Personal statement

Laura Gates (previously Laura Purcell-Gates) is Reader in Theatre and Performance at Bath Spa University, where she served as Research and REF Lead between 2013–2025. Her research is grounded in puppetry and material performance, with particular attention to agency, presence, the uncanny, and how humans experience non-human systems as intentional and responsive.

Across her work she develops creative methods for impact and for surfacing marginalised voices, earlier through research on non-normative bodies, and currently through how designed experiences shape perception, engagement and meaning in live and technologically mediated contexts.

Her impact research, recognised as 4* World-Leading by REF2021, used performance- and puppetry-based methods to deepen engagement and generate evidence of change in perceptions and practices around non-normative bodies by deconstructing the medical gaze, shifting audience perceptions, and influencing the practices of medical, nursing and arts-based therapeutic professionals. This grew from her practice-based research 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). It led into her wider research programme Objects Without Borders, investigating how object performance fosters connection across social, political and cultural boundaries, with partners in the UK, Jordan and the Czech Republic.

Gates is the creator of Obwob, a research-led platform for live feedback and impact data collection that translates her methodologies for designed impact engagement into digital form. The project has been supported by AHRC Impact Acceleration Account funding (2026–27 and 2024-25), awarded ARC Accelerator (ESRC/AHRC SHAPE Catalyst) funding for 2025–26, and selected for SpinOutWest and Innovation Discovery 2025.

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 Routledge volume on puppetry and material performance, and of special issues on applied puppetry in Applied Theatre Research and Journal of Applied Arts and Health. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, served on the AHRC Peer Review College (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.

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

Race, gender and disability in puppetry and material performance
book

Richards, P, Briar, H, Mello, A and Gates, L, eds. (2025) Race, gender and disability in puppetry and material performance. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781032139517

Notes on a material dramaturgy
book_section

Gates, L (2025) 'Notes on a material dramaturgy.' In: Posner, D.N, Orenstein, C and Mello, A, eds. Making meaning in puppetry: materials, practice, perception. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 32-41. ISBN 9781032458120

Yūrei and puppetry in Japanese ghost stories: (mis)perception and ambiguous bodies in kaidan
book_section

Gates, L (2024) 'Yūrei and puppetry in Japanese ghost stories: (mis)perception and ambiguous bodies in kaidan.' In: Orenstein, C and Cusack, T, eds. Puppet and spirit: ritual, religion, and performing objects. Volume II Contemporary branchings: secular benedictions, activated energies, uncanny faiths. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 155-166. ISBN 9780367713799

Staging corpses: reanimating medical history through puppetry
book_section

Gates, L (2024) 'Staging corpses: reanimating medical history through puppetry.' In: Bouchard, G and Mermikides, A, eds. The Routledge companion to performance and medicine. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 358-367. ISBN 9780367477738

Uncanny affect, performing prosthetics: disability, monstrosity, and the puppet
book_section

Gates, L (2022) 'Uncanny affect, performing prosthetics: disability, monstrosity, and the puppet.' In: Chemers, M and Santana, A, eds. Monsters in performance: essays on the aesthetics of disqualification. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 141-154. ISBN 9780367635411

Spectacular bodies, unsettling objects: material performance as intervention in stereotypes of refugees
book_section

Gates, L (2020) 'Spectacular bodies, unsettling objects: material performance as intervention in stereotypes of refugees.' In: Meerzon, Y, Dean, D and McNeil, D, eds. Migration and stereotypes in performance and culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 39-55. ISBN 9783030399146

The monster and the corpse: puppetry and the uncanniness of gender performance
book_section

Gates, L (2019) 'The monster and the corpse: puppetry and the uncanniness of gender performance.' In: Astles, C, Mello, A and Orenstein, C, eds. Women and puppetry: critical and historical investigations. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 19-34. ISBN 9780415787390

AI thresholds: puppetry, monstrosity and human-machine hybridity
article

Gates, L (2025) 'AI thresholds: puppetry, monstrosity and human-machine hybridity.' Puppetry International, 58. pp. 32-35.

