Industry Advisory Board

Actor

With a long-running career on stage and screen, from 2009’s Invictus, alongside Morgan Freeman, to the iconic British drama Casualty, and 2018’s Richard II conceived, co-directed playing Richard in the UK’s first all women of Colour Shakespeare,  Adjoa Andoh has cemented herself as a national treasure of the performing arts. With the record-breaking Netflix hit Bridgerton, Adjoa’s performance reached more than 82 million households and saw her nominated for the NAACP 2021 Award for Outstanding Support Actress.

Actor, singer and writer

Actor, singer and writer of the hugely popular Horrible Histories series. Mathew went on to create and write Yonderland for Sky1 in 2013, and reteamed with the Horrible Histories troupe in 2019 to create the BBC series Ghosts. Mathew collaborated with James Cordon to create, write, and star in The Wrong Mans. Mathew is a BAFTA nominee for Best Scripted Comedy for The Wrong Mans, Gavin & Stacey and Horrible Histories.

Actor, director, writer

British Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Playwright, Singer, Designer, Choreographer, Dancer and Songwriter of British/West Indian origin. Artist Director of multi-media production company Team Angelica.

Costume designer

BAFTA and Academy Award winning costume designer. Jenny has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design eleven times, and nine times for a BAFTA. She has also received a Tony Award nomination. Jenny was awarded Officer of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year’s Honours for services to drama production.

Lighting designer

Paule is a decorated lighting designer, having won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2020. She has created fifteen productions at the National Theatre, designed productions for the Royal Opera, Royal Shakespeare Company and the Barbican centre, just to name a few. Paule is also a two-time Tony Award-winner for Best Lighting Design of a play for War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Actor

Two-time winner of the Best Musical Performance at Evening Standard Theatre Awards (2013, 2018). Two time Laurence Olivier Award nominee.

Lighting and production designer

Mark Cunniffe is widely recognised as one of the most creative and innovative lighting and production designers working in the international live event, touring and television business.With a wealth of experience in the music and entertainment industry, Mark has worked with many of today’s top international artists.

Performance designer

Sadeysa is a freelance performance designer with a background in scenic art and carnival arts. She started working in the arts over 12 years ago in the carnival arts and outdoor theatre sector, which took her across the UK and internationally.

Sound designer

Paul is a Dutch sound designer who has had a long career working on the London stage. Groothuis was born in the Netherlands and moved to the UK in 1979 to study Stage Management at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Actor

Actor of stage and screen, the Olivier Award-nominated Greg Hicks is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company; recognised for making an outstanding contribution to the life and reputation of their work. Greg has also performed leading roles in their productions Coriolanus, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and King Lear. He has worked with his mentor, Sir Peter Hall, on numerous projects, including Orestes, The Bacchae, Oedipus, and Aufidius opposite Sir Ian McKellen. Greg was Hall’s leading exponent in his great mask epics, even travelling to perform at the Epidaurus amphitheater several times. In recent years he has directed Macbeth in São Paulo, and starred as Richard III at the Arcola Theatre.

Theatre company founder

Founder of ThePappyShow, an ensemble theatre company of eight core friends that brings people together to move and creating space for people to dance, play and celebrate their authentic voice. As well as their critically-acclaimed productions Boys, Winner of the Origins Outstanding New Work Award at VAULT Festival and OFFIE nominated GIRLS – they lead diverse workshops that centre training for everybody and all bodies.

Managing Director of Cardiff Theatrical Services

Managing Director of Cardiff Theatrical Services for Welsh National Opera.  Previous Head of Construction for the Royal National Theatre. Darren is also a Set Designer and Production Designer. He has also worked as Production Manager for Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, and the National Youth Theatre.

Executive Director at LIFT

Executive Director at LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) previously as Executive Producer at Ovalhouse she spent 4 years overseeing a comprehensive artistic, organisational and community-led transition as Ovalhouse constructed London’s newest purpose built £15m theatre in Brixton. She created the concept design for Black Womxn in Theatre and is co-curator of BWinT events and the #WeAreVisible movement. She has worked in the theatre, festival and cultural sector for over 27 years shaping ideas, communities, events, people and organisations for great shifts.

Executive in Charge of Industrial Light & Magic

Sue Lyster is the Executive in Charge of Industrial Light & Magic (IL&M) London, responsible for the management of the studio and for productions. As a founding member of the studio’s leadership team, Sue played a key role in managing its growth and continued expansion.

Creative director and multimedia artist

Creative director and founder of Satore Studio. Tupac is a multimedia artist whose work spans the fields of lighting, projection and video, sound design, music, and composition. In 2011 Tupac and Satore Studio created video design for Beyoncé’s headline Glastonbury set on the Pyramid stage – which broke records for most television views for a single performance in 2011.

Head of Scenic Arts at the Royal Opera House,

Emma is Head of Scenic Arts at the Royal Opera House, and has authored two books on her specialism; Theatrical Scenic Art, and Scenic Art and Construction

Film director and editor.

Award-winning film director and editor. He has edited videos for some of the biggest names in music; Rhianna, Madonna, Lady Gaga. He is a longtime collaborator of Madonna, working on a number of her music videos and concert tours, even edited her feature film directorial debut W.E. Danny is a two-time Cannes Lion Award (2009, 2012), and received a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video in 2008.

Lighting designer

Patrick is a lighting designer working across music, dance, fashion, art and architecture – working on productions for the biggest names in entertainment including Lady Gaga, Elton John, ABBA, Adele and Stevie Wonder.