I have heard it told that in some parts of the world, when a community is in difficulty, the wise ask some diagnostic questions.
To try and get to the root of why people are at odds and out of balance, they ask:
“When did you last dance together”
“When did you last sing games together?”
“When did you last eat, play games... or tell stories together?”
And if the community can’t remember when this last happened, they suggest that these shared experiences might be a good place to start, to rebuild connection and water the earth of the heart.
My work is inspired by the story of this practice and its reminder that such simple things can bring us back to who we are, reconnect us and restore our joy.
My background is as a theatre-maker and event producer, specialising in creative workshops and social dance experiences that bring people together and sneakily contain a lot of joy. In recent years I have also developed my practice as a restorative justice practitioner and mediator, alongside working as a storyteller and facilitator, holding safe spaces for people to explore deep things together. My work focuses on intra & interpersonal restoration - restoration of spirit, connection, hope, possibility, purpose, resilience, emotional capacity and energy - all the things that we might speak of when we use the term ‘wellbeing’, with recognition of how deeply and holistically these things affect us.
Trained as a professional storyteller by the School of Storytelling on their flagship course Storytelling Beyond Words, I have since taught, performed and facilitated programmes with the School for Storytelling, and taken my storytelling work out to a wide range of contexts including:
The Oxford Storytelling Festival
The Everyman Theatre
Ruskin Mill Arts Centre
The Netherlands' School for Peace
The Pound Arts Centre
University College London
The Rose Castle Foundation
The Restorative Justice Council
Get A Word In Edgeways
Celebrating Age Witshire
St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace
Hill House Sanctuary - a retreat venue for refugees and asylum seekers
I am a recipient of the Arts Council’s Develop Your Creative Practice Fund, currently using the grant to develop the work I do as a professional storyteller working with restorative practitioners and peacebuilding communities.
I have also been artist in residence delivering storytelling work at:
• Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking
• Halsway Manor National Centre for Folk Arts
And was shortlisted for the Step Up Storytelling Commission 2023.
I am passionate about teaching the craft of storytelling, so that others can feel confident in sharing stories in conversations, meetings, group work and community contexts. I love running workshops in how to bring stories to life, and how to find and share stories that help you communicate your thoughts, feelings, hopes and ambitions.
With a background in Restorative Justice and the arts for health, wellbeing and community development, I do a lot of work with both youth and adult groups, in community, education and organisational contexts, working with story to support:
community building and connection
emotional development and literacy
confidence building
support to amplify unheard voices
creative thinking and expression
mediation and relational repair
the deeply restorative work of bearing witness to each other's stories and of having your story witnessed with compassion.
Clients include:
Restorative Justice Council, European Forum for Restorative Justice, Victim Support, Relational Restorative Practice Service At Glos CC, Restorative Gloucestershire, Quakers in Britain, University College London, University of Gloucestershire, Rose Castle Foundation, Lewisham Borough Council, APAX Supported Living, Neurotribe Therapists Collective, Mint House Centre for Restorative Practice, Birmingham, Norfolk and Essex Youth Justice Services, Salisbury Hospital, Dancers Career Development, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Children Heard and Seen, Civil Society Gloucestershire, Hill House Sanctuary for Refugees & Asylum Seekers, Cheltenham Festivals Learning and Participation, The School of Storytelling, Age UK Wiltshire.