Paul Fryer is a Visiting Professor in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at The University of Leeds (UK), where he is also Co-Director of The Stanislavsky Research Centre. Previously, he was Visiting Professor in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at London South Bank University, and an Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Arts and Digital Industries at The University of East London. In Summer 2018 he retired as Associate Director of Research and Head of Research Degrees at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in Sidcup (UK), after 23 years.
Originally trained as an actor at The Guildhall School in London, Paul holds a Masters’ degree in Drama from the University of London, and a PhD from the University of Manchester, Paul’s research specialism is centered on opera, opera singers and the early (pre-sound) film industry. He has published widely on this area (please see publications page).
In collaboration with the late British composer, Barry Seaman, Paul worked on the restoration of several rare silent films, making them newly accessible to a contemporary audience (please see film projects), he has also introduced screenings of these and many other films in the UK, USA, Canada, Malta, The Czech Republic, Russia and Slovakia.
He has presented film screenings/programmes and lectures at The British Film Institute, The Buxton Festival, The State Museum of Theatre and Music (St Petersburg, Russia), Oxford University, Emory University (Atlanta), University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University, The University of Cincinnati and The Library of Congress (Washington DC). He presented a series of film programmes for Seattle Opera as part of The Ring Cycle, and for Canadian Opera as part of the inaugural season at the Four Seasons Opera House in Toronto. In April 2012, he gave the Fine Arts lecture at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; The Opera Singer and the Silent Film.
He has published widely as both an author and an editor, and his most recent books include a newly edited and annotated edition of a biography of Konstantin Stanislavski’s stage designer, Viktor Simov (Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2020), a collection of essays celebrating the career and legacy of Clive Barker (Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury, 2022), and a collection of essays, Blockbusters of Victorian Theatre, 1850-1910 (McFarland, 2024).
Paul is currently working on a new edited collection titled Fallen Stars: Hidden Figures in Early Film, which will be published by the University of Exeter Press in 2027.
In January 2013, he curated the photographic exhibition, Stanislavski on Stage, at Pushkin House in London.
Paul founded the journal Stanislavski Studies, published by Routledge/Taylor and Francis, and served as editor-in-chief for 10 years, becoming consultant editor in 2023. With Bella Merlin, he co-founded the international collaborative research project The S Word, which explores the influence of Stanislavsky’s legacy on contemporary theatre: the project has staged international symposia in the UK, Prague, California, Malta, Athens and Australia. Starting in 2021, Paul has worked with a number of colleagues on the creation of a new webinar series, which has also contributed to a new research website, Stanislavsky, Here, Today Now. Since 2023, he has been the Series Editor of the book series, Stanislavsky And… (for Routledge/Taylor & Francis), with sixteen titles either published or in process of completion.
In 2017, Paul collaborated with colleagues from Manchester Metropolitan University and the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, to stage a new annual event, Practise, Reflect, Share, designed to encourage practitioner/scholars to write for academic journals. The PRS symposium presented its third event at The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, on Practice Research in November 2019.