Richard J. Hand

Richard J. Hand is Professor of Media Practice and Director of Drama at the University of East Anglia (UK). He is the author of numerous studies of popular horror culture, including two books on horror radio drama and is the co-author (with Michael Wilson) of three books on Grand-Guignol horror theatre. He has written and directed numerous radio and stage plays, including commissioned works for the Science Fiction Theatre Festival; the Frankenstein Bicentenary in Edinburgh; Abertoir Horror Festival; and (with Geraint D’Arcy) a recreation of the Victorian stage illusion ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ in the original venue in London where the illusion was first presented in 1862.

For several years, he produced the annual public Halloween performance for Cardiff City Council in Wales. He is the artistic advisor for Molotov Theatre Group, and his media appearances include Heston Blumenthal’s Great British Food and the special edition DVD of Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd. Richard is the lead scriptwriter for the US-based National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air, a podcast drama series which has won several awards, including, most recently, two Gold Awards at the 2021 Hear Now Festival.

In 2020, the entire repertoire of the series was acquired by the Library of Congress for preservation in recognition of ‘its cultural and historical importance’.