Alexandra Portmann studied Philosophy and Theatre Studies at the University of Bern, subsequently completing further training in Cultural Management. As a theatre and cultural studies scholar, she has worked at universities in Switzerland and abroad (University of Kent). Her doctoral thesis, ‘The Time Is Out of Joint: Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the Countries of the Former Yugoslavia’, won the Faculty Prize at the University of Bern and the Martin Lehnert Prize from the German Shakespeare Society. It explores the interplay between politics, memory, and theatre. After completing her PhD in 2015, she spent several years teaching and conducting research in the UK (Queen Mary University of London) and Germany (University of Cologne and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich). From August 2020 to August 2026, she was an Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies, specialising in contemporary theatre, at the University of Bern. In December 2025, she completed her habilitation with a thesis on institutionalisation processes within the independent theatre scene in contemporary Swiss theatre, and was appointed associate professor in 2026. Alongside her academic work, she has been actively involved in theatre as a dramaturg and project manager.
Her research interests include contemporary theatre and performance art, institutional change and criticism in the contemporary arts, theatre historiography, cultural policy and economics, and theatre production in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as well as Shakespeare.
