Tristan received his PhD in Jacobean theatre history from the University of Cambridge, where he is now a Senior Member in English at Robinson College.

He is currently working on the theatrical patronage and influence of Anna of Denmark on the Jacobean stages. An article on Anna and the politics of Cymbeline as well as one on the queen and gender politics in Ben Jonson’s Epicene will be published in 2025, while a piece on Anna’s son Henry and the Jacobean masques is due for publication in 2026.

Previous publications include Theatre and Empire: Great Britain on the London Stages Under James VI & I (Manchester University Press, 2020), as well as articles on subjects including The Tempest’s imperialism, martialism on the early Jacobean stage and theatre’s engagement with the politics of King James’s Union project.

A former Artistic Director of the Questors Theatre in West London, he is a member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators and was made a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2020 for his contributions to the study of early modern theatre.