Editorial - Applied puppetry in health
article

Astles, C, Fisher, E, Gates, L and Sextou, P (2020) 'Editorial - Applied puppetry in health.' Journal of Applied Arts and Health, 11 (1 & 2). pp. 3-13. ISSN 2040-2457

Applied puppetry: communities, identities, transgressions
article

Gates, L and Smith, M (2020) 'Applied puppetry: communities, identities, transgressions.' Applied Theatre Research, 8 (1). pp. 3-11. ISSN 2049-3010

Puppetry as reinforcement or rupture of cultural perceptions of the disabled body
article

Gates, L and Fisher, E (2017) 'Puppetry as reinforcement or rupture of cultural perceptions of the disabled body.' Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22 (3). pp. 363-372. ISSN 1470-112X

Puppet bodies: reflections and revisions of marionette movement theories in Philippe Gaulier’s Neutral Mask pedagogy
article

Gates, L (2017) 'Puppet bodies: reflections and revisions of marionette movement theories in Philippe Gaulier’s Neutral Mask pedagogy.' Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 8 (1). pp. 46-60. ISSN 1944-3927

Automata and bêtise: contamination anxieties in late nineteenth-century French mime
article

Gates, L (2017) 'Automata and bêtise: contamination anxieties in late nineteenth-century French mime.' Popular Entertainment Studies, 8 (1). pp. 21-35. ISSN 1837-9303

‘The terrible things I’ve done’: undisciplined subjectivity of the cyborg within intermedial performance practice
article

Gates, L (2016) '‘The terrible things I’ve done’: undisciplined subjectivity of the cyborg within intermedial performance practice.' Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 21 (3). pp. 413-417. ISSN 1470-112X

Locating the self: narratives and practices of authenticity in French clown training
article

Gates, L (2011) 'Locating the self: narratives and practices of authenticity in French clown training.' Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 2 (2). pp. 231-242. ISSN 1944-3927

AI thresholds: puppetry, LLMs and uncanny performance
conference_item

Gates, L (2025) AI thresholds: puppetry, LLMs and uncanny performance. In: Bristol Festival of Tech, Creativity and Culture, 6 - 11 October 2025, Bristol, UK.

From ELIZA to GPT: how the uncanny shaped human-AI interaction’s hidden history
conference_item

Gates, L (2025) From ELIZA to GPT: how the uncanny shaped human-AI interaction’s hidden history. In: PyCon UK, 19 - 22 September 2025, Manchester, UK.

Puppetry, monstrosity and non-normative bodies
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Gates, L (2025) Puppetry, monstrosity and non-normative bodies. In: International Festival of Puppetry and Animated Forms (FIMFA): Puppetry Arts - Memory and Identity Conference Cycle, 8 May - 1 June 2025, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.

Notes on a material dramaturgy
conference_item

Gates, L (2024) Notes on a material dramaturgy. In: Performance Studies International (PSi) #29: Assemble!, 20 - 23 June 2024, London, UK.

Material dramaturgies
conference_item

Gates, L (2022) Material dramaturgies. In: Annual American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference: Catastrophe, 3 - 6 November 2022, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Traces of the impossible: slippage, failure and what remains in puppetry and disability performance
conference_item

Gates, L (2022) Traces of the impossible: slippage, failure and what remains in puppetry and disability performance. In: Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) Conference, 12 – 14 September 2022, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.

The world this body creates: centring disabled bodies through puppetry
conference_item

Gates, L (2022) The world this body creates: centring disabled bodies through puppetry. In: International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) Conference: Shifting Centres (In the Middle of Nowhere), 20 - 24 June 2022, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.

'Objects Without Borders': exploring how objects connect across borders, boundaries and difference
conference_item

Gates, L and Abed, H (2022) 'Objects Without Borders': exploring how objects connect across borders, boundaries and difference. In: Creative Corporealities Research Group Forum, 20 January 2022, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK.

The memories of objects: excavating the past through object performance with refugee artists
conference_item

Gates, L and Abed, H (2021) The memories of objects: excavating the past through object performance with refugee artists. In: Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) Conference, 6 - 10 September 2021, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK.

Pedagogy, disability and object ontologies: COVID-19 and the practice of re-enabling
conference_item

Gates, L (2021) Pedagogy, disability and object ontologies: COVID-19 and the practice of re-enabling. In: International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) Conference: Theatre Ecologies - Environments, Sustainability and Politics, 12 - 16 July 2021, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.

Puppetry and new materialisms: towards a material dramaturgy
conference_item

Gates, L (2020) Puppetry and new materialisms: towards a material dramaturgy. In: Annual American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference: Theatre's Many Publics, 5 - 8 November 2020, online.

Puppetry and material dramaturgies: developing a practice-based analytic
conference_item

Gates, L (2019) Puppetry and material dramaturgies: developing a practice-based analytic. In: Annual American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference: Theatre's Many Publics, 7 - 10 November 2019, Arlington, VA, USA.

