Staff Profile

I am a playwright and theatre-maker originally from Teesside.

My solo work, which has won several awards and toured extensively, both in the UK and internationally, includes The Price of Everything, Going Viral, Instructions for Border Crossing and most recently Imaginary Friends. These plays were recently published in a collection by Type Two Press. This work has been commissioned and produced by theatres including Northern Stage, ARC, HOME Manchester, Oxford Playhouse, Leeds Playhouse, FUEL and many more.

I have also written many adaptations for young and family audiences, including Robin Hood (The Egg, Bath), Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz and Sleeping Beauty (all the Dukes, Lancaster). Original work for young people includes Error 404 (Polka Theatre) and So Unfair! (One Tenth Human).

As a director I have worked for Red Ladder, Leeds Playhouse, Theatre by the Lake and the Dukes, Lancaster, among many others.

I have previously taught playwriting at the Universities of Lancaster and Manchester, and have taught other academic and practical modules across theatre and English studies at Leeds, York, Northampton and Bedfordshire.

My PhD research into the use of clowning techniques in the work of Bertolt Brecht was completed at the University of Leeds (where I also took my BA and MA degrees).

For fun I run up hills.

I teach on the third year Theatre Script module and the MA masterclass, as well as contributing to team-taught modules.