As a theatre artist my work has included acting, movement direction, choreography and education, in rehearsal rooms, theatres, schools, opera houses, colleges, village halls and community settings across the UK and further afield, on the West End and Off-Broadway.

Companies I’ve worked with include National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Regents Park, The Old Vic, Donmar Warehouse, Chichester Festival Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Watermill Newbury and Frantic Assembly.

As a creative practitioner, I’ve designed and delivered inclusive, co-creative workshops and projects with schools, universities and community organisations across the UK and internationally. I’ve collaborated on research and development for a wide range of new work with many companies, including at the National Theatre Studio. Drama schools I’ve taught at include Central School of Speech and Drama, Oxford School of Drama, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and Royal Academy of Music. I’ve also provided training, mentoring and support for emerging theatre practitioners.

My current work is focused on socially-engaged, co-creative projects. Collaboration, creativity, accessibility and exploration are central to my approach. I’m drawn to the innate potential within movement and dance to unlock expressive, poetic, dynamic and galvanising experiences, exploring meaning and connection through physical expression. The cathartic potential of movement practice, and dance as a celebration of the human spirit and of individual and communal experience, often in the spaces beyond words, are areas that fascinate me.

LATEST PROJECTS

Spring 2022: ‘Hungry Nation’ (Coventry UK City of Culture / Strike A Light)

A co-created theatre production and social campaign reflecting the everyday lives of people experiencing food poverty, in partnership with Foleshill Community Centre, Coventry. Discussions, action and legacy projects were organised as part of the project and local councillors, MPs, academics and agencies were engaged in the process.

Summer 2022: ‘Moving Lights’ (with Nelson Trust / Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust )

A new co-creative movement project for women living with complex emotional needs, developed in collaboration with the NHS and the Nelson Trust Women’s Centre, Gloucester.

Autumn 2022: ‘Reclaim’ (supported by Prema Arts Centre, Gloucestershire)

Research and development for a multimedia dance theatre project exploring perspectives on the experience of pregnancy, birth, agency and empowerment within the current maternity care system.

TRAINING

I enjoyed learning ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary from a young age at Allesley School of Dance in Coventry, took part in theatre productions with Belgrade Youth Theatre and Coventry Youth Operetta Group and began trying out choreography on productions at school and then Birmingham University, where I studied English Literature. I trained as an actor Birmingham School of Acting, continued my contemporary dance practice and started teaching dance at DanceXchange. I started leading theatre education workshops for Birmingham Hippodrome, where I was also getting inspired watching shows by dance companies touring from all over the world. A lot of the acting work I went on to do after graduating from drama school had a physical or dance element and I became interested in the role of the movement director. I went on to train as an assistant to Liam Steel, Struan Leslie, Steven Hoggett and Scott Graham, worked as a Creative Learning Practitioner and Associate Director for Frantic Assembly and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2011-12 as Resident Company Movement Practitioner. In 2015-16 I was movement captain and acted in the National Theatre production ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ in the West End. Plays and musicals I’ve created movement and choreography for include ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, ‘Watership Down’, ‘Quiz’, ‘Flowers for Mrs Harris’, ‘Committee’, ‘Amelie’, ‘Wonderland’, ‘Disco Pigs’ and ‘Beginning’. I’ve also gained experience working in the public sector, including in primary and secondary education and for the NHS. Recent continuing professional development and training courses which enhance my theatre and community practice include Restorative Practice, Listening Skills and Trauma-Informed Practice.