Dr Veronica Isaac

Biography

Dr Veronica Isaac specialises in the history of dress and theatre costume. Her research highlights the importance of working with surviving costumes, examining them closely and unpicking the memories and meanings they carry in their fibres.

A freelance curator, lecturer and writer, she spent a decade working in the Department of Theatre and Performance, Victoria and Albert Museum and her PhD focused on the actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928). From 2018-2023 she acted as Book Reviews Editor for Studies in Costume and Performance and recently contributed chapters to Performance Costumes: New Perspectives (2020) and, Scenography and Art History: Performance Design and Visual Culture (2021).

She is committed to promoting a new appreciation of the ‘cultural value’ of costume for performance and to documenting, sharing and preserving the stories of their creators and is currently working with Dr Jade Halbert, University of Leeds on "Constructing Costume Histories: Illuminating the Value and Heritage of Making Costume in Britain" – a research project that establishes the central role of costume making and costume makers in the long and vibrant history of British performance.