Ismene Lada-Richards

Professor Ismene Lada-Richards is Professor of Classical Literature & Performance Culture in King's College London's Classics department. Educated at the University of Athens and Cambridge (Ph.D. under Richard Hunter), her research examines performance dimensions of Greek drama, Graeco-Roman pantomime dancing, and intersections between elite/popular culture in antiquity.

Her scholarship focuses on ancient performance traditions, particularly the embodied practices of pantomime dancing and its literary receptions in imperial texts. Key publications analyze corporeal expression in Ovid's works, theatrical life in Vergil's Eclogues, and the cultural significance of pantomime as performance art.

She supervises doctoral research on ancient drama, pantomime traditions, and performance reception. Academic service includes editorial work for Classical Philology, Phoenix, Helios, and Journal of Hellenic Studies.