HIGHTIDE - Key Persons
Beth Watson is the Development Manager at HighTide, which consists of organising events, securing funding as well as being the main point of contact for supporters. Beth is passionate about the arts, having studied Drama at The University of Exeter, and then going on to study Acting at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Prior to working at HighTide, Beth worked for a local hospice charity where she oversaw multiple income streams, and led on the biggest fundraising event in the history of the charity.
Caroline is a theatre professional with over 15 years' experience in a range of companies, encompassing venue-based and touring work, small to large scale theatre, and work across the UK. At the Donmar Warehouse she produced Blindness, the first piece of theatre to play to audiences post-lockdown in August 2020, and the Olivier-award winning Constellations in the West End in 2021. Most recently she was Business Development Manager at ATG, the world's largest theatre company, focussing on strategic growth projects. She holds an Executive MBA from the Said Business School at Oxford University.
Clare is the Artistic Director and CEO of HighTide.
She was previously the Head of New Work at the Donmar Warehouse in London, where she worked on over 30 productions, including The Trials by Dawn King; Love and Other Acts of Violence by Cordelia Lynn; Assembly by Nina Segal; Blindness adapted by Simon Stephens; [BLANK] by Alice Birch; Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; Berberian Sound Studio adapted by Joel Horwood; Sweat by Lynn Nottage; Silence by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Ishy Din and Alexandra Wood; Force Majeure adapted by Tim Price; The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui in a new version by Bruce Norris; Limehouse by Steve Waters; The Lady from the Sea in a new version by Elinor Cook; and Becoming by Michelle Terry and Rosalie Craig.
Clare previously worked as Executive Director of the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill and, prior to that, she was the Assistant Literary Manager at the National Theatre and worked in TV and film development with Rare Day. She also sits on the Creative Council of Shakespeare's Globe.
Colin has extensive experience in the charity and not-for-profit world, including business and finance leadership roles at Comic Relief, The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and the National Theatre. He has been a trustee of many varied organisations and is currently a Trustee of The Talent Fund, a charity supporting the grant making of new philanthropists.
Based in Suffolk, Elma Glasgow is a national award-winning inclusive engagement, storyteller and communications expert. On a mission to influence positive change, she works with project teams and organisations to discover and share diverse opinions and stories that are authentic, and to deliver content which is anti-racist, unbiased and representative of society. The catalyst for her work was involvement in the acclaimed and award-winning Power of Stories exhibition, and her related Aspire Black Suffolk community engagement initiative, which became a CiC, between 2020 and 2023.
Job Titles:
- Head of Trusts and Foundations at the British Library
Emily is Head of Trusts and Foundations at the British Library where she leads on capital and revenue fundraising and strategy for trusts and foundations. Emily was previously Head of Trusts at the National Theatre. Her previous experience includes roles at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) and Liverpool Culture Company as part of 2008 European Capital of Culture. She has a BA (Hons) in English Literature from University of East Anglia and an Open University Diploma in Winning Resources and Support accredited by the Institute of Fundraising. She was part of the June 2017 Clore Leadership Short Course cohort. Emily was one of the founding members of the Arts and Culture Trusts Forum which shares best practice with trust fundraisers from non-for-profit arts and cultural organisations from around the UK. She is a former Board Member of Company Three - formerly known as Islington Community Theatre - whose work has been seen at the National Theatre, Royal Albert Hall, on Channel 4 and the BBC. Emily is Co-Chair of the British Library's Gender Equality Network, working with the Library's senior leadership to better embed equality at every level at the BL. She is a former Trustee of the Fawcett Society, the UK's leading charity campaigning for gender equality and women's rights.
George is HighTide's Engagement Manager, leading on marketing & communications and supporting the company's writer development and community work in the East of England.
Having trained at East 15 Acting School, George co-founded Above Bounds Theatre Collective - producing innovative new work for children and young audiences. For the last 10 years he has worked extensively in theatre as a writer, director, facilitator, and festival producer. He studied Playwriting at The University of Birmingham under the tutelage of Fraser Grace, and teaches Playwriting at East 15.
Prior to taking up this role, George was Marketing & Communications Manager at Marina Theatre Lowestoft.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Co - Founder of Leading UK
Greg is the co-founder of leading UK drama production company, Drama Republic Ltd, with over 30 years experience in the TV and Film Industry. He works with the UK's leading screenwriters and nurtures new talent, producing shows for all the major broadcasters and platforms.
He is an investor and advisory board member at start-up Butter and Crust (https://butterandcrust.com/) and he also mentors an ex-prisoner who has just graduated from the 2 year screenwriting course at the National Film and TV School.
Hannah is HighTide's Producer, working across productions and artistic planning to deliver HighTide's programme and support creatives and shows at all stages of development. Hannah also takes the lead on our Environmental Action work, encouraging all creatives and theatre makers HighTide works with to consider a Climate careful approach to their work. Hannah first joined HighTide in 2021 as General Manager. Before this she worked at the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill as their Theatre Manager and the Bush Theatre as Deputy Front of House Manager. Hannah has also worked for Disney Theatrical Productions as a facilitator and acting coach for the Lion King's Cub Academy. Hannah studied at the University of Exeter, trained at LAMDA and is originally from Swansea.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Deputy Head of Schools Engagement at the National Theatre
Jane is Deputy Head of Schools Engagement at the National Theatre, where she specialises in designing projects and resources that bridge the gap between professional theatre practice and the curriculum. She has a particular interest in writing and literacy projects and managed New Views, the NT's nationwide playwriting programme for schools for 8 years. Before working at the NT, Jane worked for the Ambassador Theatre Group and Central School of Ballet.
