Dr Aparna Mahiyaria

My work is grounded in Marxist-Feminist praxis, and engages with the intersections of performance and politics, particularly in the context of South Asia. I am interested in how performance practices emerge from and intervene in their political contexts, challenge colonial histories as well as contemporary imperialist-Hindutva epistemological onslaughts.

I have a background in Literature (2013, University of Delhi), Linguistics (2015, Jawaharlal Nehru University), and extensive practice exeprience in creating and performing outdoor political theatre, through my work with the Jana Natya Manch [Janam], one of the world’s most enduring Left-wing political theatre groups based in New Delhi.

I am an active memeber of the Centre for Performance Histories and Culture at the University of Exeter; and the Exeter South Asia Centre.

I currently teach on modules that cover theatre history, critical theory, and activism and performance, and also supervise MA dissertations.

Prior to joining University of Exeter as a Lecturer in 2022, I have taught in various roles (2017-20) at Exeter's Drama Department and Liberal Arts Department, and have been a teaching associate (2021) at Ahmedabad University (Gujarat, India). I have also worked as an editor (2020-21) with the Indian Cultural Forum, a New Delhi-based organisation that platforms local and international debates on politics and culture.

Research supervision:

I would welcome enquiries from potential doctoral students interested in any areas of my research.

If you are intrested in working with me please send me a 500 word outline of your proposed research topic.