None of Coram SSF's impact would be possible without our committed staff team, artistic associates and trustees. Please do get in touch - we're always happy to talk about our work and answer your questions!
Leadership
-
After four years working the higher education sector Mike joined the Festival Team at CSSF. Passionate about the power of stories to bring together people and communities, Mike works with the theatres and theatremakers who support schools through their Festival journey. He also works to measure the impact of CSSF's work. Mike originally moved to London from South Wales to study law and philosophy, and still ponders why there are rules.
Which Shakespeare character you would be? Mike aims to be like Horatio because he's friendly, dependable and alive at the end.
-
Maddie Short
Programmes LeadMaddie trained as an actress at Mountview Academy before qualifying as a teacher and teaching for six years in North London and Hertfordshire. Joining Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation in 2015 brought together her passion for Shakespeare in performance and inspiring a love of learning. Maddie feels strongly that Shakespeare is for everyone and her role at CSSF, overseeing the work with schools and developing resources to support teachers, gives her the exciting opportunity to tap into its relevance for young people. She feels especially passionate about using Shakespeare when working with disengaged learners and is very proud of the work CSSF does with students in Pupil Referral Units.
Which Shakespeare character you would be? Viola
Core Staff
-
Alex Swain
Senior Marketing and Development OfficerAlex was initially drawn to Shakespeare by Twelfth Night which blew away his misconceptions of Shakespeare as a boring, serious playwright, and he’s been a fan ever since. He is immensely proud of the work Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation does and has made it one of his favourite pastimes to tell anyone who’ll listen about some of the inspiring stories he has seen unfold as part of the Festival.
-
Ally Couch
Workshops Officer -
Ashley Nelson
Programmes Assistant -
Bethany Appleton
Schools ManagerAfter graduating from the University of Oxford with a Master's degree in English Literature, Bethany joined CSSF in 2019. She has always been passionate about the power of the arts to enrich and transform lives, and is now responsible for overseeing the programmes team in delivering high-quality Festival experiences for all participants.
Which Shakespeare character would you be? If Bethany were a Shakespeare character, she would be Beatrice - independent, articulate, loyal, and a great friend to have.
-
Beth Punnett
Programmes CoordinatorBeth's passion for Shakespeare, storytelling, and creative learning grew from when she worked within the Education department at Shakespeare's Globe. A degree, several different arts-based jobs, and many trips to the theatre later, she has become a bit of a Shakespeare fiend, and feels right at home at CSSF. Beth loves working in partnership with teachers and young people to help them realise the full potential of their artistic voice. She firmly believes that Shakespeare's plays are timeless in their potential to be re-moulded and reclaimed by all.
Which Shakespeare character would you be? Viola, since she is determined and a hopeless romantic.
-
Craig Dacey
Sales and Marketing ManagerCraig previously worked in B2B and B2C music publishing before treading the CSSF boards. Always passionate about the power of theatre and storytelling, Craig takes pride aligning these two pillars perfectly as an arts marketer. He can’t wait to welcome the next Festival cohorts to #OurStage, while showing the world that Shakespeare is indeed for everyone!
Which Shakespeare character would you be? To ‘let the cat out of the box’, Craig would have to be Dogberry from Much Ado About Nothing as he frequently gets phrases and idioms wrong.
-
Grace Venning
Programmes Coordinator -
Ffion Glyn
Programmes ProducerFfion trained as an actor and spent years dressing up for a living, often touring schools, small to medium scale venues and the great outdoors. Whilst doing this, she was lucky enough to perform in a few of Shakespeare's plays (often wearing a moustache), including Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V. Ffion then discovered that helping young people and teachers to explore Shakespeare's plays was even better than being in them herself, and joined the Shakespeare Schools Foundation as a freelance workshop facilitator in 2014.
She is delighted to be working as Programmes Producer with the core team in CSSF, combining her love of spreadsheets, theatres and stories. Ffion also works as a freelance producer, and has a specific interest in work for young people and Welsh and Wales based projects.
Which Shakespeare character you would be? Ffion aspires to be like the Fool in King Lear - occasionally entertaining and funny, but also not afraid to challenge others if she things that they’re in the wrong - even if doesn’t always make her popular!
-
Francis Christeller
Development ConsultantFrancis was born in New Zealand and has lived in London for over a decade. He has a passion for all things theatrical, having trained in contemporary dance at university and spent a good part of his professional career on the stages and screens of New Zealand, the UK and Europe. In 2015 Francis joined the team at LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) before joining the Shakespeare Schools Foundation team as Fundraising Manager in mid 2019. Since the charity joined Coram in 2020, Francis has stayed on part-time while spending most of his work life managing the theatre, dance and literature programmes of the Goethe-Institut London.
