Fintan Walsh

Professor Fintan Walsh is Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication at Birkbeck, University of London, and holds the title of Professor of Performing Arts and Humanities. He leads the Birkbeck Creative Practice Lab and directs the Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre. His research focuses on contemporary theatre and performance, with an emphasis on queer performance, grief in pandemic contexts, digital performance, and Irish drama.

Walsh earned his MPhil and PhD at Trinity College Dublin (2007) and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2012). He has held visiting roles at institutions like Freie Universität Berlin and Helsinki University. His editorial roles include Senior Editor of Theatre Research International and founder of the Cambridge Elements in Contemporary Performance Texts series.

His recent publications include Performing Grief in Pandemic Theatres (2024) and Performing the Queer Past: Public Possessions (2023). He has received the 2023 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Walsh supervises doctoral research in areas such as chemsex narratives, mental health in theatre, and neurodiversity. He has examined PhDs at institutions including the University of Sydney, Royal Holloway, and University of Helsinki. His work is funded by grants from the Wellcome Trust ISSF, CHASE AHRC, and OSUN.

He oversees initiatives like the Birkbeck Gender and Sexuality (BiGS) group and has collaborated with artists globally. His research bridges performance studies, medical humanities, and queer theory, emphasizing marginalized communities and cultural interventions.