If you’ve just looked at my Current Projects you’ll have seen how my work spreads across different fields but remains connected by some central threads. Here’s something about why.

In 2003 I was asked to help a group of Cambodian health workers make theatre. They also wanted to integrate drama-based activities into their daily work; to make it more interesting, fun, and meaningful for themselves and others. Especially in terms of enabling communities to learn new things and talk about staying healthy.

This job required me to define the most important things I had learned about theatre-making over the previous decade; why I cared about it, and how to translate what I felt was important in an accessible way. Some years later, in 2010, after working consistently on projects about forced migration and different kinds of violence, I decided to write a PhD about theatre-making and the social world. I did this in Singapore. I asked myself: “What are the most important things to me now?” The answer, at the end of this process, was clear: exactly the same things as before, only more so! Building relationships and telling stories are integral to our everyday lives. And the more we engage with these processes, explore how to express ourselves, interact and listen to others, the more enjoyable, impactful, and meaning-full our lives can become.

Theatre offers us means to identifying the things we want to change, and influence. Corporate bodies, humanitarian organisations, educational institutions, as well as other inquisitive groups of people, can all enjoy and benefit from engaging with storytelling and theatre-based techniques. Together, we can explore behaviours, social concerns, issues at work, and how to get things into a place where everyone feels recognised, part of the equation, and happier. We can also increase our confidence, practice giving presentations with flare, and embody authenticity and presence when we do it!

Intrigued? Please read on…