M. David Wesley

David Wesley teaches courses on drama, theatre and performance particularly Shakespeare, Modern European Drama, and Classical Literature. He specializes in theatre and performance, particularly training students in theatrical skills and directing plays for the Department and the College. He conducts theatre workshops across colleges in Tamil Nadu and researches on Performance Studies. He has done a research project on the history of theatre in Madras Christian College. His research centres around theatre and performance and has also published on cricket studies.

He uses theatre as a pedagogical tool to teach literature, language, and life skills. In particular, his theatre focuses on adapting literary works for the stage thereby training students in reading, interpreting, and performing literature. His application of theatre in the classroom helps in enhancing the communication and leadership skills of the students.

Shakespeare, European Classics, Theatre and Performance, American Literature, Critical Theory, Literary Criticism, and Academic Writing & Research Methodology

1. Re-conquering Space: Peter Handke’s Offending the Audience as a Critique of Western Theatre” in De-familiarizing Identities in Post-colonial Literatures published by Department of English, Madras Christian College with ISBN978-81-910993-2-4.
2. “Of Hamlet and Tendulkar” published in July 2015 by Himalayan Journal of Research Vol. 4 No.1 with ISSN 2319-3174, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.
3. “Teaching Waiting for Godot” published in Methods and Materials for Teaching English Language and Literature in March 2015 with ISBN 978-93-5212-059-8 by Hindu College, Pattabiram, Chennai.
4. “Curtain Call and Theatre Eyrie: The Process of Adaptation in Theatre” published in “Journal of Dravidic Studies” by Puducherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture in July 2018 with ISSN 0971-0957.
5. “Shakespeare Outside Selaiyur Hall: Rehearsal Space and Its Contents” published in a bilingual journal “Panuval”, Vol. 09, No.2, in July 2019 with ISSN 0975-573X.
6. “Centering the Region: Badal Sircar’s Procession from Text to Template” published in Sahrdaya Rendezvous: Journal of Interfaces in Arts and Culture, Vol. III, Number 1, January 2020.
7. “Narrating Research, Writing Performance” published in Journal of Oriental Institute, ISSN: 0030 – 5324, UGC – CARE LIST No.135, Vol. 71, Issue 2, No.1, Apr-Jun 2022, pp 17-20.
8. “He Stoops to Dissent: Vadivelu and his Comic Body” published in Education and Society, ISSN: 2278-6864, IF=6.718, Vol.47, Issue 2, No.12, Apr-June 2023, UGC CARE APPROVED, Group I, pp 153-160.

1. Won Best Direction for Pootu in Dr. M. G. R. University, Chennai in March 2015.
2. Won Best Play prize for Pori – The Trap in Dr. M. G. R. University, Chennai in April 2016.
3. Appreciation from Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu for translating a Hindi poem into Tamil in the “National Symposium of Poets” conducted by All India Radio at Kalaivanar Arangam on 10.01.2019

1. Presented “Re-conquering Space: Peter Handke’s Offending the Audience as a Critique of Western Theatre” in the International Conference in Madras Christian College held in July 2013.
2. “Of Hamlet and Tendulkar” presented at the Chennai Literary Festival in Jan 2014.
3. “Teaching Waiting for Godot” presented and published in Feb 2015 by Hindu College, Pattabiram, Chennai.
4. Presented “Place of Cricket Discourse in Cultural Studies” on 22.02.2016 in the Department of Tamil, Presidency College, Chennai.
5. Presented a paper titled “Shakespeare Outside Selaiyur Hall: Rehearsal Space and Its Contents” in a National Conference on Contemporary Shakespeare: Culture, Language, and Politics conducted in the University of Kerala on 06 and 07 Sep 2016.
6. Presented “Animal Farm and the Classroom” on 30.08.2017 in the Department of Tamil, Presidency College, Chennai.
7. Presented “Curtain Call and Theatre Eyrie: The Process of Adaptation in Theatre” in the National Seminar on Theatre as Adaptation in the University of Calicut on Dec 5 & 6, 2017.
8. Presented “Centering the Region: Badal Sircar’s Procession from Text to Template” in the National Seminar on “Re-Visioning the Nation: Histories, Literature, and Media” on 01.08.2018 at MGR-Janaki College of Arts and Sciences for Women”.
9. Presented “Antigone and the Modern Stage” in the National Seminar on “Portrayal of Women in Modern Literature” conducted by Department of Languages, Madras Christian College on March 8, 2019.
10. Presented in-absentia “All the Nation’s a Stage: Of Mareechans and Antigones, Creons and Ravanas” in the International Conference on “Performing Nationhood: Memory and Desire in Contemporary Literature” on 8-9 Feb, 2019 in Behrampur University, Odisha.
11. Presented “Conceiving Death as Performance in Modern European Drama” in Panuval Research Scholars’ Meet held online in June 2020.
12. Presented a paper titled “From the Boundary: Caribbean Cricket Poems” on March 20, 2021 in the Panuval Monthly Seminar, an interdisciplinary research forum.

