I’m a 5th generation Pakeha of Irish, Welsh and English descent. I grew up in Auckland, and took my first two degrees at Auckland University, and trained as a teacher at the Epsom Teachers College, now the faculty of Education at Auckland University. I did my PhD at the University of Toronto in Canada and taught for a year at McMaster (Hamilton, Ontario) and the University of Waterloo. I teach in the English Programme of Te Kura Toi (School of Arts).

I have a life long obsession with horse-racing. Currently I am combining this enthusiasm with my expertise in Renaissance drama. I am co-editing James Shirley's 1632 play "Hyde Park" for the Oxford Complete Works of James Shirley project. This play features a horse race in the 3rd act, as well as a human foot race where privileged English people bet on Irish servants for amusement.