Neah Lekan is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of English. Her research focuses on seventeenth century English drama and its impact on British political history. She is also a practicing professional dramaturg, specializing primarily in Shakespeare, with recent credits including Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, and Julius Caesar. This year, she is working as an Education & Community Engagement Associate for the New Swan Shakespeare Center at UCI and serving as a graduate mentor to the JHU Barnstormers.
Neah’s research centers on early modern and Restoration English historical drama. Employing practice-based and dramaturgical approaches, she seeks to illuminate how the public theatre of the seventeenth century coincided with, and closely influenced, the rise of English constitutionalism. Neah’s work also focuses closely on questions of theatre history, gender studies, and the work of women playwrights.
Here at Hopkins, Neah has taught in AGHI’s Blast Courses program and served as a TA in the English Department. Neah is also a performance and public humanities educator, leading Shakespeare seminars and reading groups for public audiences and workshops for classical performers as part of her work with the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.