About Spun Glass Theatre

about spun glass theatre

Spun Glass Theatre are an award-winning production company experimenting with crossing theatre and popular performance forms to create radical, anti-elitist performance. We devise original productions based on classic texts and work directly with communities to bring creativity out of traditional arts spaces.

We have a strong record for creating innovative children’s work including ‘princess charming’ a cabaret for kids exploring gender stereotypes, co-produced by ovalhouse. ‘princess charming’ was described as “pertinent and powerful” (A Younger Theatre), “an absolute gem of a show” (★★★★★ West End Wilma) & “hilarious, touching and truthful” (★★★★ Female Arts).

We work in partnership with independent artists and theatre companies to combine artist-led audience development, fundraising and project management with each artist's vision and form, creating more space for great art to be made.

Jessica Cheetham ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Jessica founded Spun Glass Theatre to create a platform for delicate new devised versions of classic texts. the 'spun glass' ethos was born from the Tennessee Williams quote:

"When you look at a piece of delicately spun glass you think of two things: how beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken.”

Jessica directed Spun Glass Theatre's inaugural production 'Laura' on this basis creating a distillation of the original Glass Menagerie text infusing the story of Laura with film, dance and visual storytelling.

She has led Spun Glass Theatre to critical success as both a director and producer and now oversees the development of the company's creative programme and partnerships with independent artists and theatre companies.

Jessica has worked locally and nationally with companies including always possible, Root Experience and as regional co-director of Bigfoot Arts Education South. She is a freelance funding access support worker for disabled and neurodiverse artists.

Board Members

Gavin Richards

Gavin originally trained as an actor at The Arts University Bournemouth. Gavin spent 7 years as a performer, gaining experience in both subsidised and commercial sectors of theatre which continue to inform his career as a producer.

Gavin is passionate about new writing, devised theatre and re-imagined telling’s of classic stories.

He is an Assistant Producer for the internationally renowned company, The David Glass Ensemble, here he assists on project specific productions as well as supports the learning strand of the company with their regular national and international workshops.
Gavin’s own ventures include, in 2018, joining emerging company Mad Wolf Theatre as a producer, where he helped develop the companies new ‘Blink and you’ll miss it’ concept and ensemble led devised approach to re-tell Shakespeare’ stories. He also joined The Signal House as Producer, to help with strategical planning and provide funding application support for their first tour of new writing production Whalesong.

Gavin is excited to join Spun Glass Theatre as a board member and looks forward to supporting the company.

Kelly Edwards-Good

After graduating from Brighton University with a degree in Theatre Arts, Kelly has been working with Spun Glass Theatre in a variety of roles, including Producer and Set Designer, touring shows to Brighton, London and Edinburgh.

Her passion for the arts has led her to work with a variety of venues in Brighton including The Warren and The Basement. She was also Editor of Brighton what’s on website We Love Brighton and worked for BN1 Magazine as a Web Editor and Social Media Manager.

Since 2016 she has been Press and Marketing Officer at the venue Komedia Brighton.

Mill goble

Mill is a freelance theatre/live game producer and general manager, and has been running Atomic Force Productions since 2011, following completion of the Stage One Apprenticeship for New Producers. During the Apprenticeship, she worked on the opening of Ghost: The Musical, as well as a variety of touring and Edinburgh Fringe shows, including Showstopper: The Improvised Musical, Potted Potter, Steven Berkoff’s Oedipus, The Fitzrovia Radio Hour, and Cabaret Whore. She was also General Manager for the Terror 2011 season at Soho Theatre.

More recent work includes: Operation Annunaki (Brighton Fringe and Shambala Festival), Mystery at Frankenstein Castle (Brighton Science Festival, Brighton HorrorFest, Guildford Fringe, London Science Museum), Alex Garner: Who? (Edinburgh Fringe), Help! I’ve Shrunk Santa’s Trousers! (Sweet Venues Brighton), and Beowulf (Brighton Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, and short tour).

She is currently working as Assistant Manager at RanSacked Board Game Lounge and Escape Rooms in Worthing, and is excited to be developing her theatre work in a new direction as a Board member for Spun Glass Theatre.

rod watson

Rod Watson is a Fellow of The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. For the last seven years he was the Chief Accountant for a Deaf Services Charity and additionally has a small mixed practise of private clients. Prior to that he worked as a financial manager/director in public relations, parliamentary lobbying and management consultancy. He is passionate about financial planning and measurement and will be launching a book on the the subject in early Spring 2021 - The Shining Path to Financial Excellence.

His career has also spanned financial management in fashion, construction, engineering, the horse racing industry and television.

