rob Jordan Prize for best book on a subject related to drama, theatre, dance or performance studies. Her collaboration with Punchdrunk on The Burnt City was profiled in the New York Times here.
Emma's current research projects include an edited collection titled Experiencing Immersion in Antiquity and Modernity: From Narrative to Virtual Reality (Bloomsbury) and an invited chapter on dance, immersivity, and translation in Punchdrunk's The Burnt City. She is also working on her own translations of Euripides' final trilogy: Bacchae, Iphigenia at Aulis, and Alcmaeon in Corinth.
Her previous publications encompass both classics and theatre and performance studies outputs, and include studies of plays, playwrights, and directors. Highlights include a student edition of Women of Troy (2024), a co-edited special issue of Contemporary Theatre Review on the director Simon Stone, the book Postdramatic Tragedies (OUP, 2019), and the co-edited collection Adapting Translation for the Stage (with Geraldine Brodie, for Routledge's Advances in Theatre and Performance Studies series, shortlisted for the 2019 TaPRA prize for editing), as well as articles and chapters on Punchdrunk, Sarah Kane, Martin Crimp, and Katie Mitchell. Her pieces for a general audience have appeared in popular publications including The Theatre Times, The Conversation, and Exeunt Magazine. Dictionary and encyclopedia entries include the 'drama, reception of' entry for the Oxford Classical Dictionary, and 'Ancient Greek Drama in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century' in the Methuen Drama Encyclopedia of Modern Theatre (forthcoming).
Emma is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Historical Society, and a UQ Ally. She joined the University of Queensland in 2023. Prior to this, she worked at the University of Bristol from 2015-2023.
Availability
- Dr Emma Cole is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Sydney
- Masters (Coursework) of Classics, University College London
- Doctoral (Research) of Classics, University College London
Research impacts
Emma's research into the reception of tragedy in contemporary theatre has inspired and informed new theatre productions, while deepening artists’, practitioners’, and audiences’ understanding of ancient tragedy. Her collaborations with artists have included work on two productions with the UK's leading immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk, on Kabeiroi (2017, for which demand for tickets far surpassed capacity and led to tickets being purchased only through a lottery system) and The Burnt City (2022-23, the season for which extended twice and for which over 200, 000 tickets were sold), as well as with the Australian playwright Tom Holloway on the original trilogy Medea in Exile. Her work on these projects reveals research impact upon companies and artists, leading to the co-production of new cultural artefacts and shaping the creative process in theatre.
Alongside working on these productions, She has created educational impact through interactive engagements with theatre audiences and schools, changing the public’s perceptions of ancient drama. Through collaborations with the Gate Theatre Notting Hill on post-show events (Iphigenia Quartet, 2016, and Medea, 2015), Theatre Ad Infinitum (Beautiful Evil Things, 2022), and Queensland Theatre (Medea, 2024) she has widened access to research and enhanced audience understanding surrounding the classics in contemporary theatre.
Her expertise on knowledge exchange and the creative industries has led to research impacts on approaches to academic/artistic collaboration. Between 2019-2020 she curated a seminar series on the topic, and in 2021 she published the open-access article 'Knowledge Exchange and the Creative Industries: A Reflective Commentary on Current Practice'.
Works
Search Professor Emma Cole’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Conference Publication
Tragedy, translation, and fragmentation
Cole, Emma (2025). Tragedy, translation, and fragmentation. International Federation of Theatre Research, Cologne, Germany, 9-13 June 2025.
2025
Conference Publication
The future of the fragment
Cole, Emma (2025). The future of the fragment. Translations and Transformations: Thinking with the Ancients, Crawley, WA Australia, 23-24 April 2025.
2025
Book Chapter
ANTIQUITY AND IMMERSIVITY: AN INTRODUCTION
Cole, Emma (2025). ANTIQUITY AND IMMERSIVITY: AN INTRODUCTION. Experiencing Immersion in Antiquity and Modernity: From Narrative to Virtual Reality. (pp. 1-14) Bloomsbury Publishing Plc..
2025
Book
EXPERIENCING IMMERSION IN ANTIQUITY AND MODERNITY: FROM NARRATIVE TO VIRTUAL REALITY
Cole, Emma (2025). EXPERIENCING IMMERSION IN ANTIQUITY AND MODERNITY: FROM NARRATIVE TO VIRTUAL REALITY. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.. doi: 10.5040/9781350419124
2025
Book Chapter
Dance, immersivity, and translation in Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City
Cole, Emma (2025). Dance, immersivity, and translation in Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City. Translation in the Performing Arts: Embodiment, Materiality, and Inclusion. (pp. 39-54) Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781003335573-4
2024
Conference Publication
Innovation and classical reception in contemporary artistic practice
Cole, Emma (2024). Innovation and classical reception in contemporary artistic practice. Enacting Innovation: Science and Technology in Performance, Canberra, ACT Australia, 6 October 2024.