Puppetry and medical approaches to non-normative bodies
conference_item

Gates, L (2019) Puppetry and medical approaches to non-normative bodies. In: National Puppetry Festival: Critical Exchange Symposium, 16 - 21 July 2019, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Performing the freak: a dialogue between theatre and history about monstrosity
conference_item

Gates, L (2019) Performing the freak: a dialogue between theatre and history about monstrosity. In: Staging History Symposium, 26 April 2019, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

Mapping fault lines: arts-based interdisciplinary interventions for social change
conference_item

Gates, L (2018) Mapping fault lines: arts-based interdisciplinary interventions for social change. In: Global Academy of Liberal Arts (GALA) Symposium: Creative Research in the Liberal Arts, 25 - 27 July 2018, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada.

Dancing with demons: staging disease through human-puppet hybridity in Duda Paiva’s 'Blind'
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Gates, L (2017) Dancing with demons: staging disease through human-puppet hybridity in Duda Paiva’s 'Blind'. In: Annual American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference: Extra/ordinary Bodies, 16 - 19 November 2017, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Report on AHRC research network 'Objects with Objectives': theoretical and practical intersections between applied theatre and puppetry
conference_item

Gates, L, Grant, D and Smith, M (2017) Report on AHRC research network 'Objects with Objectives': theoretical and practical intersections between applied theatre and puppetry. In: Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) Conference, 30 August – 1 September 2017, University of Salford, Salford, UK.

Theatre and social narratives: facilitating pedagogical interventions into race and representational practices
conference_item

Gates, L (2017) Theatre and social narratives: facilitating pedagogical interventions into race and representational practices. In: Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference: Spectacle - Balancing Education, Theory, and Praxis, 3 - 6 August 2017, Las Vegas, NV, USA.

A body in pieces: Puppets with Guts’ 'Citizen Squid' and the refugee crisis
conference_item

Gates, L (2017) A body in pieces: Puppets with Guts’ 'Citizen Squid' and the refugee crisis. In: Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference: Spectacle - Balancing Education, Theory, and Praxis, 3 - 6 August 2017, Las Vegas, USA.

Medical humanities, disability and applied puppetry
conference_item

Gates, L (2017) Medical humanities, disability and applied puppetry. In: 19th ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts Festival, 16–27 May 2017, Cape Town, South Africa.

Spectacular bodies, unsettling objects: material performance as intervention in stereotypes of refugees
conference_item

Gates, L (2017) Spectacular bodies, unsettling objects: material performance as intervention in stereotypes of refugees. In: Migration/Representation/Stereotypes, 28 - 30 April 2017, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Leaky boundaries: transversing the abject through puppetry performance
conference_item

Gates, L (2016) Leaky boundaries: transversing the abject through puppetry performance. In: Annual American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference: Trans-, 3-6 November 2016, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

What world does this body create? Puppetry as intervention in medical approaches to the disabled body
conference_item

Gates, L (2016) What world does this body create? Puppetry as intervention in medical approaches to the disabled body. In: Annual American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference: Trans-, 3-6 November 2016, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Staging corpses: disrupting progressive historical narrative through puppetry
conference_item

Gates, L (2016) Staging corpses: disrupting progressive historical narrative through puppetry. In: International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) Conference: Presenting the Theatrical Past - Interplays of Artefacts, Discourses and Practices, 13-17 June 2016, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Puppetry and object theatre as intervention with teenage refugees
conference_item

Gates, L (2016) Puppetry and object theatre as intervention with teenage refugees. In: Theatre, Youth, Trauma and Europe in Crisis, 25 June 2016, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK.

The challenge of disciplinary instrumentalism within cross-disciplinary applied theatre research
conference_item

Gates, L (2016) The challenge of disciplinary instrumentalism within cross-disciplinary applied theatre research. In: Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) Conference, 5-7 September 2016, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.

‘The history of this monster’: puppetry as intervention in disability stratification
conference_item

Gates, L (2014) ‘The history of this monster’: puppetry as intervention in disability stratification. In: International Federation of Theatre Research World Congress 'Theatre and Stratification', 26 July - 2 August 2014, University of Warwick, UK.

Monstrous bodies: using puppetry to engage with perceptions of disability
conference_item

Gates, L (2014) Monstrous bodies: using puppetry to engage with perceptions of disability. In: Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference - Dream Acts: Performance as Refuge, Resistance, and Renewal, 24-27 July 2014, Scottsdale, AZ, US.

Performing medical monstrosity: an autopsy of The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak
conference_item

Gates, L (2014) Performing medical monstrosity: an autopsy of The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak. In: Performing Science: Dialogues Across Cultures, 24-26 April 2014, University of Lincoln, UK.