Which Shakespeare character you would be? Benvolio - because Francis is chilled out, super loyal and hopefully will survive right to the end.
-
John Chisham
Schools Outreach CoordinatorJohn’s love of drama and performance stemmed from taking part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival in 2009. He went on to study Theatre at the University of York and then trained as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. After spending two years working in schools and venues, John became reacquainted with CSSF via the government’s KICKSTARTER scheme.
Which Shakespeare character would you be? John would be The Porter from Macbeth, as he often tries to be cheery when things seem tough.
-
Kate Cohen
Schools Outreach CoordinatorKate trained at LIPA and worked as an actor before focusing on arts education. Working at CSSF gives Kate the opportunity to champion the importance of the performing arts in schools, and her favourite thing is to see the self-belief in a young person performing.
Which Shakespeare character would you be? Prince Escalus (Kate has two children, so has experience of telling people to stop squabbling...)
-
Lauren Brewer
Programmes CoordinatorHaving taken part in the Festival herself as an overtly eager year 8, Lauren is thrilled to finally be reunited with CSSF and a group of people as passionate about both theatre and Shakespeare as she is. Having recently graduated with a BA in English Literature from Durham University, she is incredibly excited to be a part of helping other young people find their own love of storytelling and the Arts.
Which Shakespeare character would you be? Whilst Lauren played the cowardly Pindarus (Julius Caesar) in her school's CSSF production, she aspires to be more of a Beatrice - headstrong and fun if a little clumsy!
-
Louise de Froment
Workshops and Inclusion ManagerLouise began her career working for the Studio and Learning Department at Theatre Royal Newcastle where a passion was ignited for theatre with a social impact. This led her to London where she completed an MA in Applied Theatre at Goldsmiths College. Following this Louise threw herself into the freelance arts world working on diverse educational and community projects with charities, theatres, museums and galleries across the capital. Louise joined CSSF in 2018 and is delighted to work for a charity so dedicated to giving young people the best start in life. When she's not raving about CSSF's work Louise can be found reading a good book, singing or entertaining her young son - often employing CSSF techniques!
Which Shakespeare character would you be? Viola
-
Saoirse Laaraichi
Schools Outreach Coordinator -
Tom Barker
Theatres & Staffing Manager
Artistic Associates
-
John Lightbody
Senior Artistic AssociateJohn is an actor, voiceover artist and freelance director. Among his many classical roles he has played Richard III, Benvolio and the Ghost of Christmas Present. He has delivered SSF’s workshops for over ten years, and most recently in the role of Senior Artistic Associate has overseen the devising of Teacher Workshops.
-
Brian Mullin
Artistic AssociateBrian works as a writer, deviser and dramaturg. He studied Theatre at Yale and went on to research Elizabethan theatre at Oxford. He loves CSSF's approach to Shakespeare, letting young people jump into the imagination of the world's greatest dramatist.
-
Guy Hargreaves
Artistic AssociateGuy's experience of watching Shakespeare on stage varies greatly. He has seen both some of the most thrilling, vital & exciting nights in the theatre, along with some of the most dull & boring. Guy is very skilled at remaining optimistic and making an idiot of himself. He works for CSSF because young people's take on the stories and language can be at the 'thrilling, vital and exciting' end of things.
-
Iain Jones
Artistic AssociateIain is an actor, director and practitioner. As a director he has worked at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, Greenwich Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and Edinburgh Festival. He was introduced to Shakespeare at school and loved it. “He's a great storyteller and takes us on adventures that are full of extraordinary characters.” His favourite character is Puck, because he has so much fun.
-
Jordana Golbourn
Artistic AssociateJordana is a theatre maker and facilitator working with community artists. She has a decade of experience working with companies such as Almeida Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, and Old Vic Theatre. She is the director of Almeida Academy, a programme that gives 5 to 14-year-olds the opportunity to work with theatre professionals to devise and stage brand new plays.
Jordana has also trained with Oily Cart on making theatre for young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).
-
Kate Hughes
Artistic AssociateKate (stage name Kate Middleton) is an actor based in London and originally from the West Midlands. She performs in theatre and on screen, and has a penchant for anything period.
-
Rachel Ellis
Artistic AssociateRachel is an actor, director and theatre tutor. As well as working in the mainstream as an actor Rachel has developed her interest in more experimental work involving physical theatre. She is currently Head of Drama at Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts and has her own theatre company - Faculty of Wonder.
-
Richard Weinman
Artistic AssociateRichard is an Associate Director at the Lyric, Hammersmith, where he recently directed Passin’ Thru as part of the Evolution Festival of work by young people. He has been an Associate for the National Youth theatre and the National Theatre Connections project. He is interested in theatre as a way to social inclusion and works frequently with hard-to-reach groups such as NEET young people and young offenders.