Theatre Workshops

1. Conducted Theatre Workshop on “Basics of Performing” in Dr. M. G. R. University in 05.08.2015.
2. Conducted Workshop and Lecture on “Theatre and Performance” in Patrician College, Adyar on 16.09.2015.
3. Conducted two-day Theatre Workshop for street plays in Dr. M.G.R University on 23 & 24.08.2016.
4. Conducted workshop on “Stage Performance and Film Studies” on 02.09.2016 in Soka Ikeda College for Women, Chennai.
5. Conducted Theatre Workshop in Krishnaswamy College for Women, Anna Nagar, on 04.08.2017.
6. Conducted One-Day Workshop on the nuances of Street Play in Dr. M.G.R. University, Maduravoyal on 26.08.2017.
7. Conducted One-Day Theatre Workshop in Women’s Christian College, Chennai on 11.09.2017.
8. Conducted three-day workshop for residents of Martin Hall, Madras Christian College, in connection with “Auris Vesta” on 05.10.2017, 06.10.2017, and 09.10.2017.
9. Conducted a session in “Theaterrific”, workshop on ELT through Theatre in the Three-Day Workshop held in Madras Christian College on Nov 21,22 and 23, 2017.
10. Organized and conducted TheatrEyrie – a two-day Theatre Workshop for students of MCC and other colleges on 18 & 19 January, 2018.
11. Conducted a session on “Literary Research Paper Writing” at Professor Academy, Kodambakkam, on 29.04.2018.
12. Conducted a Theatre Workshop at S.S.S. Jain College, T. Nagar on 07.08.2018.
13. Conducted “Limelight”, a Theatre Workshop at Mar Gregorios College, Mogappair on 09.08.2018.
14. Conducted “Theatre and Communication” workshop in the Two-day National Level Workshop in SRNM College, Sattur, Viridhunagar on 04.10.2018 and 05.10.2018.
15. Organized and conducted Green Room 2019 – Two-day Theatre Workshop in Madras Christian College for students of MCC and outside colleges on 21.01.2019 and 22.01.2019.
16. Trained students of Martin Hall and Bishop Heber Hall in street plays for College Auditions 2019. Both teams won first prize.
17. Conducted a workshop on Theatre for students at D.G. Vaishnav College on 16.02.2019.
18. Conducted “Research Writing Workshop” for the faculty of the Department of English in S.S.S. Jain College for Women on 24.08.2019.
19. Conducted Workshop on “Dramatic Skills” for students of B.A. English in Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Adayalampattu, Chennai on 03.09.2019.
20. Conducted a week-long workshop for the students of the Department of English, Loyola College in the first week of Feb, 2020. As an outcome, the students performed a play on 12.02.2020.
21. Conducted a three-day online workshop on “Dramatic Reading – Reading Poetry, Reading Short Story, Reading Play” on 17, 24, & 31 October, 2020 for S.S.S. Jain College for Women.
22. Conducted a Theatre Workshop titled “Introduction to Play in/and Life” on October 29, 2021 in Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun Jain College for Women.
23. Trained students of Barnes Hall and Martin Hall in Street Play for the College Auditions held on December 21, 2021. Both teams won first and second place respectively.
24. Conducted a 5-day workshop between 17 March, 2022 and 25 March, 2022 for the students of Department of English, Loyola College. As an outcome, the students also performed a play on 25 March, 2022.
25. Conducted a workshop for the students of the Department of English, D.G. Vaishnava College and trained them to enact a scene (seven deadly sins) from Dr Faustus on 22 March, 2022.
26. Conducted a theatre workshop for the NSS students of Madras Christian College who were camped in Little Drops Old age Home, Somangalam on 24 March, 2022.
27. Conducted a Theatre Workshop for residents of Martin Hall on 01.04.2022.
28. Conducted a Theatre Workshop on “The Art of Acting” in IFIM College, Bengaluru on September 24, 2022.
29. Conducted a Theatre Workshop in Crescent Institute of Science and Technology on November 16, 2022.
30. Conducted a Theatre Workshop on “Relevance of Applied Theatre” in REVA University, Bengaluru, on December 19, 2022.
31. Conducted “Words to Voice: Workshop on Dramatic Reading” in Govt. Arts and Science College, Perumbakkam as part of Chennai Literary Festival on Dec 19, 2022.
32. Conducted a Workshop in the Faculty Development Programme on “English through Theatre” organized by the Department of English, Madras Christian College on Feb 7, 2023.
33. Conducted a two-day Theatre Workshop on “Engaging Text with Body” on February 27 & 28, 2023 in the Department of English (SFS), Ethiraj College, Chennai.
34. Conducted a Theatre Workshop on Rudiments of Play Production in the Department of English, DRBCCC Hindu College on March 10, 2023.
35. Conducted a workshop on Drama for the students of A.M. Jain College on 08.08.2023. TheatrEyrie, the theatre wing of the Department of English, also performed a portion from “Procession” and “Antigone” as part of the workshop.
36. Two-day Workshop in Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bengaluru in 2024 on March 26 & 27, 2024.
37. Conducted a one-day Theatre Workshop for the students of Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan as part of the Study Abroad Programme on 28.08.2024 in International Guest House, Madras Christian College.
38. Conducted a theatre workshop for the students of S.A. College of Arts and Science on 24.09.2024.
39. Conducted a one-day theatre workshop for the students of the Department of Communication, Madras Christian College on 25.09.2024.
40. Resource person at the Workshop on “Writing Research Papers” on 18 and 19 Sep 2024 in the Department of English, Queen Mary’s College.
41. Conducted a two-day Theatre Workshop on “Speaking Scenes” in SRM Ramapuram on 7 & 8 Jan 2025.
42. Conducted a script writing workshop on 09.01.2025 in Kristu Jayanthi College, Bengaluru.
43. Delivered a lecture and conducted a workshop in St. Albert’s College, Ernakulam, Kerala on 29.01.2025.
44. Conducted a two-day Theatre Workshop on 21 & 22 Feb, 2025 in Hindustan Institute of Technology, Chennai.

