Ali Matthews is an American-born performance maker, researcher and singer based in Manchester, whose practice has recently focused on issues of value, labour and service economy. She weaves participatory experiences out of text, song and scenographic environments that are designed to play with certain affects of the theatrical experience: intimacy, distance, desire and alienation. She has presented original work across cabaret, one-to-one and large-scale performance formats at venues including Arnolfini, Project Arts Centre (Dublin), Hatch, Live at LICA, Toynbee Studios/ArtsAdmin (London), Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Bristol Storytelling Festival, Ausland (Berlin) and the Universität der Künste. Her project What The Money Meant toured to Chelsea Theatre and Aberystwyth Arts Centre, where it asked audiences to pay for different levels of access to a performance installation. She recently created a new piece of work entitled The Ballad of Isosceles for Sensored Festival at Contact Theatre (Manchester) in June 2015, which she also showed at FIX 15 Live Art Biennale in Belfast. Her ACE-funded project The Best of Both Worlds with Leo Burtin recently premiered at Camden People’s Theatre’s Sprint Festival. In addition to her artistic practice, she works part-time as a lecturer in theatre performance at the University of Salford