I am Professor of Performance Studies at the University of South Wales, where I am Co-Director of the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling and Co-Chair of the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Research Network Wales.  My work focuses on how the arts can help to understand and amplify little heard personal stories from people whose voices may have been marginalised or overlooked, and on the difference that hearing these experiences can make in policy, practice, and daily life for both teller and listener. I have a particular interest in stories of the maternal, gender based violence, disability, gender, health/illness, and heritage. 

My research focuses on contemporary feminist performance, autobiographical performance, and first person narratives in a variety of contexts including performance and the maternal and storytelling in health. I aim to contribute towards the greater understanding of how women both represent themselves and are represented in contemporary culture, with an aspiration to impact on both the social and material conditions of women.  My research is conducted through, and concerned with, contemporary performance practice. 

I am Professor of Performance Studies at the University of South Wales, where I co-lead the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling and co-chair the VAWDASV Research Network for Wales. Recent externally funded research projects include: 'Torfaen Health Determinants Research Unit' (National Institute for Health Research), ‘Performance and the Maternal’ (AHRC), ‘Fireside Science’ (Wellcome Trust), and ‘Bawso Oral Stories’ (National Lottery Heritage Fund). I co-convene the biannual ‘Storytelling for Health’ international conference and sit on the steering group of the 'WISERD Wellbeing Network'.

I welcome applications for PhDs in the area of the arts, story, and contemporary performance in enabling people, particularly women and people of minority genders, to share their experience and/or what happens when we listen to these stories. I have specific expertise in stories within health and social care, gender based violence, heritage, social justice, and the maternal.

I have published widely in peer-reviewed journals and academic books.  My most recent publications include the co-authored book  Maternal Performance: Feminist Relations (Palgrave 2021) and the edited collection Mothering Performance: Maternal Action (Routledge 2022) (both with Dr Lena Šimić), and two special editions of the peer-reviewed journal Storytelling Self Society ‘Storytelling for Health’ (2019) and 'Storytelling and Aging' (2024). I am an experienced peer-reviewer.

I have led on a number of externally funded research projects and have been awarded a total of over £16 million as either PI or CoI from bodies including UKRI, National Lottery, NIHR, HCRW, Wellcome, and ERDF.