About Us

Artistic Director

An actor, director and teacher Bernadette has directed plays in professional and community settings including The Red Room (BAC and RNT), Palace Theatre Watford (Hertfordshire Schools Tour), Highbury Opera Theatre (Union Chapel), Arena Touring Theatre (Bedfordshire Schools Tour), Quicksilver Theatre (National Tour), Charter Theatre (National Tours), Harpenden Community Opera and Harpenden Youth Theatre. As an actor she has worked for Wolsey Ipswich, Eastern Angles, Quicksilver Theatre for Children, Polka Theatre and Birmingham Rep. She founded a drama department for Aldwickbury School in Harpenden, devising a through-school drama curriculum for Reception - Year 8 and has consulted for other schools developing drama departments. Her passion is creating stories and telling them well.

Composer

Jo studied Music and Drama at Kent University followed by the postgraduate Actor Training at Drama Studio, London. She has been making Theatre since the early 90s, starting as a jobbing actor and going on to direct, write, teach and lead youth theatre projects and workshops. Jo has worked with many companies, including Young Vic, RNT, Watford Palace Theatre, Hackney Empire, Union Chapel, Tricycle Kilburn, Wolsey Ipswich, Eastern Angles, Red Shift, Family Pop UP Theatre at the V&A, Horniman Museum and The Museum of Childhood. She is currently commissioned by the London Borough of Greenwich and Royal Museums Greenwich to lead an arts project for their local young people in 2023.

There is usually a musical element to Jo’s original work and it’s her skill as a songwriter and composer that we shall mostly be drawing upon.

In 2021 Jo released her first album and EP on Global Fusion records, Somewhere Before

General Manager

Dave is a musician with a keen interest in mathematics, proof reading and cooking and an innate gift for administration. For which we are very grateful.

Education and Additional Needs Advisor

BSc (Hons) M.Dip, PGCE, NASENCO

Helen Pendell is responsible for Learning Support at Aldwickbury School, Hertfordshire where she also teaches English and is their Mental Health Lead and one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads. Before moving into education Helen worked for Goldman Sachs in London and Hong Kong, specialising in marketing Communications. Helen knows lots about lots of things and we will be asking for her guidance to ensure work created for schools is safe and accessible both in performance and in the school packs we provide.