Richard Fotheringham was born in Roma, Queensland, on 18 February 1947. He received his tertiary education at the University of Queensland, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (1971), a Master of Arts (1975) and a PhD (1987). He is an adaptor, author, director, editor, playwright and academic. Fotheringham founded the Popular Theatre Troupe in 1974, wrote and acted for the Queensland Theatre Company and has served as Head of the School of English, Art History and Media Studies at the University of Queensland and was Executive Dean of Arts prior to his retirement in 2011. On 20 November 2004 he was elected to Fellow of the Australia Academy of the Humanities. In 2019 he was a recipient of the Order of Australia. He is Emeritus Professor at the School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland.

The Popular Theatre Troupe formed in 1974 during the Queensland Festival of the Arts. Albert Hunt, a significant figure in England's alternative theatre scene, was brought from Bradford College of Art to Brisbane by the University of Queensland's Department of English to coach the troupe. By 1975, it had evolved into a professional theatre company, performing at various venues around Brisbane, including The Music Box on Dornoch Terrace in West End, the Cement Box Theatre at the University of Queensland, and Mt Nebo Hall. In 1978 the troupe found a permanent home in the Red Hill Community Arts Centre, formerly the St Barnabas Church Hall, at 60 Waterworks Road in Red Hill.

During its nearly ten-year existence, the Popular Theatre Troupe toured Australia with 25 original shows, organised ten large community events, and spearheaded numerous community arts projects. It positioned itself as a vanguard theatre of ideas, targeting conservative government, the corporate sector and the military establishment. The troupe received funding from the Community Arts and Theatre Boards of the Australia Council. The Troupe disbanded in 1983 due to lack of funding.

Members of the troupe include Richard Fotheringham, Roslyn Atkinson, Duncan Campbell, Nick Hughes, Margaret Moore, Kathryn Porrill and Paul Richards.