In the Vox podcast In a Nutshell, hosts Jara Majerus and Antonia Leise take a deep dive into the university's most interesting, strange, and exciting research. Every two weeks, they invite Radboud researchers to talk about their favourite topics – explained in bite-sized episodes. In today's episode, Antonia continues her exploration of how theatre brings political topics on stage.

How was the AIDS epidemic translated into theatre plays? Why is the way we talk about illness important? And what does Susan Sontag have to do with all of that?

In this episode of In a Nutshell, Antonia and guest Dirk Visser take a look at the way theatre can – and has – tackled heavy topics like AIDS. And why it matters how a story is being told.

Dirk Visser has conducted his PhD at the Faculty of Arts research investigates the theatrical response to the AIDS crisis in Britain and America, focusing particularly on those plays that did not enter the canon of English or American drama. His intend is thereby to restore those plays as part within the cultural memory of the AIDS epidemic.

This episode is part of a two-part series on politics and theatre. Also tune in for the first episode, which explores the topic of political theatre in general.