Craidd, formerly known as Ramps Cymru, has appointed five Agents for Change who will be based in partner venues across Wales and will look at each organisation’s specific needs and requirements.
They are Cathy Piquemal (Theatr Clwyd), Jonny Cotsen (Sherman Theatre), Bridie Doyle-Roberts (Royal Welsh College Music & Drama), Angharad Tudor (Torch Theatre) and Nikki Hill (Pontio).
Sara Beer, Director for Change was appointed in May last year and said: “I am delighted to welcome our cohort of Agents for Change. The experience they bring to the role will be vital in creating and leading change in the theatre sector in Wales. As well as supporting change in their respective venues the Agents will be working as a team to ensure that their knowledge and lived experience will benefit the whole Craidd partnership.”
Craidd is a collaboration between five Welsh organisations; Theatr Clwyd, Sherman Theatre, Pontio Arts, The Torch Theatre, and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Its mission is to improve mainstream representation, for and with Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people across Wales. It also aims to drive positive change in the partner organisations involved as well as within the wider theatre sector.
The first stage of the collaboration included an audit of each organisation, sector conversations, extensive training, and defining a roadmap for the next 5 years.
After consultation, Ramps Cymru changed its name to Craidd, which can be translated from Welsh to mean ‘core’ reflecting the ambition of the work from the partnership to be at the heart of all theatre-making.
Cathy Piquemal (Theatr Clwyd)
Cathy is a French national from Marseille, based in West Wales, with 30+ years extensive experience (UK and internationally) in the cultural sector including visual Arts, music events and theatre and performance as production coordinator, project manager, artists liaison and welfare and producer. Most recently she worked on a range of projects including Galwad, Aberetwm, Artes Mundi and Aberystwyth and Machynlleth Comedy festivals.
Two years ago, she made the positive and conscious choice to specialise in Access and Inclusion so Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people have genuine equal access to the Arts and participate fully in the creative sector.
Jonny Cotsen (Sherman Theatre)
Jonny Cotsen is a qualified Art teacher but left his professional career to develop himself as a performance artist and creative consultant for inclusion in the arts. Jonny performed with ‘Louder Is Not Always Clearer’, produced, directed and co-written by Mr and Mrs Clark. The show toured across the UK and Europe for over 4 years as well as a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 since its inception at Chapter Arts in 2017. It was then adapted into a short film which was supported by BBC Arts for their Culture In Quarantine season. Jonny’s documentary ‘Born Deaf, Raised Hearing’ part of the ‘Our Lives’ series on the BBC is a short documentary on Jonny’s relationship to his deafness. He also led ‘Hear We Are’ that explored the intersectional perspective of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people working in or excluded from the creative sector in Wales. It was through ‘Hear We Are’, that Deaf Together was developed and it brought three days of events, activity and performance that was led by Deaf people that took place in May 2023. It will continue in September 2024 under a new name, Deaf Gathering Cymru. Jonny is a trustee with Theatre Iolo and is currently a Co-Artistic Director with Papertrail.
Nikki Hill (Pontio)
Nikki is a multi-disciplinary performer and artist hailing from North Wales. Specialising in physical theatre, clown, and bouffon her initial training was in theatre and circus at Circomedia, Bristol. Later she furthered her training at École Philippe Gaulier in France, focusing on becoming a professional idiot. She has worked with a multitude of different theatre companies in the UK in a wide variety of roles. She works with immersive, street and interactive theatre as well as traditional indoor theatre spaces. She is Artistic Director of Dripping Tap; a theatre company specialising in devised work. She aims to make work that challenges, captivates and surprises. With a belief that community is vital, she aims to foster greater connections through her work and challenge the status quo.
Angharad Tudor-Price (Torch Theatre)
Angharad Tudor is a comedy writer, performer and producer from West Wales, her portfolio of work includes stand-up and sketch comedy, which explores the rawness of motherhood and life living in the Wild West (of Wales). Angharad’s work has been seen on BBC Comedy & BBC Sesh Wales. Angharad is passionate about platforming the live arts scene in Pembrokeshire, striving to make cultural experiences accessible, and has worked with a variety of arts organisations such as National Theatre Wales, Dirty Protest, Span Arts, Unearthed Festival & National Library of Wales.
Bridie Doyle-Roberts (Royal Welsh College Music & Drama)
Bridie Doyle-Roberts is a Multi-discipline Artist based in Pontypridd whose work involves creative leadership and community building. After training in Dance she founded Citrus Arts, a circus, dance and outdoor arts charity where she acted as Co-Director for 15 years. In this role she created festival, site-specific and touring theatre productions and developed education and community development projects. These included work with Green Man, London Youth Circus, Big Splash, Walk The Plank, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, Ballet Cymru, Arts Active, Arts Council of Wales, Earthfall, Coleg Cymraeg, Nofistate Circus, Circomedia and Bath Spa University.
Her current work involves immersive visual and sound installations with upholstered furniture, bilingual poetry and music. The work is tactile and invites people to experience in a sensory way, making it accessible for partially sighted people, like herself.
Bridie is an active member of her community, a Trustee for an old age welfare association and facilitator of a creative studio and community space in Hopkinstown.