Disability and the Archives
Join us online for Disability and the Archives: Access, Absences and Action, a two-day virtual conference hosted by Shakespeare’s Globe from 23–24 January 2026.
This interdisciplinary event will examine how disabled lives have been recorded, obscured, or erased across literary, performance, and institutional records. The programme includes talks, panels, and time for shared reflection, with a focus on inclusive and ethical approaches to archival practice.
There will be BSL and ASL Interpreters and live captioning throughout both days of this event.
Shakespeare’s Globe is a registered charity. Registration fees contribute to operational costs and support our research events. If cost presents a barrier, please contact [email protected]. We are committed to ensuring these events remain accessible to all.
DETAILS
Tickets
£5
Please purchase one ticket per participant.
This event takes place online
Running time 10.00am – 5.00pm, including a 1 hour lunch break
Part of Research Events
SCHEDULE
Friday
10.00am-10.15am
Welcome
10.15am-10.45am
‘An Archive of Limb Loss: Histories of Art Making, Disability and the Embodied Self’, Nicola Lane and Neil Pemberton (University of Manchester)
10.45am-11.00am
Break
11.00am-12.15pm
(including a break from 11.30am-11.40am)
‘Recovering Intersectional Race and Disability’ (panel), chaired by Mary L. Shannon
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- ‘Billy Waters as a Disability Trailblazer’, Suchitra Chatterjee (University of Brighton)
- ‘Turning Archive Stories into Accessible History’, Ben Marsh (University of Kent)
- Redrawing Billy Waters’, Selena Scott
- ‘Teaching Archival stories in the English Studies classroom’, Himan Heidari (University of Roehampton)
- ‘Jump Billy! Retelling Histories of Race and Disability Through Song’, Angeline Morrison
12.15pm-12.30pm
Break
12.30pm-1.00pm
‘Advocating for Access’, Rachel Bright and Esme Cleall
1.00pm-2.00pm
Lunch
2.00pm-2.30pm
‘Disabled by Law: A New Paradigm for Early Modern Disability and Theater’, Penelope Geng (Macalester College)
2.30pm-2.45pm
Break
2.45pm-3.15pm
‘“I look for spaces where I think disabled people work”: Disabled Desires for Building a Digital Archive’, Gracen Brilmyer and Grace Isibor
3.15pm-3.30pm
Break
3.30pm-4.45pm
(including a break from 4.00pm-4.10pm)
‘Neurodiversity and the Archives: Past, Present and Future’ (panel)
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- ‘Autism in the Archives’, Sonya Freeman Loftis (Morehouse College)
- ‘Archival Neurotypes’, Alissa Helms (Plymouth State University) and Nic Helms (Plymouth State University)
- ‘Between Archive and Edition: Neurocosmopolitan Futures for Digitized Material’, Emily R. Nicholls (King’s College London and the University of Hong Kong)
- Response: Bradley J. Irish (Arizona State University)
4.45pm-5.00pm
Group reflection and goodbye
Saturday
10.00am-10.30am
‘Breaking the Mold: A Deafcentric Approach to Archiving’, Kirstie Stage, Sophia Williams and Meredith Peruzzi
10.30am-10.45am
Break
10.45am-11.45am
(including a break from 11.15am-11.25am)
‘Sensing the Archives at The National Archives’, George Rhodes, Kate Antolak and Ellen Oredsson (The National Archives)
11.45am-12.00pm
Break
12.00pm-12.30pm
‘Present Actions to Recover Past Presence: an Early Modern Life on Stage and in the Archive’, Philip Milnes-Smith (Shakespeare’s Globe)
12.30pm-1.00pm
Group reflection
1.00pm-2.00pm
Lunch
2.00pm-2.30pm
‘Activating Disability Knowledges in Early Modern Theatrical Archives’, Katherine Williams (University of Toronto)
2.30pm-2.45pm
Break
2.45pm-3.15pm
‘Title TBC’, Evelyn Reidy (University of Roehampton)
3.15pm-3.30pm
Break
3.30pm-4.45pm
(including a break from 4.00pm-4.10pm)
‘Early Modern Neurodivergence: The AMEND project at Swansea’, Bridget Bartlett, Laura Seymour, Alice Equestri, David Turner and Amrita Dhar
4.45pm-5.00pm
Group reflection and goodbye
SUPPORT RESEARCH AND COLLECTIONS
We are building a new Research & Collections Centre including London’s first dedicated Shakespeare Library, free and open-to-all. The centre will offer unparalleled activities and experiences redefining how students, researchers, artists, and the public engage with Shakespeare and performance-based research.
We need your support to help us complete this build, and open up Research & Collections at Shakespeare’s Globe. With your help, we can empower future scholars, deepening understanding of performance, and preserving voices from every corner of Shakespeare’s world.
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