Susan McClements Wyss works as a teacher, writer and translator. Susan moved from Australia to Switzerland in 2003, where she taught English and theatre, learnt German, completed her MA in Theatre Studies at the University of Bern and worked in various independent arts projects. Before this move, Susan had a long career in Melbourne, Australia as an artistic director, actor, and theatre maker, in marketing and sponsorship development and in public arts funding. Susan completed her PhD in 2023 in a cotutelle between the University of Cologne, Germany and Flinders University, South Australia with the thesis “Classic-ing on the Australian mainstream stage: the place and phenomenon of classic in Australian mainstream theatre 1995 - 2016”. This work evaluates classic drama in Australia as an action – to classic – a complex theatrical practice which animates the production chain from program choice through casting and staging, reception and critical response. The classic performances studied are resonant with postcolonial associations, and act as a reflection of the settler condition. Classic-ing involves a sensation of classic, a socio-cultural phenomenon elucidated in case studies using performance analysis, archival research and interviews with key artists. Susan’s current research is focused on themes of cultural exchange and decolonisation.
