DEIRDRE HEDDON is Professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow, UK. She is the author, with Jane Milling, of Devising Performance: A Critical History (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and her work on the use of autobiographical material in performance has been published in various journals and edited collections.

'Heddon's book, covering, as it does, such an immense variety of practices, examined through a well focussed theoretical lens, is one which should be recommended to students and researchers alike - it will become a first point of reference for anyone working in the field.' Maggie B. Gale, University of Manchester, Studies in Theatre and Performance 29.3 'Heddon's book is a much-needed sustained discussion of the subject [auto-biography and performance]...[it has] a direct, honest, lively and engaging style of writing which invites and stimulates dialogue and debate.' Nicola Shaughnessy, University of Kent Theatre Research International 34.2 2009 'engaged, engaging and fully embodied.' Jennie Klein, Contemporary Theatre Review, 19. 'Heddon provides a nuanced exposition of contemporary critical concerns that are central to many university courses and her ability to match those concerns to the study and practice of autobiographical performance will make this book a challenging resource for students and teachers working in a number of areas in the higher education sector.' - Auto/Biography Studies

• List of IllustrationsGeneral Editors' PrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionPART I: POLITICS (OF SELF): THE SUBJECT OF AUTOBIOGRAPHYBeginnings: Autobiographical PerformanceTensions: Experience and Its RepresentationIn-Between: Experience and Its RepresentationThe Autobiography of CommunityPART II: HISTORY: TESTIMONIAL TIMESPsychoanalysis and TraumaPerforming Testimonial HistoryPART III: PLACE: THE PLACE OF SELFAutotopography: Autobiography and PlaceThe Art of WalkingThe Politics of PlacePART IV: ETHICS: THE STORY OF THE OTHERSelf-OtherVerbatim TheatrePerformance RightsPART V: CONCLUSION: These Confessional TimesThe Appropriate(d) PersonalThe Difference of ContextReferencesBibliography.