-
Timothy Allsop
Artistic AssociateTimothy is an actor, writer and Creative Director of Turn of Phrase, an educational firm focusing on gender and LGBTQ work. He studied History at Oxford before training as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he teaches on the summer programme. As an actor he has performed at both the National and Shakespeare's Globe and has played roles such as Richard III, Horatio and Oberon. His publications include: Open, The Smog and his short stories appear in Grist and Bedford Square. He loves working with CSSF, helping to deliver the teacher workshops and as a staff director for the Festival.
Trustees
-
James Dray
Chair of TrusteesJames is a partner at Brunswick, the strategic advisory firm. He helps to lead Brunswick's work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he completed a 12-month secondment leading communications in Europe and the Middle East. He has also worked with Wellcome Trust, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the Global Financing Facility (GFF). James earned a Doctorate as a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he also taught politics. He is a former President of the Oxford Union and World Universities Debating Champion.
-
Guy Davies
Vice Chair of TrusteesGuy is a chartered accountant, a trustee at the Social Business Trust and a trustee at Parents and Children Together, an adoption charity. Previously he was a partner and head of financing at Permira, an international private equity firm. He has been a trustee of CSSF since 2016.
-
Dr Carol Homden CBE
TrusteeCarol is Chief Executive of Coram, a group of specialist children charities reaching 2.5 million children, families and professionals every year. Formerly a member of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, she served on the Adoption Leadership Board for seven years and is also a continuing member of the Children’s Interagency Group and the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Carol is Chair of the National Autistic Society, which operates seven specialist schools and multiple adult services and delivers national accreditation. Carol was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her contribution to services for children and families. Having started her career setting up print media enterprises in East Anglia as a freelance arts journalist and editor, she was previously Director of Marketing and Development at the University of Westminster, the first Director of Marketing and Public Affairs at the British Museum and Commercial Director for the Prince’s Trust.
-
Chloë Surowiec-Allison
TrusteeChloë is a Civil Servant and currently heads up DCMS’ Volunteering Strategy Team. She draws on ten years’ experience in government and charity sectors, including a significant amount of time working with social entrepreneurs and charity leaders to scale up social enterprises in the education sector. Chloë is passionate about the importance of education as an agent for social change and improving outcomes for all children and, prior to joining CSSF’s board, she spent five years as Vice-Chair of Governors at a large school in London.
-
Dr Glenda Jones
Trustee -
James Hadley
TrusteeJames is a partner at Bain & Company, the global management consulting firm, having joined the firm in 1996. He leads their Strategy Practice in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region. James is also an advisor to the Social Business Trust and a member of its Investment Committee. He has been a trustee of CSSF since 2016.
-
Jill Pay
TrusteeJill’s background is business management. Jill became the first female Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons in 2008. Her passion is to help people to develop, grow and succeed, from primary school children struggling to learn to read through to female entrepreneurs finding their way in business and female senior managers seeking to join the Board.
Jill is Chairman of Trustees of the Coram Beanstalk literacy charity. She is a founder and an active member of Savvitas, a businesswomen’s network affiliated to Parliament. She chairs the Savvitas Senate.
-
Petrina de Gouttes
TrusteePetrina is an English teacher at an East London secondary school where she leads the department's enrichment programme. Prior to teaching, she worked in operational and project management roles for notable organisations such as the Young Foundation, UpRising Leadership and Future First. Before joining SSF in September 2017, she served on the operational board of a teacher training school and was a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth’s Youth Inspiration Group advising on youth policy.
-
Suba Das
TrusteeSuba is Creative Director of Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres. Previously he was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of new writing company HighTide and Associate Director at Leicester Curve. He was a Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio and for English Touring Theatre. His many directing credits include work for the Young Vic, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Octagon Bolton, Rose Theatre Kingston, Nottingham Playhouse, Northern Stage and The Roundhouse. Suba is also a Trustee of the North Music Trust (Sage Gateshead).
-
Vicki Wienand
TrusteeVicki is joint Series Editor of the Cambridge School Shakespeare Series published by Cambridge University Press. She has taught English in the UK and abroad and is now a freelance writer. Before joining the CSSF board in 2018, she was a trustee of two charities seeking to improve the mental health of young people.
More than
300,000
young people have taken part in the Festival
Our flagship project is the Festival - the world’s largest youth drama festival.
About our impactCoram SSF is a cultural education charity that exists to instil curiosity and empathy, aspiration and self-esteem, literacy and teamwork - giving young people the confidence to see that all the world is their stage.
Learn more about us
Shakespeare Schools Foundation
Telephone: 020 7601 1800