Michael Shane Boyle

Dr. Michael Shane Boyle is a Senior Lecturer in Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), part of the School of English and Drama. He holds a BA in English from Duke University and a PhD in Performance Studies from UC Berkeley, with postdoctoral appointments at Stanford and Harvard Universities. His research focuses on the political economy of performance from Marxist and communist perspectives, particularly postdramatic theatre, live art, activist performance in Germany, the UK, and the US. He is co-editor of Postdramatic Theatre and Form (2019) and is completing a book, The Arts of Logistics, examining performance’s engagement with global capitalist infrastructure.

Teaching emphasizes institutional critiques of racialization and economic exploitation, with modules on race in performance, live art disciplines, and Marxist theory. Boyle is on the editorial board of Theatre Survey and peer reviews for journals like Viewpoint Magazine and Theater Journal. He co-convened the CAPITAL FORMS postgraduate program in Economic Humanities and chairs the Board of Trustees for Limehouse Town Hall, a community arts space in London. His work bridges academic research with activist practices, including collaborations with groups like the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army and translations of political theory for outlets like Commune.

Key awards include winning TDR/The Drama Review’s Student Essay Contest (2001) and contributing to a special issue honored with the 2011 Best Special Issue Award. His research explores intersections of performance with labor, logistics, and anti-fascist movements, including a forthcoming monograph on antifascist performance in Germany.