He has published The Adaptive System (How to make a thousand pounds in your lunch hour) and The Iron Buddha and Other Tales. He has written and produced a play for radio - The Iron Buddha PR. He is currently working on an illustrated book for grown up children about a bear and his dogfriend who are both determined to eradicate world poverty (by lunch time). This is proving a challenge for a someone who failed his 'O' level art exam.

He is a very regular attendee of The Night Writers in Brighton where he has read one of his a new short stories every week; curently he is to read his 58 consecutive story. He is also published in their anthology.

He lives in East Kempton, East Sussex.

Image by studiomishfit.com

meet the team

Fleur mellor project producer

Trained at the London Studio Centre (BA Hons Theatre Dance), Fleur’s life as a professional dancer working in the commercial, corporate and theatrical sectors has informed her career as a Choreographer and Producer to date.

Fleur creates live work with a strong dance/theatre element with experience in musical, fashion, and corporate events. She is passionate about visual arts and excited by every aspect from lighting to wardrobe and how all these elements come together to create an overall presentation that's exciting to an audience or client.

Fleur is a co-producer and choreographer for Peter Corry Productions who produce shows, theatre and corporate entertainment.

Fleur is also a board member for Theatre & Dance NI who provide a much needed hub of information to the dance & theatre communities of Northern Ireland.

Fleur is the Theatre Search Regional Lead for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

sarah crompton-howes project producer

Sarah studied Drama at Manchester University and began producing work during her time there. She has over 10 years of experience as a leader in the arts, working with British and
International theatre companies and venues.

She is currently Senior Producer at award-winning international theatre company New International Encounter (NIE) based in Cambridge, where she has coordinated and produced I Will Be Everything, a transeuropean collaborative show workshopped in 6 European countries, and toured their multi-award winning productions around the world. Sarah’s own ventures include producing for renowned clowning company, All In Theatre, a long-standing relationship working with Shon Dale-Jone’s HoiPolloi Theatre and ACE bid writing for various theatre companies and individual artists.

In 2017, alongside Creative Director Daniel Pitt, Sarah formed Other Ways Productions, in the role of Executive Producer. Their inaugural programme of outdoor arts interruption In Your Way debuted in Cambridge in September 2018 in partnership with ACE and the Dutch Performing Arts agency.
Since November 2019 Sarah has been a board member of The Garage Performing Arts Hub in Norwich.

Sarah is the Theatre Search Regional Lead for South East England and London.

sarah sayeed project producer

Sarah Sayeed is a Producer and Artist who has worked across professional live performance, education delivery and leading programmes of work for theatre and education sector. She has been Education and Outreach Director for Peshkar Productions, developed award winning digital youth programme Livewire for Cornerhouse Cinema and Art Gallery (now HOME) and produced Karaoke 146 for LIFT.

As a musical artist, Sarah's practice focuses around contemporary works that influence Western classical choral works, orchestral ideas, Indian and Bengali classical vocals & instrumental works and Western contemporary jazz and hip hop. She can play instruments tanpura and shruti, and is the lead vocalist in international duet Myth of Her with violin and electronic artist Anne Eltard (Copenhagen, Denmark).

Sarah's credits include Composer and Sound Designer for Santi and Naz (The Thelmas), Composer and Sound Designer for We Are Shadows (Tamasha), Principle Musician in Richard 2nd at Shakespeare's Globe (2019, Composer & Musical Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company adaption of Moliere's Tartuffe (2019/2018) and Sound Designer for Contact Theatre's production on Suffragette Movement, She Bangs The Drums (2018).

Sarah is the Theatre Search Regional Lead for North England and The Midlands

steven atkinson project producer

Steven Atkinson is an award-winning producer currently working on projects in film, theatre, and television.
In 2019 he founded Long Acre Arts, a UK production company dedicated to commissioning exceptional diverse storytellers and producing their innovative work, and he founded Roots, a national touring company that stages classic plays featuring neighbourhood ensembles.

Steven co-founded HighTide, one of UK's leading theatre production companies, and led it for twelve years. He commissioned and produced over eighty new plays in theatres including the National Theatre, The Old Vic, Royal Court Theatre, Young Vic, in the West End, and Off-Broadway. He produced fourteen HighTide festivals in Suffolk and London.

Steven is the Theatre Search Regional Lead for South West England and Wales.

the spark factory

a festival of bold, risky ideas | Brighton Fringe

The Spark Factory was a curated festival of experimental performance at Brighton Fringe.

Spun Glass Theatre created a co-operative of artists to reduce the financial burden on
presenting risky, experimental ideas at Brighton Fringe.

The festival ran for two years (2017 & 2018) and we are currently looking for new opportunities to
improve and expand the offer to artists looking for a safe space to experiment with new ideas.

read our article on the spark factory in arts pro