Dr
Kerrie Reading
- Lecturer in Drama
- Email: k.reading2@bathspa.ac.uk
- School: Bath School of Music and Performing Arts
- Department: Drama
- Campus: Newton Park
- Office: CPG. 19
- Website:

Personal statement
Kerrie joined the department in 2022, having previously worked at the Cardiff Met University, University of Worcester, Salford, Aberystwyth and Gloucestershire. She has been a freelance theatre practitioner for over ten years, working across the fields of contemporary performance making, performance with young people and creativity within education. Her solo work is concerned with creating performances from archival documents and her work, that is led by young people, explores and interacts with different spaces and modes of performance.
Kerrie has a practice-based PhD from Aberystwyth University (2016) investigating how past approaches to making alternative performance can be considered today, with a focus on the venue and the archive of Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. She holds an MPhil in Performance (2013) from the University of Birmingham and a Degree (2007, MDrama) in Contemporary Performance Practice from the University of Kent.
Kerrie has performed and exhibited performance work within the UK in various sites including forests, trains, factories and theatres. Between 2007 and 2012 she was an associate performer with theatre makers Stan's Cafe, touring internationally to festivals and venues. Kerrie has devised new performance works with Talking Birds, Cyrff Ystwyth and Ali Matthews.
Academic qualifications
- PhD
- MPhil
- MDrama
Professional Memberships
Fellow of Advance HE
Areas of expertise
- Acting and directing
- Community theatre
- Applied theatre
- Oral histories and archives
Research and academic outputs
Chapter Arts Centre in the 1970s: a radical shift for theatre
book_section
Reading, K (2023) 'Chapter Arts Centre in the 1970s: a radical shift for theatre.' In: Hindson, C, Cochrane, C, Reid, T and Goddard, L, eds. The Routledge companion to twentieth century British theatre. Routledge, Abingdon. (Forthcoming)
A performatic archive
book_section
Reading, K (2016) 'A performatic archive.' In: Reason, M and Molle Lindelof, A, eds. Experiencing liveness in contemporary performance: interdisciplinary perspectives. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 143-148. ISBN 9781138961593
Navigating new approaches for grassroot community theatre in a (post-) Covid world
article
Reading, K (2021) 'Navigating new approaches for grassroot community theatre in a (post-) Covid world.' Alicante Journal of English Studies / Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, 35. pp. 163-180. ISSN 0214-4808
Absence in/of the body: theatre praxis and embodied knowledge
conference_item
Reading, K (2021) Absence in/of the body: theatre praxis and embodied knowledge. In: TaPRA Conference, 6 - 10 September 2021, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK [online].
Re-placing the archive: a performative paper
conference_item
Reading, K (2015) Re-placing the archive: a performative paper. In: Performing Place 3 Symposium, 19 - 20 June 2015, University of Chichester, UK.
Emerging from the past: insights from re-constituted materials
conference_item
Reading, K (2014) Emerging from the past: insights from re-constituted materials. In: STR New Researchers' Network Inaugural Symposium: "Emergence", 20 May 2014, The Theatres Trust, London, UK.
Turning the key: unlocking the potential of the archive
conference_item
Reading, K (2014) Turning the key: unlocking the potential of the archive . In: TaPRA Postgraduate Conference, 2014, Manchester, UK.
The lasting efficacy of performance in public spaces, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
conference_item
Reading, K (2013) The lasting efficacy of performance in public spaces, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. In: FIRT/IFTR Conference: Re-Routing Performance, 22 - 26 July 2013, Institut del Teatre, Barcelona, Spain.
The tyranny of participation?
conference_item
Reading, K (2012) The tyranny of participation? In: TaPRA Conference, 5 - 7 September 2012, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Understanding the contemporary value of past methods of producing theatre: toward a tripartite approach to venue-performance-document
thesis
Reading, K (2017) Understanding the contemporary value of past methods of producing theatre: toward a tripartite approach to venue-performance-document. PhD thesis, Aberystywth University.
The guided tour in the under-celebrated urban space
thesis
Reading, K (2013) The guided tour in the under-celebrated urban space. M.Phil thesis, University of Birmingham.
Whispers, echoes and tall tales
performance
Reading, K (2015) Whispers, echoes and tall tales. Aberystwyth University, UK, June 2015.
Turning the spotlight on the people
performance
Reading, K (2014) Turning the spotlight on the people. Camden People's Theatre, London, UK, 18 - 19 September 2014.
Playing (at) Woyzeck
performance
Reading, K (2013) Playing (at) Woyzeck. Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, UK, 2013.