Appointed Professor of Performance Studies, September 1999

Mike trained as an archaeologist. Between 1972 and 1997 - in a series of companies including RAT Theatre, Cardiff Laboratory Theatre and Brith Gof - he pioneered new and innovative approaches to the form, function and placement of performance in Wales and further afield - South America, Hong Kong, Eastern Europe... He currently works with departmental member Mike Brookes in the Pearson/Brookes company as well as creating solo performances.

Mike joined the department in 1997 and launched the Performance Studies degree scheme in 1999.

In April 2002 Mike was Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Centre for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA.

General research interests

a) Performance Studies: physical theatre, devised performance, site-specific work and disability and performance.
b) Theatre/Archaeology: examination of points of convergence between contemporary performance theory and practice and interpretive approaches in archaeology.
c) Biography, memory and personal narrative in performance

Current research themes

a) Performance, forensics and the urban
b) Performance, natural history and the rural
c) Polar exploration: narratives and performance
d) Aesthetic practices of performance

Recent publications

Pearson, Mike and Shanks, Michael Theatre/Archaeology Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2001 215 pp.
Pearson, Mike and Levett, Lyn 'Devices and Desires' In: Contemporary Theatre Review 2001 Vol. 11, Part 3+4 pp. 81-92 (on disability).
Pearson, Mike and Yang William 'You can't tell by looking…' In: On Maps and Mapping Performance Research Vol 6, No 2 Summer 2001 pp. 31-38 Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
Pearson, Mike and Jeff, Paul 'Pearson/Brookes: Carrying Lyn' In Performance Research Navigations Vol 6, No 3 Winter 2001 p.23 + CD.

Forthcoming publications

Pearson, Mike 'Horses' In Patterned Ground ed. Nigel Thrift and Steve Pile Reaktion Books, April 2003 (on North Lincolnshire 'hobby-horses')

Recent performances

With Pearson/Brookes:
Carrying Lyn Chapter, Cardiff June 2001 (devised multi-media performance)
Baroque Sonov, Czech Republic, August 2001 (devised site-specific performance)
Polis Chapter, Cardiff September 2001 (devised multi-site city performance)
Metropolitan Motions Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, August 2002 (devised multi-site city performance)

Solo:
Matters of Life and Death, Rutgers University, New Jersey USA April 2002 (solo narrative)

Forthcoming performances

Rain Dogs Pearson/Brookes (in collaboration with Welsh playwright Ed Thomas) Chapter Cardiff, November 2002 (devised multi-media performance)

Recent conferences/lectures

The square mile (guest lecture) Dept. of Archaeology, Manchester University January 2001
More information than I require…(guest presentation) BBC Wales Digital Platform March 2001
Performance studies at the end of the line (session chair and paper) 7th Performance Studies conference, University of Mainz, Germany March 2001
The natural history of an extinct species: the 'hobby-horses' of North Lincolnshire (guest lecture) National Theatre of Greece Second Summer Academy of Theatre, Florina Greece August 2001
Some moments on Mynydd Bach (guest presentation) Belgian Ministry of Culture symposium, Antwerp Belgium November 2001
Antarctic archaeology (video presentation) European Association of Archaeologists Conference, Thessaloniki Greece September 2002

Cityscape (guest lecture) Rutgers University, New Jersey USA April 2002
Sweat, steam, mud and manhandling: topography and tactics in English rural game (paper) 8th Performance Studies conference, New York University USA April 2002

Forthcoming conferences/lectures

Expedition (session leader) Field Station: 9th Performance Studies conference, Christchurch, New Zealand April 2002

Media

I Heal Easy BBC Wales 'Mad, Bad and Dangerous' scheme (competition award to create a treatment for a short film on the death of Welsh polar explorer Edgar Evans.)

Feedback

Archaeology. Experimental performance practices.