Izabella Nantsou

(MENAFN- The Conversation)

• Academic in Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Sydney

Profile Articles

Izabella Nantsou (she/her) is an early career researcher based on Gadigal and Bidjigal Country in Sydney, Australia. Born into a family of storytellers-her father a playwright, mother a poet, and grandparents political refugees-Izabella grew up surrounded by epic tales, performance, and passionate debates around the dinner table. That foundation has shaped her research, which explores how funding, policy, and politics shape creative labour and practice. She holds a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Sydney, where her doctoral thesis,“The Subsidy Question: Community Theatre and the Integral State” (2025), traced the historical development of Australian cultural subsidy alongside broader changes in the nation's economic, political, and industrial domains. Her current research focuses the role of key institutions that have historically influenced the industrial organisation of the Australian arts sector, with a particular interest in the Australia Council (Creative Australia) and Actors Equity of Australia.

Experience

• –present Academic in Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Sydney

Education

• 2025 University of Sydney, Doctor of Philosophy
• 2017 University of Sydney, Bachelor of Arts (Honours Class I and University Medal)

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