Lectures

1. Lecture on “Cricket and Post-colonialism” in the Refresher Course conducted by the Department of English, University of Madras in Sep 2014.
2. Delivered a lecture “Weighing and Considering: Reading Practice and Review Writing” on 24.01.2017 at Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Chennai.
3. Lecture delivered on “English for Careers” in the Department of English, A. M. Jain College, Meenambakkam, on 06.03.2018.
4. Lecture delivered on “Career Options” in Zee School, Bengaluru, on 05.04.2018.
5. Lecture “Who Tells Whose Story” on Women’s writing with reference to Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild – A Journey from Lost to Found in Loyola College, Chennai on 12.10.2018.
6. Lecture on “Soft Skills Through Theatre” in One-day National Seminar on “Imparting Communication and Soft Skills” in AMET University, Chennai on 29.10.2018.
7. Lecture on “Excerpts from Shakespeare” in S.S.S. Jain College for Women on 13.12.2018
8. Lecture delivered on “Victorian Novels and Drama” in the Department of English, S.S.S. Jain College for Women on 19.02.2019.
9. Lecture titled “The Three Walls of Theatre” delivered in the Association Valediction of the Department of English, Queen Mary’s College, on 22.02.2019.
10. Lecture delivered on “Literature, Theatre, and Cricket” organized by the Department of English, Loyola College, Chennai, on 16.07.2019.
11. Lecture titled “In the World of Words: An Ode to Wordsworth Club” in Department of English, Patrician College, Adyar, on 19.08.2019.
12. Delivered a lecture “English Through Theatre” in the Faculty Development Programme (FDP) conducted by the Department of English, S.R.M. Institute of Sciences and Technology on 20.08.2019.
13. Delivered a lecture “F(r)iction in Communication” – an online discourse in Patrician College, Chennai on 16.05.2020.
14. Delivered a lecture “Theatre and Communication – Theatre: A Faculty Development Programme” in the FDP organized by Department of English and French at Loyola College, Chennai on 20.05.2020.
15. Delivered a lecture “The Parable of a Classroom” in the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Madras Christian College on 10.06.2021.
16. Delivered Keynote Address in the two-day National Webinar on Research, Literature, and Film held on February 27 & 28, 2021 conducted by Sri Ramasamy Naidu Memorial College, Sattur. The title of the lecture was “The ‘Subject’ of Research in Literary and Cultural Studies”.
17. Delivered a lecture titled “From Reading Group to Group Reading: The Benefits of Reading Together” in Saveetha College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on September 13, 2021.
18. Delivered a lecture titled “What’s in a Name?: Titling Research Works in Literary and Cultural Studies” in St. Joseph’s College for Women, Tirupur on October 27, 2021 in the National Webinar Series on Research and Methodological Practices.
19. Delivered a lecture titled “The Universal and the Particular: Vijay Tendulkar and Indian English Drama” in V.V.Vanniaperumal College for Women, Virudhunagar on October 6, 2021 as part of the Inauguration of the UG English Literary Association.
20. Delivered a lecture titled “Performance Studies Today” on September 11, 2021 in the Refresher Course conducted by UGC- Human Resource Development Centre, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli.
21. Delivered a lecture titled “Performing Region/s: Performative Turn as Regional Turn?” on September 27, 2021 in the Refresher Course conducted by the Department of English, University of Madras.
22. Handled 4 sessions on “Verbs/Adverbs” and 8 sessions on “LSRW through Theatre” for Airmen in the 4-day Faculty Development Workshop organized by Airmen Training School, Belagavi on 7,8,9, & 10 March, 2022.
23. Delivered a lecture on “Theatre as Pedagogy” at Loyola College on 25 March, 2022.
