Avra Sidiropoulou

Avra Sidiropoulou is Professor of Theatre and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Open University of Cyprus. She is also a theatre director and Artistic Director of the international theatre company Persona.

She holds a PhD in Theatre Studies from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, an MFA in Theatre Directing from Columbia University, an MPhil in American Literature from the University of Cambridge, and an MA in Text and Performance Studies from King's College London in association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Her academic and artistic work focuses on contemporary directing theory and practice, the adaptation and reinterpretation of classical theatre, modern tragedy, and the use of digital media and new technologies in performance. Her research investigates the director's creative agency and the evolving relationship between dramatic texts, performance, and contemporary cultural contexts.

She is the author of two internationally published monographs, Authoring Performance: The Director in Contemporary Theatre (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and Directions for Directing: Theatre and Method (Routledge, 2018). She has also edited and co-edited scholarly volumes examining contemporary theatre, Greek tragedy, and the relationship between performance, politics, and global crises.

Her directing work has been presented internationally, including productions in Europe, the United States, and Asia. She has served as a visiting researcher at institutions including Columbia University, MIT, Freie Universität Berlin, and Queen Mary University of London.

She was awarded a Japan Foundation fellowship to conduct research on contemporary Japanese directing at the University of Tokyo and was nominated for the 2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award. She is also an elected member of the Executive Committee of the European Association for the Study of Theatre and Performance (EASTAP).

She is a member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Philosophy and Ideas.