The Romantic Revivals Project brings the dramatic works of the Romantic period back to the stage through partnerships with professional artists, theaters,
and educational institutions.
Teachers will find resources for bringing these performances into the classroom. Theater lovers can experience works that are rarely performed today. Readers, students, scholars, and members of the public are all welcome.
We invite you to discover a Romantic era you may never have seen before.
100+ Participating Institutions, Organizations,
and Communities
6 Continents Reached Through Global Watch Parties
Partnership with
Red Bull Theater
Since 2008
Our Mission
The Romantic Revivals Project seeks to bring Romantic drama back into performance and public conversation.
Too often, the dramatic works of the Romantic period remain on the page rather than in the rehearsal room, the classroom, or the theater. Yet when these plays are performed, they open up new possibilities for performance, learning, and public conversation. Their stories and characters invite us to think about political revolution, social justice, family, religion, gender, empire, and individual freedom, and the questions they raise remain as urgent today as they were two centuries ago.
The Romantic Revivals Project is built upon the belief that these plays belong not only in books and archives, but also in classrooms, rehearsal rooms, theaters, and public conversation. Through partnerships with theaters, universities, libraries, bookstores, cultural organizations, and community groups, the project creates opportunities to experience, teach, perform, and discuss Romantic drama.
Our Story
The Romantic Revivals Project traces its origins to a series of collaborations dedicated to exploring the dramatic works of the Romantic period through performance and public conversation.
Its origins can be traced to a 2008 production of Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Cenci at Red Bull Theater, directed by Eleanor Holdridge. That encounter sparked a conversation about the theatrical possibilities of Romantic drama and the surprising vitality of works that had often been regarded as "closet dramas." What began as a shared interest in the relationship between page and stage ultimately developed into a series of collaborations between Red Bull Theater and scholars at New York University.
Beginning in 2012, with generous support from the NYU Department of English, these collaborations brought a series of Romantic dramas to New York City audiences, including Lord Byron's Sardanapalus (2012), Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound (2013), Joanna Baillie's De Montfort (2014), Frances Burney's The Woman Hater (2015), and Lord Byron's Manfred (2017). These productions demonstrated that works often regarded as difficult, experimental, or rarely performed could flourish before contemporary audiences when entrusted to talented artists and engaged communities of readers, viewers, and theatergoers.
In 2024, this growing movement reached a new milestone through an international celebration of Byron's Sardanapalus during the bicentenary year of his death. Audiences around the world came together to watch a New York City performance of the play, whether in person, through livestreams, or at locally organized watch parties and public screenings. More than one hundred institutions and communities participated through classes, discussions, performances, and public events, transforming a single theatrical production into a worldwide conversation. Across six continents, readers, students, scholars, and members of the public gathered in classrooms, libraries, bookstores, theaters, and living rooms to engage Byron's drama together. The event demonstrated that a play written two centuries ago could still serve as the center of a genuinely international conversation.
The Romantic Revivals Project was established to build upon that foundation.
Current Projects:
2026: Percy Shelley, The Cenci
2027: Adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
2028: To Be Announced
Team:
Founding Director: Omar F. Miranda
Lead Artistic Partners:
Jesse Berger, Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Red Bull Theater
Nathan Winkelstein, Producing Director, Red Bull Theater
Theater Partner: Red Bull Theater
Scholarly Collaborators:
2026: Julie Camarda, University of Chicago (The Cenci)
2027: Arden Hegele, Columbia University and Lissette Lopez Szwydky, University of Arkansas (Frankenstein adaptation)
Supporters:
George Krupp, Board of Directors, Keats-Shelley Association of America
Keats-Shelley Association of America
The Byron Society of America
The Keats-Shelley House in Rome
Jonathan Mulrooney
Jerome McGann
Looking Ahead
The Romantic Revivals Project launches formally in 2026 with a presentation of Shelley's The Cenci in partnership with Red Bull Theater and director Eleanor Holdridge. Nearly two decades after that landmark production first demonstrated the possibilities of Romantic drama in performance, The Cenci returns at the start of a new chapter dedicated to ensuring that these works remain part of our cultural and intellectual life.
Made possible through the generosity of George Krupp and Jonathan Mulrooney, as well as the support of partner organizations around the world, the project will continue to develop performances, educational resources, public programs, and international collaborations that create new opportunities to encounter Romantic drama in classrooms, theaters, libraries, and communities worldwide.
Acknowledgements
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our longtime partners at Red Bull Theater, including Jesse Berger, Craig Baldwin, Nathan Winkelstein, and the many artists, administrators, and supporters who helped make these collaborations possible.
We are also profoundly grateful to George Krupp, whose generosity and commitment to the humanities and to our mission have made the formal launch of the Romantic Revivals Project possible.
From the beginning, the project has depended upon the enthusiasm, creativity, and generosity of scholars, students, educators, librarians, booksellers, theater professionals, cultural organizations, and community partners around the world. We are especially grateful to the Byron Society of America and the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, as well as the many institutions that have supported readings, performances, classes, discussions, and public events over the years. Together, they have helped create an international community devoted to the study, performance, and discussion of Romantic drama.
Finally, we thank everyone who has attended a performance, taught a Romantic play, organized a discussion, hosted a watch party, or shared these works with others. The revival of Romantic drama has always been a collective endeavor. This project stands as a testament to what can happen when scholars, artists, and audiences come together in the belief that these remarkable plays still deserve to be heard.
Global Watch Parties
Support the Romantic Revivals Project
The Romantic Revivals Project welcomes support from individuals, foundations, and organizations who share our commitment to bringing Romantic drama back into performance and public conversation. For information about donations, partnerships, sponsorship opportunities, or future collaborations, please contact Founding Director Omar F. Miranda, Associate Professor of English at the University of San Francisco.