2024
Book
The women of Troy
Emma Cole ed. (2024). The women of Troy. London, United Kingdom: Methuen Drama.
2024
Journal Article
The Apolline, the Dionysiac, and spectatorship in Punchdrunk’s masked performances
Cole, Emma (2024). The Apolline, the Dionysiac, and spectatorship in Punchdrunk’s masked performances. Contemporary Theatre Review, 34 (2), 170-186. doi: 10.1080/10486801.2024.2334244
2024
Journal Article
Introduction: Simon Stone and Company
Cole, Emma and Hay, Chris (2024). Introduction: Simon Stone and Company. Contemporary Theatre Review, 34 (1), 1-9. doi: 10.1080/10486801.2024.2320525
2024
Conference Publication
Experiencing Immersion from Antiquity to Modernity
Cole, Emma (2024). Experiencing Immersion from Antiquity to Modernity. Australasian Society for Classical Studies Annual Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 12-15 Feburary 2024.
2023
Book
Punchdrunk on the classics: experiencing immersion in The burnt city and beyond
Cole, Emma (2023). Punchdrunk on the classics: experiencing immersion in The burnt city and beyond. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-43067-1
2023
Conference Publication
Spectator Participation-as-Research for archiving the Creation and Experience of Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City
Cole, Emma (2023). Spectator Participation-as-Research for archiving the Creation and Experience of Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City. Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama, and Performance Studies (ADSA) Annual Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 27 November-1 December 2023.
2022
Other Outputs
The Burnt City
Cole, Emma (Dramaturg), Barrett, Felix and Doyle, Maxine (2022). The Burnt City. London, United Kingdom: Punchdrunk.
2022
Conference Publication
Rehearsal observation and Spectator-Participation-as-Research in Punchdrunk's The Burnt City
Cole, Emma (2022). Rehearsal observation and Spectator-Participation-as-Research in Punchdrunk's The Burnt City. Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) annual conference, Exeter, United Kingdom, 12-14 September 2022.
2021
Journal Article
Correction to: Fragments, Immersivity, and Reception: Punchdrunk on Aeschylus’ Kabeiroi (International Journal of the Classical Tradition, (2021), 28, 4, (510-525), 10.1007/s12138-020-00578-9)
Cole, Emma (2021). Correction to: Fragments, Immersivity, and Reception: Punchdrunk on Aeschylus’ Kabeiroi (International Journal of the Classical Tradition, (2021), 28, 4, (510-525), 10.1007/s12138-020-00578-9). International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 28 (4), 526-526. doi: 10.1007/s12138-021-00596-1
2021
Journal Article
Fragments, immersivity, and reception: Punchdrunk on Aeschylus’ Kabeiroi
Cole, Emma (2021). Fragments, immersivity, and reception: Punchdrunk on Aeschylus’ Kabeiroi. International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 28 (4), 510-525. doi: 10.1007/s12138-020-00578-9
2021
Journal Article
Knowledge exchange and the creative industries: A reflective commentary on current practice
Cole, Emma (2021). Knowledge exchange and the creative industries: A reflective commentary on current practice. Research for All, 5 (2), 194-204. doi: 10.14324/rfa.05.2.02
2020
Book Chapter
Drama, reception of
Cole, Emma (2020). Drama, reception of. Oxford classical dictionary. (pp. 1-18) Oxford Classical Dictionary: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8068
2020
Journal Article
Review of: Shane Butler (ed.), Deep classics: rethinking classical reception, London-New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016, ix+347 pp., $34.95 (pb), ISBN 978-1-4742-6051-0
Cole, Emma (2020). Review of: Shane Butler (ed.), Deep classics: rethinking classical reception, London-New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016, ix+347 pp., $34.95 (pb), ISBN 978-1-4742-6051-0. Exemplaria Classica, 24, 459-460. doi: 10.33776/ec.v24i0.5022
2019
Book
Postdramatic tragedies
Cole, Emma (2019). Postdramatic tragedies. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198817680.001.0001
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Emma Cole is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Race, translation, and ancient Greek tragedy
Focus on Greek tragedy, translation and adaptation, and indigeneity. It can be a creative writing PhD.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Chasing Changelings: Re-visioning Autism Aesthetic and Myth in Theatre
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stephen Carleton, Dr Beck Wise
-
Doctor Philosophy
Visual Feedback and Dramaturgy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stephen Carleton
-
Doctor Philosophy
Theatre at the Threshold: Grief, Self-Determination and the Politics of Dying
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stephen Carleton
-
Doctor Philosophy
Families Bent Out Of Shape: Queer Adaptation Strategies For Family Drama
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stephen Carleton
-
Doctor Philosophy
Hot & Heavy, an exploration of sonic interaction and immersivity through a posthuman feminism lens
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Eve Klein
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Emma Cole directly for media enquiries about:
- Aeschylus
- Classics
- Contemporary theatre
- Euripides
- Greek Tragedy
- Immersive theatre
- Punchdrunk
- Sophocles
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