Puppetry workshop / Demo and discussion
conference_item

Gates, L (2014) Puppetry workshop / Demo and discussion. In: Performing the Freak: a Dialogue Between Theatre and Science About Monstrosity, 29 March 2014 & 13 June 2014, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol, UK.

The monster and the corpse: puppetry and the uncanniness of gender performance
conference_item

Gates, L (2013) The monster and the corpse: puppetry and the uncanniness of gender performance. In: Centre for Research into Objects and Puppets in Performance Symposium: Woma/en in Puppet Theatre, 1 November 2013, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London, UK.

Depraved appetites and contamination anxieties: race, gender, and puppet bodies in 19th-century France
conference_item

Gates, L (2013) Depraved appetites and contamination anxieties: race, gender, and puppet bodies in 19th-century France. In: Puppet Talk Forum, 15 June 2013, University of Sussex, UK.

Slippage and disorientation in 'The Master and the Margarita'
conference_item

Gates, L (2009) Slippage and disorientation in 'The Master and the Margarita'. In: Theatre Noise Conference, 22-24 April 2009, Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, London, UK.

The frozen face: discourses of mechanization in neutral mask training
conference_item

Gates, L (2009) The frozen face: discourses of mechanization in neutral mask training. In: Theatre & Performance Research Association, 7-9 September 2009, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.

Tout bouge: the (re)construction of the body in Lecoq-based performance pedagogy
conference_item

Gates, L (2008) Tout bouge: the (re)construction of the body in Lecoq-based performance pedagogy. In: Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) Conference, 3-5 September 2008, University of Leeds.

Pedagogy of proposals: devising as a tactic for individual and group identity reconciliation
conference_item

Gates, L (2008) Pedagogy of proposals: devising as a tactic for individual and group identity reconciliation. In: Researching Applied Drama, Theatre and Performance Conference, 2-5 April 2008, University of Exeter.

Critical discourse analysis of the body workshop
conference_item

Gates, L (2007) Critical discourse analysis of the body workshop. In: Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) Conference, 31 May-3 June 2007, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.

A happy mistake: creative collaboration as pedagogical strategy
conference_item

Gates, L (2006) A happy mistake: creative collaboration as pedagogical strategy. In: Association for Theatre in Higher Education's (ATHE) Women and Theatre Program Conference, August 2006, Chicago.

Dance of the black Madonna: creating space for female transgression
conference_item

Gates, L (2005) Dance of the black Madonna: creating space for female transgression. In: Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference, 28-31 July 2005, Weston St Francis, San Francisco.

The un-taming of the shrew: rewriting Shakespeare, reconciling identity
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Gates, L (2005) The un-taming of the shrew: rewriting Shakespeare, reconciling identity. In: Association for Theatre in Higher Education's (ATHE) Women and Theatre Program Conference, 28-31 July 2005, Weston St Francis, San Francisco.

Reflections of Jane: mirror trope as subversive strategy in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper
conference_item

Gates, L (2005) Reflections of Jane: mirror trope as subversive strategy in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. In: L'ordre et le chaos/Chaos and Order, March 2005, Universit de Reims Champagne Ardenne Colloque.

Tout bouge [Everything moves]: the (re)construction of the body in Lecoq‐based pedagogy
thesis

Gates, L (2011) Tout bouge [Everything moves]: the (re)construction of the body in Lecoq‐based pedagogy. PhD thesis, University of Minnesota.

The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: puppetry as a practice-based analytic within the medical humanities (2014-2017) [REF2021 collection]
artefact

Gates, L (2021) The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: puppetry as a practice-based analytic within the medical humanities (2014-2017) [REF2021 collection].

The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak
performance

Gates, L (2017) The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak. Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol, UK, 25 - 28 January 2017.

The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak
performance

Gates, L and Calvert-Ennals, S (2017) The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak. Wilton's Music Hall, London, UK, 30 January - 18 February 2017.

The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: an investigation into puppetry as an analytic to deepen understanding of ethical and historical issues within the medical humanities
performance

Gates, L (2015) The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: an investigation into puppetry as an analytic to deepen understanding of ethical and historical issues within the medical humanities. In: Bristol Festival of Puppetry (2-3 Sep 2015), Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol, 2-3 September 2015, 2-3 November 2015, 25-28 January 2017, 30 January - 18 February 2017, 8-9 March 2017, 10 March 2017.

The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: A Chamber Opera for Puppets [work in progress]
performance

Gates, L (2012) The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: A Chamber Opera for Puppets [work in progress]. In: Bristol Ferment, Bristol Old Vic, Bristol, UK, May-July 2012.

Triptych
performance

Gates, L (2009) Triptych. Touring event, 2009-2011.