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Hari Berrow AFHEA BA (Hons) MA (Dist) PG Cert MHSci

Hari Berrow

AFHEA BA (Hons) MA (Dist) PG Cert MHSci

Associate Tutor & Writing Development Tutor

School of Journalism, Media and Culture

Email
BerrowA@cardiff.ac.uk

Overview

I am an interdisciplinary researcher, scriptwriter, and critic working at the intersection of media theory, psychology, neuroscience and creative writing. My research explores:

- ways of challenging stigma towards mental ill-health
- attitudes towards mental illness in the wider media
- presentations of mental ill-health in scripted works
- how horror, magical realism and speculative fiction can be used to make abnormal psychology accessible to audiences
- ethical and practical questions around creating presentations of mental disorder.

I am currently administrive editor of JOMEC Journal. My work has been showcased at The Other Room and the Sherman Theatre. I am a regular contributor to Buzz Magazine's Theatre & Dance sections, and my creative nonfiction has been featured in a number of publications. 

I am a part of the teaching staff at Cardiff's school of Journalism, Media and Culture, and a 1-1 Writing Development Tutor for Cardiff's school of English, Communications and Philosophy. I am also currently working with a number of writers as a dramaturg, supporting them to craft their own scripted work. While the writers I work with span across a broad range of topics, genres and formats, my research has been integral to developing a process that serves their artistic vision and allows them to create something commercially viable as well as meaningful. I have a background in acting, and have worked as a director, writer and producer on a mix of stage and screen productions. I have worked as a corporate scriptwriter for several years, and have experience in corporate and entertainment video production.

Research

  • presentations of mental ill-health and mental disorder in scripted texts
  • ways of using psychology and neuroscience to create character
  • ways of using social scientific and audience theory to inform narrative 
  • the way audiences engage with scripted media
  • horror, magical realism, gothic fiction & speculative fiction

Publications

  • Berrow, H. (2021) 'On Mental Health, Creation and Horror' in Benstead, C., Parris, S. C. & Burns, V. (Eds.) Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Vol. 1.
  • Raelyn, H. (2021) 'Empowered', t'Art Magazine, Jan, Issue 1. 

Productions

  • Raelyn, H. (2022) Strange Matter (Excerpt). Sherman Theatre.
  • Raelyn, H. (2021) A Silent Image (Excerpt). The Other Room Theatre/Online (link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyT0XZiA7po)
  • Raelyn H. (2018) Brav Sein (Scratch). The Other Room Theatre.

Other

A link to the reviews and interviews I have published with Buzz Magazine can be found here: https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/author/hari-berrow/ 

I have also written copy for a number of advertising and training campaigns for larger companies, including scripting training videos for the NHS in collaboration with Healthy Teen Minds, Great Western Railway and Bowel Screening Wales. 

Teaching

Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC)

  • 2024 - Seminar Tutor - 3rd Year Module - Marketing, Branding and Promotional Cultures in Television
  • 2023 - Seminar Tutor - 1st Year Module - Advertising & The Consumer Society 
  • 2023 - Seminar Tutor - 2nd Year Module - Celebrity Culture 
  • 2023 - Seminar Tutor - 1st Year Module - Representations 
  • 2022 - Seminar Tutor - 1st Year Module - Advertising & The Consumer Society

Cardiff University's School of English, Communication and Philosophy (ENCAP)

  • 2023 - Seminar Tutor - 1st Year Module - Drama: Stage and Page 
  • 2022 - Seminar Tutor - 1st Year Module - Ways of Reading 
  • 2021 - Guest Tutor - MA in Creative Writing 
  • 2021 - Seminar Tutor - 1st Year Module - Critical Reading & Writing 

I am currently a 1-1 Writing Development Tutor in ENCAP, helping students to improve their own writing practice through reflection and discussion. I also teach yoga, and have taught a number of writing and drama workshops at various institutions, both academic and private.

In May 2024, I will be leading two Creative Writing modules for part-time adult learners in Cardiff University's Centre for Lifelong Learning: Creative Nonfiction and Writing Cardiff. 

Biography

 

I am a Welsh, working-class writer, dramaturg, arts journalist and postgraduate researcher. 

I completed a First Class (Hons) in Acting with the University of Surrey's Guildford School of Acting in 2016. My dissertation explored ways that actors could use psychological texts to support the rehearsal process and aid the accurate expression of mental illness onstage. I then completed a Masters in Creative Writing (Distinction) at the Open University in 2020, and, in 2021, I began my PhD research at Cardiff University. I am due to complete a second Master's in Mental Health Science with the Open University in 2024, with my research there focussing on the biopsychosocial contributors to trauma-induced psychosis and the influence of psycho-social factors on the treatment outcomes of psychosis.

My work has a particular focus on applied theory, and I have stayed active within the theatrical industry in Wales throughout my academic career. I have worked as an actor, director and producer consistently since my undergrad, and this has allowed me to stay aware of the work going on in my field and the fields adjacent to it. Most recently, I have worked as a dramaturg, supporting writers through their creative process and allowing them to craft work that is meaningful as well as commercially viable. In early 2023 I started working for free to the point of Research and Development with early-career writers in Wales to address the gaps in opportunity and support available to working class and low-income playwrights.

In 2022, I was a member of Sherman Theatre’s Unheard Voices programme and Buzz Magazine's early career journalism programme, Buzz Culture - I now work for Buzz as a regular contributor. My work has been featured in Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror, The Other Room’s Emerging Writers programme, and T'Art Magazine. I have presented papers for a number of conference and have worked with various universities and institutions to offer seminars and creative workshops.

I also work as a corporate scriptwriter, and have worked on a number of large campaigns - my favourite being Healthy Teen Minds' 2021 collaboration with the NHS, where I worked as a scriptwriter and consultant, supporting the development of a training programme for NHS professionals supporting young people presenting to hospital in a mental health crisis. 

Professional memberships

- Equity Member (2015 onwards)

Speaking engagements

●      2022, Utilising horror and the uncanny to foster understanding for characters with mental ill-health, Current Research in Speculative Fiction Conference, University of Liverpool

●      2021, On creating an online Arts & Mental Health community - Mad Hearts Conference, Queen Mary’s University London

●      2021, Love and Loss in Alice Isn’t Dead - Rural Gothic conference

●      2020, How to Build a Witch: Exploring PTSD in Folk Horror - The Folklore Podcast Lectures

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Audience Theory
  • Scriptwriting
  • Applied psychology
  • Applied neuroscience
  • Mental Health Stigma