24. Delivered a lecture on “Performing Canadian Drama in India” at the Centre for Canadian Studies, Department of English, Bharathidasan University, Trichy, on 29 March, 2022.
25. Delivered a lecture on “Life Skills through Theatre” on 27 April, 2022 organized by Department of English (Shift II), D.G. Vaishnava College.
26. Delivered a lecture on “Facets of Theatre” during the Inaugural of “Theatro”, the Theatre Club of the Department of English, Shri Krishnaswamy College for Women on 29.04.2022.
27. Delivered a lecture on “Life Skills through Theatre” in the Department of English, Thirthangal Nadar College, on 05.05.2022.
28. Delivered a lecture “Performing Rehearsals in MCC before and after Pandemic” in the Refresher Course conducted by the Department of English, Bharathidasan University, Trichy, on 12.05.2022.
29. Delivered the keynote address titled “Theatre in the Classroom” in the International Hybrid Conference on “Applied Theatre” conducted by the Research Department of English, SRNM College, Sattur, on 21.05.2022.
30. Delivered a lecture on “400 years of Shakespeare’s life, art, and its relevance today” in the Department of English (Shift II), Loyola College, on August 25, 2022.
31. Delivered the Expert Lecture on “Theatre as a Pedagogical Tool” in Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru on September 26, 2022.
32. Member of a panel discussion on the performance of Inquilab’s Avvai directed by Mangai at Stella Maris College, on 02.02.2023.
33. Delivered a lecture on “Theatre in Life/Life in Theatre” in the Inauguration of the English Literary Association in the Department of English, Pachaiyappa’s College, Chennai on March 17, 2023.
34. Delivered a lecture on “Theatre in the Classroom” in the Refresher Course on English conducted by the Department of English, University of Madras on 23.15.2023.
35. Delivered a lecture on “Performing the English Classroom” in the FDP on “Pedagogical Paradigms: Navigating Innovation in Education” in VIT Chennai, on 09.01.2024.
36. Delivered a lecture on “The Fundamentals of Theatre” in SDNB College on 30.01.2024.
37. Delivered a lecture titled “Embodying Texts: Understanding Performance through Cricket and Literature” in Research and Cultural Forum, Department of English, Pondicherry University, on 21.03.2024.
38. Delivered a lecture on “Writing a Research Article: Structure and Literary Nuances” in MCC Research Colloquium on 24.04.2024.
39. Delivered a lecture on “Elements of Scripting: Historical Narratives and Creative Imagination” in MCC Research Colloquium on 29.04.2024.
40. Lecture titled “Role and Relevance of Theatre in New Media and Populism” in the International Conference on Recent Trends in Multidisciplinary Research in Science and Humanities conducted by Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research on 22 May, 2024.
41. Lecture on “Theatrical adaptation of Thamizhachi Thangapandian’s “Muttu Veedu”: An Insider’s View” in Bharathidasan University, in the Refresher Course on June 13, 2024.
42. Alumni Talk in the Department of English, Loyola College on July 1, 2024.
43. Delivered an online lecture titled “Unlock Your Voice: Become a Powerful Speaker” on Dec 3, 2024 in Global School of Yogic Lifestyle.
44. Delivered an online lecture on “Speaking Skills” on May 2, 2025 in Global School of Yogic Lifestyle.

1. Associate Coordinator, Social Ethics (Value Education I)
2. Associate Editor, Eclectic Representation, Research Journal of the Department of English (2022)
3. Staff Advisor, Department Prayer Fellowship
4. Convenor, Macphail’s Theatre Club
5. Staff-in-charge, Theatre No.59
6. Staff-in-charge, TheatrEyrie, Theatre Wing, Department of English
7. IQAC Department Nodal Officer (2018-19)
8. Department Nodal Officer, Online Exams Nov 2020