Our aim is to dig out untold stories and present them to audiences in engaging ways. Each production blends distinctive writing with adventurous staging, and involves working alongside communities in the creation of the work. Our process is driven by curiosity. We want to get to know the people in a particular place and find the story that needs to be listened to.
Ein nod yw cloddio straeon sydd heb eu dweud, a’u cyflwyno i gynulleidfaoedd mewn ffyrdd gafaelgar. Mae pob cynhyrchiad yn cyfuno ysgrifennu unigryw â llwyfannu anturus, a chyd-weithio ochr yn ochr â chymunedau. Caiff ein proses ei yrru gan chwilfrydedd. Rydyn ni am ddod i adnabod pobl mewn mannau penodol, a darganfod y stori sy’n mynnu cael ei chlywed.
Creative Team / Tim Creadigol
Bridget Keehan Founding Artistic Director & Co-Creative Director
Bridget left school at fifteen and worked as a waitress, chambermaid and timeshare tout before finding her way to theatre in her mid-twenties. She subsequently trained as a stage director Eugenio Barba, Elen Bowman, Katie Mitchell and Ian Rickson. The work she makes is fired by a desire to foreground stories from people who feel they have not been heard. Bridget has facilitated performance and writing projects in a wide range of settings, including prisons and young offender institutions. For several years she was Writer-in-Residence at HMP Cardiff. Here she established a prison magazine and directed several theatre productions before leaving to become Co-Director of Community Engagement for Sherman Theatre. She holds a doctorate on theatre in prisons and has taught at the University of South Wales, the University of Birmingham and Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and has been Leverhulme Artist in Residence at Swansea University. She has directed theatre for thecpr.org.uk, shermantheatre.co.uk, nationaltheatrewales.org & theatrclwyd.com and established Papertrail in 2014. In 2022 she was selected by Literature Wales for the prestigious Representing Wales programme and is currently completing her first novel.
Jonny Cotsen Co-Creative Director
Jonny Cotsen is a qualified Art teacher but left his teaching career to develop himself as a performance artist and creative consultant for inclusion in the arts. Jonny is a keen advocate for better access in the Arts. Jonny performed ‘Louder Is Not Always Clearer’ which was produced, directed and co-written by Mr and Mrs Clark. ‘Louder Is Not Always Clearer’ has toured extensively across the UK and Europe and enjoyed a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. It was developed into a short film by On Par Productions and Mr and Mrs Clark. It was shown by BBC Arts for their Culture In Quarantine season. Jonny’s documentary ‘Born Deaf, Raised Hearing’ was screened as part of the ‘Our Lives’ series on the BBC. Jonny led Hear We Are which explored the intersectional perspective of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people working in, or excluded from, the creative sector in Wales. Subsequently Deaf Together was developed which created three days of events, activity and performance led by Deaf people in May 2023. Jonny enjoys writing and is author of a children’s book, ‘Gwion’s World’ published by Harper Collins. The book is loosely based on his own lived experience as a deaf person. Jonny is an Agent for Change with Craidd and is also a trustee with Theatre Iolo.
Board Members
Suzanne has been working in arts, cultural and events marketing for over 25 years. She trained as a journalist at University of Wales, Cardiff. She has worked with local authorities, charities, small and large cultural organisations. She now works as freelance as a Marketing and Communications Consultant and has supported in the last few years Sherman Theatre, National Dance Company Wales, Citrus Arts, UPROAR, Adverse Camber, The Other Room and People Speak Up. Suzanne is Chartered Institute of Marketing registered.
Branwen is a playwright, theatre maker and dramaturg and currently runs the Urdd Youth Theatre.
Branwen was previously the Literary Manager at the Sherman Theatre and is passionate about new writing and discovering and empowering new voices for the stage Recent theatre work includes translating Fleabag for Theatr Clwyd and dramaturgical work for Theatr Iolo and Taking Flight Theatre Company. Branwen is a guest lecturer at the RWCMD and has also collaborated with Illumine Theatre, Papertrail, Os Nad Nawr, Dirty Protest, Mess Up The Mess, Sherman Theatre, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and WAVDA.
Amanda is Associate Professor in Human Geography and the Geohumanities based at Swansea University. Previously she worked as a stage manager, director and assistant producer, and more recently has helped commission dance films, curate photography exhibitions and produce arts festivals in Southeast Asia.
Her research is interdisciplinary but is committed to equality and participation in the arts – particularly for marginal groups. She has previously campaigned for greater racial diversity on stage and screen, but more recently has been doing work that advocates for using the arts to help expand discussions in civil society (in contexts where this is restricted) and for promoting the engagement of young people in the arts. This is something she also practices when teaching at university, particularly with young people who may not have really had the opportunity to be involved in, or experience, arts before.
