Bio

I am a design historian, author, and artist based in Birmingham, England.

My academic career began at the University of Warwick, where I completed a degree in Theatre and Performance Studies and discovered my passion for research. I pursued my MA and PhD in Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. My research interests have always centred on Shakespeare in performance, broadening in recent years to include costume design, dress history, material culture, and musical theatre. I am currently a Teaching Fellow in Early Modern English at the University of Birmingham.

I share my fascination with design by collaborating with arts and heritage organisations, and by creating edible art inspired by historical textiles, objects, and costumes. I have worked with the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Dash Arts on various projects relating to Shakespeare and theatre history. I speak about my research regularly: in addition to radio interviews and YouTube videos, I give public talks and lectures on a range of subjects.

Between October and December 2021, I was Artist in Residence at Jane Austen’s House. You can find out more about the Jane Austen’s House Creatives in Residence programme here.

My book, Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume: ‘Period Dress’ in Twenty-First-Century Performance, was published by Bloomsbury in June 2022. It is available here.

Top-left photograph by Rebecca Knowles.