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Sarah Crews is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries at Cardiff University, affiliated with the Creative Industries Research and Innovation Group. Her interdisciplinary research bridges performance studies, sport, and heritage, with a focus on gender, identity, and embodied experience in physical culture.
Her educational background includes a PhD in Theatre and Performance from Cardiff University, an MA in Theatre Directing from Royal Holloway, and BA (Hons) in Performing Arts. She holds PG Certs in Higher Education and Critical and Cultural Theory, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
- PhD, Theatre and Performance, Cardiff University (2016)
- MA, Theatre Directing, Royal Holloway (2010)
- BA (Hons), Performing Arts (2009)
- PG Cert, Higher Education (2012)
- PG Cert, Critical and Cultural Theory (2017)
Her research centers on performance and physical culture, particularly women’s boxing, where she explores historical, structural, and gendered challenges. She uses practice-as-research methodologies and ethnographic approaches to examine how boxing shapes identity, belonging, and community. Her work connects critical theory with creative practice, often involving performance outputs and public engagement.
Her recent publications reveal a strong trend in interdisciplinary scholarship linking sport, performance, and cultural studies. Themes include memetics in boxing, digital identities, storytelling in community, and the politics of blood and gender in sport. Her publications span peer-reviewed journals, books, and performances, indicating a hybrid research practice that values both academic and artistic dissemination.
She has received significant recognition, including being a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and leading National Heritage Lottery-funded projects. Her co-authored monograph Boxing and Performance: Memetic Hauntings (2020) and edited collection Boxing, Narrative, Culture (2023) are key contributions to the field.
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Sarah Crews supervises research and has contributed to academic service, including co-convening the TaPRA Bodies and Performance working group. She leads two major research projects: Women’s Boxing Wales and From Undercard to Headliner, both focused on recovering and celebrating women’s contributions to boxing. She also runs workshops on Mary Overlie’s Six Viewpoints and delivered a TedX talk titled The Bleeding Space, highlighting gender barriers in sport.
She is actively involved in public and community engagement, maintaining a YouTube channel and archive related to women’s boxing. Her work integrates research, teaching, and activism, aiming to transform narratives around gender and sport.
