I’m a theatre director and community organiser, and I was the Gatsby Theatre Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme (2014-15).
In 2017 I took up the role of Director of Programming at JW3 – an exciting new chapter for me to use the skills I’ve learned in my career to date to develop their fantastic programme, reach out to new audiences and partners, and find new ways to use cultural programming to strengthen connections between individuals and communities.
I’ve always loved making theatre because I want to hold life up to the light. At JW3 I’m privileged to work with people who do that through many different artforms. 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. Details of shows I’ve directed are here.
In the period before joining JW3 I worked on developing This is Also England, a new musical with Joseph Finlay and Raphael Smith, and supporting other artists and companies with their work, including the fabulous Shobanah Jeyasingh Dance and projects such as Beautiful Change. 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 my Stage Jobs Pro professional profile, and 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 blueprint of a show.
I’m Associate Director for SPID Theatre Company, where I enjoy mentoring other company members, contributing ideas for our integrated professional and community work, shaping organisational development and working as an ambassador.
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 two small children, and I spend a lot of my time thinking about the interplay of family and artistic work.
I love rock climbing; in the photo above I’m holding the rope.