My research focuses on the conventions, theories and histories of Gothic performance, though I am particularly interested in contemporary drama and theatre. My doctoral thesis examines the politicality of Gothic drama in the twenty-first century. I examine Gothic stage spectacles and more intimate ghost plays alongside the dramas of emerging and established playwrights (including Caryl Churchill, Mike Bartlett, debbie tucker green, Stef Smith, Dennis Kelly, Jasmine Lee-Jones and Martin McDonagh, among others); and the work of theatre companies such as Imitating The Dog, DARKFIELD and Proper Job Theatre Co.

Drawing from MaryBeth Inverso’s early critical study of The Gothic Impulse in Contemporary Drama (1990), I use Sarah Grochala’s recent study of contemoprary political playwriting structures (what she calls ‘liquid dramaturgies’) to propose a new theoretical framework for the analysis of post-millennial Gothic theatre. Using four critical lenses (Ecogothic, Queer Gothic, Post/Feminist Gothic, and Postcolonial Gothic), I argue that the forms, ideologies and effects of Gothic drama have more in common with current models of political dramaturgy than is presently recognised.

My broader research interests include queer theory/drama, ecocriticism and ecocdramaturgy, contemporary playwriting and popular theatre.