Dr Matthew Reason
Reader in Theatre, Head of Programme: MA Studies in
Creative Practice
Dr Matthew Reason is Reader in Theatre at
York St John University.
Matthew Reason’s work engages with audiences, theatre for
children, liveness, performance documentation and reflective
practice. He has a particular specialism in developing research
methodology for qualitative audience research, including the use of
creative (for example drawing or writing) based research
techniques. He is also interested in cultural policy, contemporary
performance practice and performance writing.
His has authored two books. Documentation, Disappearance and
the Representation of Live Performance, was published by
Palgrave Macmillan in 2006; The Young Audience: Exploring and
Enhancing Children’s Experience of Theatre, published by
Trentham Books/IOE Press in 2010. In 2012 he co-edited
Kinesthetic Empathy in Creative and Cultural Contexts
(Intellect). This book was part of a three year AHRC funded project
titled ‘Watching Dance: Kinesthetic Empathy’ that explored dance
audiences through the use of neuroscience and qualitative audience
research and was a collaboration between the universities of
Manchester, York St John, Glasgow and Imperial College London.
He has also published in journals such as New Theatre Quarterly,
Performance Research, Dance Research Journal, Studies in Theatre
and Performance and elsewhere. He has received research funding
from the AHRC, Scottish Executive Education Department and the
Society for Theatre Research.
Matthew Reason teaches on the BA Theatre programme and on MA
programmes in Creative Practice. He is currently supervising PhD
students in the areas of site specific theatre, theatre and mental
health and storytelling.