BASELESS FABRIC THEATRE - Key Persons
Astrid Hilne was General Manager for Baseless Fabric Theatre between 2018 and 2019 and has been a professional theatre practitioner since 1986. Her theatre producing and directing credits include work at the Gate Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith Studio, Bridewell Theatre, Young Vic Studio and Royal National Theatre in London.
In the UK she has produced and directed (and translated) tours of new work and foreign classics to art centres and festivals. Astrid has also worked for Chichester Festival Theatre, Bath Theatre Royal and West Sussex County Youth Theatre. Further afield she has directed and lectured at Athens University, Ohio, USA, performed and directed in France and collaborated with Iindiza Theatre Company, in South Africa and the UK.
In 2002 Astrid added storytelling to her theatre practice, working in schools, libraries, museums, historic buildings and outdoor festivals. Since 2011, she has created and produced several Pop-up Performances for families for the V&A Museum.
Job Titles:
- Artistic Director
- S Lean, Entertaining Production -, Theatre Cat
For Baseless Fabric Joanna has directed Carme n (Merton Street Opera & Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre), Die Fledermaus (Merton Street Opera & Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre), Reunion & Dark Pony (Libraries Week), Cosi Fan Tutte (Merton Street Opera), Drifting Dragons (Merton Street Opera & Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre), A Secret Life (Theatre 503), A First Class Death (VAULT Festival). She also wrote the new English librettos for Carme n, Cosi Fan Tutte & Die Fledermaus.
Hadjilouca's design stands back and lets the piece flow, the ideal backdrop for Joanna Turner's skilfully choreographed, high-energy direction- , Theatre Cat
It's great fun, and Turner's updating gives a ring of truth to the potentially farcical story.- , The Stage
Turner's slick adaptation… is propelled by natural colloquialisms … and an enthusiastic and convincing cast- , The Stage
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Producer
Natalia is an advanced combat performer and a certified teacher trainee with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat (BASSC), as well as a stage combat instructor with Independent Drama. As an up and coming fight director, her stage work includes a Midsummer Might's Dream for Midsummer Scene in Dubvoknik, Puddle Jump's It's a Long Walk Home Tonight and an immersive production Bridge Command for Parabolic Theatre.
Since 2017, she has been assisting in stage combat classes in a number of drama schools in London, and in 2022 she has covered stage combat classes at RADA and Italia Conti.
Outside of her work in stage violence, Natalia is an actor-facilitator and theatre maker, working predominantly in immersive and interactive theatre, as well as theatre in education.
Nicholas trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). This summer he will appear in A Kind Man by Jonathan Finney and perform in Kussen's Where the wild things are with Shadwell Opera in Bamberg. Recently he has appeared for Theatre Magdeburg as Monterone in Rigoletto and in the world premiere of King Kong by Jeffrey Ching, sung the Mayor in the community opera Bloom Britannia by Orlando Gough, recorded Margaret Catchpole by Stephen Dodgson for Naxos, taken the title role in the world premiere of To see the Invisible by Emily Howard at Snape Maltings, played Garibaldo in Rodelinda, and sung Marcello in La Boheme. In previous seasons he has made his debut in Croatia as Smirnov, The Bear, performed in the Portuguese and British premiers of the contemporary work Hummus by Zad Moultaka and appeared as Maxwell Davies' Mad King and as the Officer in Glass' In the penal Colony with Shadwell Opera.
Before training as an opera singer, Nicholas studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where, when not singing or playing rugby, he read history and philosophy of science. During his time at Cambridge he was a member of King's College Choir. He began his singing career as a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral.
Following a BA in English Literature from Cardiff University and an MA in Writing for Performance from Central School of Speech and Drama Rachel has specialised in working with young people, people with disabilities and community groups. She shares her time between producing, playwriting, workshop leading, lecturing, copywriting, company management, fundraising, project management, consultancy and looking after her little boy.
As a producer, fundraiser and tour booker Rachel has worked for Peut-être Theatre, Impropera and WordPepper Theatre Company amongst others. She provides Arts Council and fundraising consultancy for numerous companies, including Ignition, Managing Mayhem and Cloud Cuckooland.
Her writing work has been performed at theatres in the UK and abroad, including The Royal Court, Theatre 503, and The Arcola Theatre, also at Chichester Festival Theatre, Royal and Derngate, Latitude Festival, Manhattan Theatre Source in New York, Live Girls in Seattle, Key City Public Theatre in Washington and Auroville in India.
Mezzo-Soprano Susannah Horowitz is a Masters graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, coached by Catherine Wyn-Rogers and James Baillieu. She is a graduate scholar BMus (Hons) of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
This season, Susannah will make her debut with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus for their Summer 2022 season. She has been a Young Artist with Nevill Holt Opera since 2017, including Chorus for Puccini's Tosca (directed by Oliver Mears), cover Marcellina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (directed by Joe Austin), gala and concert performances, and documentary filming for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2019.
Susannah has performed in opera scenes including Flight (Dove) - Stewardess. Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck) - Hänsel. Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) - Dritte Dame. Carmen (Bizet) - Mercédès. Giulio Cesare (Handel) - Sesto, in addition to working in depth on the character of Dorabella (Così fan tutte, Mozart) with British Youth Opera. During her time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Susannah performed in two opera productions, La Rondine (Puccini) and Sir John in Love (Vaughan Williams) directed by Benjamin Davis.
Alongside opera, Susannah is an experienced choral and session singer, working with organisations including London Voices and Warner Bros Games on film, television, and game soundtracks.