About me

Dr Alys Daroy is an interdisciplinary scholar, author and theatre-maker exploring how creative practice can communicate climate change and biodiversity loss. She is Lecturer in English and Theatre, Academic Chair of Theatre and Creative Production and also supervises postgraduate research.

Alys is co-author of Shakespeare, Ecology and Adaptation (Bloomsbury/Arden Shakespeare, 2025), described in Skenè as “a landmark volume” and “a seminal text for the future of the environmental humanities.” She is also co-author of Sydney’s Food Landscapes: Agriculture, Planning, Sustainability (Springer/Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), shortlisted for the 2026 Landscape Australia Awards in Research, Policy and Communication and the 2026 Australian Urban Design Awards in Research and Education. Her third monograph, Biophilic Shakespeare, is under contract with Routledge.

Her creative eco-arts practice has been presented internationally, including through the European Cultural Centre as part of the Venice Biennale, the Conservatorio di Verona, and at FORM Gallery WA. A former professional actor and Sunday Times Ian Charleson Award Commendation recipient, her practice now spans directing, playwriting and Shakespearean eco-adaptation. She is Founder and Artistic Director of Shakespeare South Studio, an ecological production and creative research performance lab recognised as a national exemplar in Australia’s Culture for Climate Report.

Alys is an Affiliate Researcher with GloKnos: Centre for Global Knowledge Studies, University of Cambridge, and an External Researcher with the Centre for People, Planet and Place, Edith Cowan University. She is the recipient of the 2026 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Early Career Research, the 2025 HASS Research Excellence Award, and the 2025 S. Ernest Sprott Fellowship Award from the University of Melbourne Faculty of Arts.

Link

Awards

Vice Chancellor's Excellence Award for Early Career Research
Murdoch University (Australia, Perth), 2026
Shortlist. Research, Policy and Communications, Landscape Australia Awards.
Landscape Australia Awards, 2026
Shortlist. Research and Advocacy, Australian Urban Design Awards
Australian Institute of Architects, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Planning Institute of Australia, 2026
S. Ernest Sprott Fellowship $40,888
The University of Melbourne (Australia, Melbourne), 2025
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 2025 Research Excellence Award
Murdoch University (Australia, Perth), 2025

Organisational Affiliations

Lecturer, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Murdoch University

External Researcher at the Centre for People, Place and Planet, Edith Cowan University (Australia, Perth)

Affiliate Researcher, Gloknos: Centre for Global Knowledge Systems

Education

English and Theatre
20182023, PhD, Monash University and University of Warwick
English Literature
BA First Class Honours, University of Adelaide (Australia, Adelaide)
Acting
BPA, Australian Academy of Dramatic Art (Australian Institute of Music)
Journalism
BA (Journ), University of South Australia (Australia, Adelaide)