Who am I?
Lovely to meet you - I'm Robyn!
I am a children’s theatre maker, sensory artist and community arts facilitator based in London. I specialise in collaborative ensemble-based theatre with devising and playfulness at its core. In all my projects, I use a combination of puppetry, clowning, storytelling, music and sensory theatre to create work that is forward thinking and inclusive, inspired by and working with the communities it is made for.
I am passionate about the power the arts can have on children and young people. This is why I work in this sector. As a disabled artist myself, inclusivity is a central part of my projects. I am particularly passionate about sensory theatre, community based projects and accessible theatre.
I love collaboration and I am always keen to meet new artists, companies, venues and community partners.
So if you fancy a chat, please get in touch, the first coffee is on me!
What I Offer...
Performer/ Puppeteer
I work extensively as a performer within the family theatre and/ or sensory theatre sector. Whether I am clowning in refugee camps to 1000 children, delivering an intimate sensory experience in a hospice or walkabouts with puppets at a festival - playfulness, inclusion and imagination are at the centre of my work
Check out my Spotlight Profile here
Director
I create inclusive sensory theatre, playful and imaginative worlds and stories that audiences can explore in whatever way feels most comfortable for them. I have experience directing theatre with integrated access, including BSL and audio description. I also work as a director for youth theatre/ community groups, where I place their authorship as the driving force of the narrative.
Previous Directing Highlights:
Sensory Circus - The Flying Seagull Project 2024
Material Monsters and Fabric Friends - Tiny Ideas 2024
What Happened to You? Hospital Tour 2024 - Nikki Charlesworth Production
What Happened to You? Library Tour 2023 - Nikki Charlesworth Production
Primary Playwriters - Oxford Playhouse 2022
The Forest Awakens - Kiln Youth Theatre 2022
Previous Assistant Directing Highlights:
The Snow Queen - New International Encounters at the Cambridge Junction 2021
Facilitator
Any location, any group - always fun, sensitive and curated to best fit the needs and interests of the participants.
I have significant experience delivering workshops to groups in non-traditional settings including but not limited to:
Working with young carers, sessions in secure mental health wards for teenagers, adults with disabilities, workshops in refugee camps/ temporary accommodation and sensory stories in hospices/ schools.
I deliver workshops on the following:
Puppetry
Drama
Storytelling
Visual Arts/ Crafts
Supporting the UK curriculum
Sensory Storytelling
Workshops can be delivered and adapted for family groups, participants aged 0 - 18, school groups, youth theatres, holiday clubs, one off sessions in theatres, community groups and many more!
Whatever art form you choose, the workshops are bespoke, personal and participant led.
I facilitate regularly with Embracing Arts, Create, The Flying Seagull Project, St George's Bristol and Polka. I have previously worked with Kiln Theatre, Angel Shed and Hackney Shed.
Access Consultant/ Dramaturg
I offer bespoke advice and practical support in making your company, workshops and theatre performance more accessible and inclusive.
Whether you need a full report on your organisation or thoughts on a new project, I am always excited to collaborate. I also build visual stories/ access packs for shows.
I deliver training in areas such as:
The social model of disability
Utilising sensory worlds in your work
Creatively embedding access in performance
Inclusivity within your organisation
I have previously worked with Embracing Arts, Filskit Theatre, Tiny Ideas Festival, The Flying Seagull Project and Concrete Youth
‘I really, really loved it! it was like an Entertaining, magical adventure!’
PARTICIPANT AGE 8 FOLLOWING A STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
Current Project - Sensory Seagulls
Sensory Circus - The Flying Seagull Project
I work regularly as a clown for The Flying Seagull Project. We are a troupe of performers, musicians and circus artists taking play to where children need it most. I have worked with the team in Jordan, Bulgaria and Poland as a clown offering workshops, shows and bundles of silliness and fun.
Currently, I am leading a new project Sensory Circus. A new participant-led Seagull experience where we place inclusion and access at the centre. Rooted in research and the social model of disability, the project focuses on explorative sensory play as a shared community experience for children, young adults and adults with disabilities. It offers the high energy magic of the Flying Seagull Project, in a way that is personalised and intimate, with lots of joy.
This project is delivered in a state of the art circus tent that can be put up indoors. It is a space where every participant can have an individualised experience. We curate and maintain a space which feels completely safe and receptive to the needs of participants. We push the boundaries of what sensory work and play can be and achieve.
We are now developing this project further. I will continue my research into the cross section between clown, play, sensory work and performance. I am curating a brand new programme of inclusive play - including shows, workshops and accessible circus equipment. This project will go to areas, globally, where there is less support for people with disabilities.
Get in touch!
If you are interested in this project as either a community partner, collaborator or performer - send me a message!
The Seagulls are so careful, trauma informed, equitable, gentle, silly, excitable. The show is expertly created and finely tuned to account for the reaction of the children. The level of care, detail, and compassion in the show is mindblowinG
Teacher - Sensational Circus tour 2024
