In summer 2026 I became the Creative Director and CEO of the wonderful Emergency Exit Arts – enriching people’s lives through creativity, producing dynamic art in public spaces and enabling awe-inspiring creativity.
I’m a theatre director, cultural leader and community organiser, and I was the Gatsby Theatre Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme (2014-15). I’m also a volunteer facilitator of difficult group conversations.
From June 2023 – June 2025 I worked with the wonderful Improbable, world-class improvisers and theatre-makers, and experts at holding Open Space for urgent and nuanced conversations. My role of “Strategic Lead for The Gathering” was to support the Artistic Directors to unfold the next chapter of the company’s story as it puts down roots in its new home in Kent and ensures its unique and valuable practice can be widely shared and passed on to future generations.
From 2017 to 2021, I was the Director of Programming at JW3, London’s first Jewish Cultural and Community Centre, modelled on the JCCs of North America. JW3 is a Jewish space where all are welcome, in a purpose built new building in North London. Its programme is designed to foster meaningful connections between people from all backgrounds, and to strengthen communities both Jewish and non-Jewish – my role was to develop and realise this vision. During Covid I was responsible for putting our entire programme online to connect, comfort and inspire tens of thousands of people. We opened a food bank which is still running – and I envisaged the UK’s first annual Chanukah Pantomime, a new British Jewish milestone which launched to great acclaim in 2023.
I served on the Senior Leadership team, managed a department of 15 staff and scores of freelancers, strategised, budgeted, fundraised, advocated, represented the organisation to many different audiences and did a lot of HR.
I learn about the world and share my interpretations through theatre, and I’ve always looked for different ‘lenses’ to tell stories; each lens appropriate to each story, with as many lenses as there are people and stories. My highlights have been Pins and Needles, Blood and Gifts and Childsplay.
Details of other shows I’ve directed are here.
In my time I’ve also developed This is Also England, a new musical with Joseph Finlay and Raphael Smith, and supported other artists and companies with their work, including the fabulous Shobanah Jeyasingh Dance. I also worked with Visible Theatre on The Wardrobe Project, had my first taste of dramaturgy for dance with New Movement Collective and collaborated with Southbank Centre and The Special Relationship on an epic performance of Moby-Dick Unabridged for London Literature Festival.
Here’s more info about my Education and Training. If you would like a CV, please contact me.
I’ve tried to use art to make a positive difference in the world. Most directly, as Artistic Director/Producer of Act for Darfur, and on Spoken Truths, using verbatim theatre to explore the hidden truths of the charitable sector.
In style, the thread running through my work has been an attempt to collapse the distance between the actor and the audience. The one thing I know for sure that audiences and actors share is the space they’re in; so I start with that common ground. I try to build an active, transformative journey for audiences into the world of a show.
Till 2017 I was Associate Director for SPID Theatre Company, where I enjoyed mentoring other company members, contributing ideas for our integrated professional and community work, shaping organisational development and working as an ambassador. More recently I returned to facilitate sessions at Far Far Away, the free Youth Arts programme I started 20 years ago (!). I also gave the company strategic advice on running their newly refurbished home as an arts and community hub.
Otherwise… I love Shakespeare and Musicals, I’ve learned a lot from Assistant Directing, I’ve worked as a Community Development Director, and I enjoy Teaching and Work with Young People. I’m also the mother of three children, and I spend a lot of my time thinking about the interplay of family and artistic work. Here’s something I wrote my first two were very small.
I love rock climbing; in the photo above I’m holding the rope.