I am from Edinburgh but grew up in the countryside outside the city. I went to the village primary where Mrs Watson my primary 4 teacher loved drama and passed it on to me. I always knew I wanted to act; drama was too much fun to imagine doing anything else.
When I was 18 I went to the RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and left as a jobbing actor. Theatre was thriving in Scotland – Glasgow had its Year of Culture and we now had a new festival – The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival and for the first time we could see inspiring work made just for children… it was a revelation!
The Children’s Festival sparked Visible Fictions – a company still alive and kicking – which was created by me and a handful of other drama school graduates. This was a memorable time in my twenties where enthusiasm compensated for skill but making shows was so much fun that occasionally our passion and excitement actually resulted in shows that people wanted to watch...
In my late twenties I had my son Coll, left Visible Fictions and set up Catherine Wheels. I have grown up with the company and for over 20 years Catherine Wheels has been the centre of my life and the shows we have made and the people I have worked with are part of me.
Unforgettable experiences outside the company includes making shows with Shona Reppe, a special Wizard of Oz, leading workshops in India and Japan and teaching students in the UK.
I now live in a small village in East Lothian with my family and pets. When I am not working I try to discover new places on my bike, play tennis and as I am currently training to be a Forest Schools Assistant and I’m slowly getting better at identifying trees and plants.
I sit here writing, knowing that soon I could be at the beach, in the hills or in the woods. Not bad...