Personal statement

Laura Gates (previously Laura Purcell-Gates) is Reader in Theatre and Performance and Research Lead for Performance at Bath Spa University. Her research and innovative pedagogical practices focus on puppetry and material performance, with particular attention to agency, the uncanny and human-technology interaction.

She brings expertise in participatory research methods, multi-stakeholder collaboration and pedagogical design to her current work on a feedback and impact platform integrating AI to explore ethical approaches to technology-assisted participant feedback and meaningful engagement. The project was awarded UKRI Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding and selected for SpinOutWest and Innovation Discovery 2025. It forms part of her broader research project, Objects Without Borders, which investigates how object performance fosters connection across social, political and cultural boundaries, in collaboration with partners in the UK, Jordan and the Czech Republic.

Her previous practice-based research includes work on puppetry, disability and the medical humanities, most notably the puppet opera The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak (The Wellcome Trust/Arts Council England). This led to her impact case study on using puppetry to enhance empathy and patient-centred approaches for medical and support professionals, which was recognised by REF2021 for world-leading impact.

Her writing appears in Research in Drama Education, Journal of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training and several edited collections. She is co-editor of a collection on puppetry and material performance through Routledge, and of special issues on applied puppetry of Applied Theatre Research and Journal of Applied Arts and Health.
She holds a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, served on the Peer Review College of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) from 2017–21, and was a steering group member of the AHRC international research network Objects with Objectives: Applied Theatre and Puppetry.
For a full list of publications and professional activities, see her ORCID profile.

Note: Publications through early 2025 are under the name Laura Purcell-Gates

Academic qualifications

  • PhD University of Minnesota
  • MTS Harvard University
  • BA Vassar College.

Professional qualifications

  • Fellowship of Higher Education Academy
  • Certificate of Professional Learning in Higher Education, Bath Spa University.

Professional memberships

  • Peer Review College, Arts and Humanities Research Council (2017-21)
  • Performance Studies International
  • International Federation for Theatre Research
  • Theatre and Performance Research Association
  • American Society for Theatre Research
  • Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

Teaching specialism

  • Puppetry and object theatre, theatre and performance theory and analysis, performance making.

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce