I joined Catherine Wheels in October 2019. My job at Catherine Wheels is to help to ensure that the company, it’s people and finances remain healthy and are able to thrive.
I grew up in Oxgangs in Edinburgh, and like a lot of people from the schemes, didn’t have much connection with the cultural life of my city growing up. I drifted into theatre through duty and romance: my brother was at Drama School so I had to see his work, and met my future partner, Gill, who was on the same course. I did a foundation course at Edinburgh College in Technical Theatre and became for a short time a terrible stage manager. Fortunately for everyone involved I moved quickly into producing and management.
I started working in children’s theatre in the early 90’s helping to set up and manage Visible Fictions. In 1995 I joined the Scottish International Children’s Festival as Festival Director and worked with that organisation as it became Imaginate. I left in 2015 after twenty festivals to work freelance and had the privilege of working with fabulous organisations and people across the world. I’ve seen around 10,000 productions for children and young people in all that time. This doesn’t entitle me to anything, not even a badge. It just means I’ve seen productions on a regular basis that have thrilled me, challenged me, made my heart soar and made me realise how important it is to allow children and young people to explore their lives through art. I also have a Scottish Swimmers badge which for people of a certain age proves that you can swim for 50m in your pyjamas. This achievement may be more impressive.
My job at Catherine Wheels is to help to ensure that the company, it’s people and finances remain healthy and are able to thrive.
I like to walk a lot in East Lothian where I live with our dog Pip, a leaving gift from Imaginate and possibly the best one I’ve ever had. Anyone who knows me knows I have a bit of a passion for the beautiful game, and have been thrilled by the advancement of the women’s football over the past decade.