People
The Graeae Team
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Jenny Sealey OBE
Joint CEO/Artistic Director
Jenny Sealey OBE
Joint CEO/Artistic DirectorWhat is your favourite thing about your job?
I have loved and learned from all Graeae shows. All have had such different challenges, diverse casts and glorious chaos so it is hard to pin point just one. I am truly blessed that I love my job. All of it. I have the best teams so work is never a chore. It is always a job with a purpose and a kind accessible creative place to be.
Jenny’s directing career began with Interplay Theatre, co-directing Sea Changes, then directing Stepping Stones and Mad Meg. Jenny has been Graeae’s Artistic Director since 1997.
Directing credits for Graeae include:
Credits for Graeae include: The Paradis Files an opera (commissioned by The Stables for IF: Milton Keynes, in partnership with BBC Concert Orchestra and Curve Theatre); Reasons To Be Cheerful a musical (2010 co-produced with New Wolsey and Theatre Royal Stratford East); Sarah Kane’s Blasted (in association with RADA); Kaite O’Reilly’s peeling, The House of Bernarda Alba (co-produced with Manchester Royal Exchange); Blood Wedding (co-produced with Dundee Rep and Derby Theatre); ‘The Threepenny Opera’ (co -directed with Peter Rowe, co-produced with New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, Nottingham and Leeds Playhouses and Birmingham Rep). Plays for young people include Diary of an Action Man and Whiter than Snow both by Mike Kenny. Outdoor productions include Against the Tide, The Iron Man, The Garden, The Limbless Knight – A Tale of Rights Reignited and for the WW1 Centenary This Is Not For You with disabled veterans.
International credits include: Blood Wedding (Setagaya Public Theatre, Tokyo); Romeo and Juliet (Saitama Arts Theatre, Tokyo); and at Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) then touring outdoor arenas: Against the Tide; The Garden; The Limbless Knight – A Tale of Rights Reignited. Jenny co-directed the London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony alongside Bradley Hemmings (GDIF).
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Kevin Walsh
Joint CEO/Executive Director
Kevin Walsh
Joint CEO/Executive DirectorWhat is your favourite Graeae show/project/programme and why?
I have many favourite Graeae shows, but the ones that really get me are where I feel like we are doing something that no other company can do. This Is Not For You, where we helped wounded veterans tell their story of exclusion and, ultimately, acceptance was something I will never forget.
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Jodi-Alissa Bickerton
Deputy Artistic Director
Jodi-Alissa Bickerton
Deputy Artistic DirectorWhat is your favourite Graeae show/project/programme and why?
Every production and programme which is rich in people to be creatively bold and fabulous.
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Vicky Berry
Access Manager
Vicky Berry
Access ManagerWhat is the first piece of art/performance/writing you remember creating/being a part of that made you the most proud?
A community opera at the Hackney Empire. It was ambitious work – sprawling, scary, spectacular! A brilliant insight into how different groups of people can come together to create the most glorious art that unites and inspires. I still find myself humming along to the songs nearly 20 years on.
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Lizzy Luxford
General Manager
Lizzy Luxford
General ManagerWhat is the first piece of art/performance/writing you remember creating/being a part of that made you the most proud?
I was in the village pantomime every year growing up, along with half of my family. I don’t remember a lot of the specifics, but I do remember discovering that feeling of community and the buzz around making a show – there’s nothing like it, whether it’s a village hall in Hollingbourne, touring Shakespeare in the rain, or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
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Charlotte McCabe
Marketing and Development Manager
Charlotte McCabe
Marketing and Development ManagerWhat is your favourite thing about your job?
I get to work alongside every fantastic Graeae production; ensuring the whole world hears about the remarkable work we do. And I get to do that with a fab team by my side, makes the whole thing even better.
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Mette Philipsen
Training and Learning Manager
Mette Philipsen
Training and Learning ManagerWhat is your favourite thing about your job?
My favourite thing about my job is connecting with new people (participants, artists, partners) through person-centred projects and programmes. And my colleagues keep her pretty happy too.
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Manishta Sunnia
Artist Development Co-ordinator
Manishta Sunnia
Artist Development Co-ordinatorWhat is the first piece of art/performance/writing you remember creating/being a part of that made you the most proud?
A very young me writing a short story…I remember how enjoyable the process was, and being pleased at the finished product. The feeling you get from writing stayed with me & kept me wanting to write more.
manishta@graeae.org
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Laura Guthrie
Artist Development Manager
Laura Guthrie
Artist Development ManagerWhat is your favourite thing about your job?
Getting to meet Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists from all over the UK , love hearing their ideas and being carried away by their passion and fervour for making theatre. Being part of a disabled led team that values everyone’s experience and so creating a loud unstoppable force of creativity.
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Josh Elliott
Literary Manager
Josh Elliott
Literary ManagerWhat is your favourite Graeae show/project/programme, and why?
The show we haven’t done yet; I always look forward to what’s next in our line-up. However, if I were to pick a show that we’ve done previously, definitely Blasted.
literary@graeae.org
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Chloe Vollenweider
Marketing and Advocacy Administrator
Chloe Vollenweider
Marketing and Advocacy AdministratorWhat is the first piece of art/performance/writing you remember creating/being a part of that made you the most proud?
During my final year of my undergrad I played Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest. I also worked in the department’s costume shop, so I created all of my costumes for the production. It was one of the only times I have been able to utilise different areas of my skillset in one production.
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Bridget Russon
Administrator
Bridget Russon
AdministratorWhat is your favourite Graeae show/project/production/programme and why?
Being new to Graeae, I started by working on Self-Raising’s UK tour. The vulnerability, humility, generosity and humour written into this show is an incredibly inspiring way to approach auto-biographical work. The production process of the tour was led by kindness and respect and this what I love most about the job and working for Graeae. Everyone’s voice is heard.
Bridget@graeae.org
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Susanne Baumann
Finance Assistant
Susanne Baumann
Finance AssistantWhat is the first piece of art/performance/writing you remember creating/being a part of that made you the most proud?
In the world of theatre, I had my first experience being part of a production at the PEM Theater an den Elbbrücken in Hamburg, Germany. My role mostly involved working at the front of the house, welcoming the guests or standing behind the bar. However, for the cabaret program, I had the chance to sit on the light board operator and create a light ambiance for the performance. It was always fascinating for me how the playwright and director, Stephan Perdekamp, created emotional and captivating plays that moved and enchanted the audience. Theatre has the power to move and inspire people, and that’s what I love about it.
Board of Trustees
Anthony Lee, Lisa A Oguntoyinbo, Sharon Marshall, Dr Jessi Parrott, Deborah Rees, Nathan Crossan-Smith, Samantha Tatlow and Andrea Walter.
Press
David Burns PR – david@davidburnspr.com
For space hire or general enquiries, please e-mail: info@graeae.org.
Your Visit
Graeae Theatre Company,
Bradbury Studios, 138 Kingsland Road,
London E2 8DY
Tel: 0207 613 6900
Email: info@graeae.org