Dr. Kristen Murray is an interdisciplinary scholar and theatre practitioner with twenty-five years of teaching and theatre-directing experience. Dr. Murray holds a PhD from both the School of the Arts & Media and the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney. Dr. Murray also earned a Master of Creative Arts in Theatre (Directing) and a Master of Science in Psychology (Counselling), following her Bachelor of Arts (Honours, 1st, university award) in Psychology, with a secondary emphasis in Theatre. Her research interests coalesce around theatrical representations of mortality and inequality.
In addition, Dr. Murray is the Co-Director of the HKU Guild. Dr. Murray leads both the annual Shakespeare stage production and the Master’s level Modern Drama theatre production in the School of English. She is committed to the creation of dynamic, inventive educational environments and overall student well-being. Dr. Murray also leads the Local/Focal Short Film Festival, the forthcoming Shakespeare Shorts mini-film festival, and Hong Kong Impressions photographic exhibition.
Dr. Murray’s current work examines interactive pedagogical approaches for teaching Shakespeare, as well as depictions of loss in twentieth and twenty-first century dramatic and literary texts. Dr. Murray’s book chapter (Palgrave Macmillan 2016) focusses on articulations of loss, particularly dark comedy, in contemporary television.
In addition, Dr. Murray has worked extensively in public policy research, advising government departments and NGOs in Australia regarding efficacies and inequalities in health and education services. Dr. Murray’s collaborative research and publications in this field have generated twenty government research reports and/or peer-reviewed journal articles.
Global Shakespeare, MAES programme
Modern Drama in Performance, MAES programme
Shakespeare in Performance and Adaptation, BA programme
Women’s Writing
Critical Theory and Modernism
Literature, Language and Culture
Shakespeare: Plays and Performance
Teaching English for the Creative Curriculum
Comedy: Theory and Text
Drama for Language Learning
Practical Communication Strategies I and II