Juliet Gilkes Romero is an award-winning writer for stage and screen. She is the recipient of the 2020 Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play with The Whip and the Roland Rees Bursary 2019, (named in honour of the co-founder of the Alfred Fagon Award).
Karen Goddard is HighTide's Associate Producer. Previously, she has worked with the New Wolsey Theatre, Red Rose Chain, Eastern Angles and the Mercury Theatre. Karen produced HighTide's 2023 HighTide Rising one-day festival of new writing and curated the company's 2023 Ghost Stories by Candlelight East of England tour. She lives in Suffolk and works on a freelance basis with a range of individual artists and organisations writing funding applications, and producing R&D projects and small-scale tours. Karen's next project is the development of a new play by Hannah Kumari focusing on the life of Sophia Duleep Singh.
Job Titles:
- Senior Producer at Artichoke
Kate is Senior Producer at Artichoke producing large scale works in the public realm including the Lumiere Festivals and the iconic London 1666 commemoration on the River Thames. Her producing work for other companies includes Robert Wilson's Walking for NNF as part of the Olympic Cultural Festival and artists including performance artist Mem Morrison and poet and broadcaster Luke Wright. Kate also works as a consultant with Bonnar Keenlyside.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees
- Founding Partner of the Agency ( London ) Ltd
Leah Schmidt is a founding Partner of The Agency (London) Ltd, an agency for writers and directors at the forefront of the theatre, television and film industry in the UK. Prior to founding The Agency, Leah was a Director at Curtis Brown Ltd for ten years. Leah began her career in the film industry in Los Angeles working at Lucasfilm Ltd. before moving into agenting in New York, at Rosenstone/Wender.
Job Titles:
- COO at the National Theatre
Liz is COO at the National Theatre, primarily responsible for the leadership and management of the theatre's finances to deliver financial sustainability. This includes helping to shape and drive forward income generation, compliance, operational effectiveness and good business practice. Liz also has responsibility for Health and Safety, Security, HR and Commercial Trading. Prior to the NT Liz held similar roles at Shakespeare's Globe and the Royal Albert Hall, before which she worked in the commercial West End theatre sector.
Lucy is a former teacher and SENCO working with both primary and secondary children. She started and ran a nursery school in London. She left full time teaching to pursue a career as an independent consultant and teacher specialising in working with children with specific learning difficulties.
Lucy is formerly a trustee of The Alistair Roberts Fund, East Feast and Chair of Wonderful Beast; all three charities have connections to young people, education and the community.
She is a governor at Framlingham College and on both education and welfare sub-committees. She goes on an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes and is married with three children and nine grandchildren.
Matthew is a career management consulting, digital & governance professional, based in Cambridge, and Executive Director & Trustee for the Cambridge Film Trust which delivers the film festival & year-round events. Over the past two decades Matthew has helped transform more than 30 leading organisations through projects and programmes spanning culture, sports, healthcare, government & public sector, education & publishing, financial services, energy, media & telecommunications.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Freelance Consultant
Sarah is a freelance Consultant whose portfolio includes a Directorial role with Ramps on the Moon an initiative working with the mainstream performance industry to normalise the inclusion of disabled people in all aspects of its business. From 2000 to 2022 she was Chief Executive of the adventurous New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.
Job Titles:
- Associate Artist of HighTide 's Climate Dramaturgy Knowledge Exchange
- Writer, Director
Sonny Nwachukwu is a published writer, director, choreographer and performer based in Peterborough. His work is multi-disciplinary spanning across writing, poetry, dance, theatre and anything that lies beyond. His work primarily focuses on the African and Caribbean Diaspora.
Sonny is a storyteller that incorporates dance and literature making his work relevant, unique, vibrant and thought-provoking. His academic background in Psychology informs much of his work and he is keen to tackle issues seen as taboo or ‘different'. Sonny received his dance training from authentic West African and dancehall teachers. He has performed with numerous Afrobeats and dancehall artists working across the UK and has performed at venues including Sadler's Wells and the SSE Wembley stadium.
In 2019 Sonny was awarded an Unlimited and Spirit of 2012 commission, to create his first full-length work entitled Circles, A choreopoem. Other current works and projects include Triple Threat (2019) at Poplar Union, Saturn Returns (2022) for Unlimited Festival, Southbank Centre, (Re)Union (2021) as part of Browntown Abbey at Battersea Arts Centre and new work in progress, Eve and Cain (2023).
Tassa is a Suffolk-based writer who also works in education and heritage. Indonesian born and raised in London, she has also lived and worked in Germany. She is interested in stress and rhythm and how linguistic shifts create different narrative spaces. Tassa writes around motherhood and womanhood and is concerned with capturing the whispered and hidden worlds that people occupy; her writing travels through dark spaces in search of pieces of hope. She is currently leading a creative project with local mothers and designing sustainable projects with Woodbridge Tide Mill Museum. Tassa is also a creative facilitator and has worked with various theatres and companies including The New Wolsey Theatre, Ellander Productions and Flight of the Escales. Tassa is a graduate of the MA in Writing for Performance and Dramaturgy at Goldsmiths University. She was selected for artistic development with Park theatre. Credits include: Two Under Two (Virtual Collaborators Festival); The Daughter Abroad (Theatre503); This Wall (The English Theatre, Berlin); Mothers Milk (ArtsDepot)
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Tim is a former Senior Partner of Slaughter and May. He is Chair of WaterAid and the Economist Trust. Tim is a Senior Adviser at G3, Hudson and Sandler, Chatham House and CER and a member of the Advisory Board of Uria Menendez. He is also a member of the Development Committee of the National Gallery. He was formerly a member of the Board of Big Yellow Group and the National Theatre and of the Audit Committee of Wellcome Trust.