A key aspect of my academic career is as a theatre historian with an interest in social and economic inequality, manifest in monographs including Hegemony and Fantasy in Irish Drama (Palgrave, 2008), and Theatre and Class (Bloomsbury, 2024). Current projects include a monograph charting the evolution of class as performance on stage and in society in the British context over the last two centuries, and the authorised biography of playwright Brian Friel.

I have built upon an established record of traditional, solo-authored research on dramatic art by engaging in what one would broadly describe as applied drama and more socially engaged and impact-oriented research activities leading to ground-breaking, interdisciplinary scholarship in two main areas:

simulation-based education for healthcare and social care resulting in multi-authored articles in leading journals including Advances in Simulation, Medical Education and Social Work Education;

arts-based interventions for good health and well-being typified in the Heritage Fund supported project Friel Reimagined which involved engaging socially and economically challenged communities with cultural heritage.

I have a strong commitment to academic research that leads to outcomes that can serve as a catalyst to help people embrace their own creativity and enhance their health and well-being.

I served as a Specialist Adviser for arts and health research to REF 2021 Sub-panel 33.