Personal profile
Biography
I originally trained in musical theatre at the Italia Conti Academy in London, followed by a number of years teaching drama, classical ballet and modern dance. I later graduated from Roehampton Institute, London, with a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies, then moving to the University of Reading to complete an MA in The Body and Representation, before returning to Roehampton for my PhD studies.
My PhD was titled ‘Performing the Anatomised Body’ and initiated my interest in the connections between medicine and performance. I have published widely on this interface, particularly as it relates to stagings of the female body.
My teaching has included a wide range of theoretical and practical modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including those focused on performance studies, politics and performance, dance theatre, live art, and devising performance.
Research interests
My research focuses on exploring specific medical discourses and practices, such as anatomical dissection, in order to analyse contemporary performance practice. My work has examined constructions of power and knowledge, ethics, visuality, spectatorship and theatricality in the work of ORLAN, Martin O'Brien and the Bodyworlds Exhibition, for instance, and has been published in a number of journals and edited collections, including Performance Research and Contemporary Theatre Review. My monograph, Performing Specimens: Biomedical Display in Contemporary Peformance was published by Bloomsbury Methuen in 2021. I have also published two co-edited books: Performance and the Medical Body (2016) and The Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine (2024), both with Dr Alex Mermikides.
Recently, I have written chapters on surrogacy and issues of female reproroductive labour on the contemporary stage. I am currently developing work on performance and the NHS, with my collaborator, Alex Mermikides, and have plans to publish another monograph on theatre and biopolitics.
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, Performing the Anatomised Body
Award Date: 4 Feb 2007
Master of Arts, The Body and Representation
Award Date: 14 Dec 1999
Bachelor of Arts, Drama and Theatre Studies
Award Date: 31 Jul 1998
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Making Interdisciplinary Performance: Processes and Practices in Collaboration
Bouchard, G. (Editor) & Ledger, A. (Editor), 15 May 2025, 1st ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 288 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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The Gift of Life: organ transplantation and surrogacy on the stage
Bouchard, G., 16 Feb 2024, The Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine. Bouchard, G. & Mermikides, A. (eds.). 1st ed. Routledge, p. 379-388 10 p. (Routledge Companions).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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The Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine
Bouchard, G. (Editor) & Mermikides, A. (Editor), 16 Feb 2024, 1st ed. Routledge. 504 p. (Routledge Companions)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Labouring the Medical: Female Bodies for Sale on the Contemporary Stage
Bouchard, G., 2 Nov 2023, Identity, Culture, and the Science Performance Volume 2: From the Curious to the Quantum. Appler, V. & Conti, M. (eds.). 1st ed. Bloomsbury Publishing, p. 75–92 18 p. (Performance and Science: Interdisciplinary Dialogues).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Performing Specimens: Contemporary Performance and Biomedical Display
Bouchard, G., 9 Jan 2020, 1 ed. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama . 192 p. (Performance and Science: interdisciplinary dialogues)Research output: Book/Report › Book
Projects
- 1 Finished
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ESRC IAA Bridging the Gap: Translating life stories about disability through theatre practice
Bouchard, G. (Principal Investigator) & Shah, S. (Co-Investigator)
Economic & Social Research Council
1/04/20 → 31/03/21
Project: Research Councils
Activities
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'Trust Me, I'm an Artist' Ethic and Performance Public Event
Bouchard, G. (Invited speaker)
18 Apr 2015Activity: Engagement and Public events › Engagement event
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Invited specialist
Bouchard, G. (Invited speaker)
Apr 2015Activity: Academic and Industrial events › Guest lecture or Invited talk
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Invited speaker
Bouchard, G. (Invited speaker)
Feb 2015Activity: Academic and Industrial events › Guest lecture or Invited talk
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Invited panel member
Bouchard, G. (Invited speaker)
Feb 2015Activity: Academic and Industrial events › Guest lecture or Invited talk