Mark O’Thomas is Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Professor of Theatre and Performance at the University of Greenwich. He formerly held chairs at Newcastle University and the University of Lincoln. He has worked as a playwright, translator and dramaturg for theatres including Soho Theatre, The Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre in London, and has adapted a number of novels for the stage where his credits include Jorge Amado’s Dona Flor and her Two Husbands and Fernando Pessoa’s Book of Disquiet. His translation of Tiago Rodrigues’ Sadness and Joy in the Life Of Giraffes opens at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, in August.