Artistic Director, Crying Out Loud 

Rachel started her career mixing paint as a theatre designer but soon changed palettes for international touring with Ra Ra Zoo. To work her way up she assisted the GLC outdoor events team on her sit-up-and-beg bicycle in Battersea Park and Jubilee Gardens and, with Muldoon’s Cast New Variety, organized the Save the GLC 32 London Boroughs tour.

Rachel then rode her way round London venues as a freelancer programming performance and late night music clubs at Acklam Hall, The Diorama, Watermans Arts Centre, Riverside Studios, Lyric Hammersmith, Broadgate Arena and the Southbank Centre. In between she finished a Contemporary Arts Practice degree at John Cass School of Art.

After many flat tyres and bell ringing, Crying Out Loud was established in 2002 with an Arts Council Bursary and a 7m x 9m red velvet curtain, recycled from the Purcell Room. She has since cycled far and wide.

Director, Third Version Creative

Sud Basu is a producer, curator and cultural strategist with more than 25 years’ experience developing ambitious arts programmes, international collaborations and major place-based cultural projects.  Across his career, Sud has commissioned, produced and toured the work of major international artists at every scale: from intimate and socially engaged projects rooted in communities, to large public commissions, major festivals and international cultural programmes. His work spans theatre, dance, music, visual art, outdoor arts and interdisciplinary practice, and has taken place across the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Sud was part of the team that created 14–18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, which became one of the largest cultural programmes of its kind and reached more than 35 million people globally. He has developed major curatorial and programme frameworks for cities, festivals, venues and landmark public spaces, including the programme framework for East Bank at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,  His work has consistently connected artistic ambition with place, participation and long-term cultural development. He has supported and mentored London boroughs on major events, cultural strategy and Borough of Culture planning; worked with the Greater London Authority on major public programmes, including Trafalgar Square. More recently, he has developed UK City of Culture bids, place partnership programmes – supporting placemaking and ambition

Sud co-founded Ensemble ’84, a multi-award-winning theatre company based in Horden, County Durham, developed in partnership with South Africa’s Isango Ensemble.  He is also the lead author of A Strategy for Joy and Belonging, the current ten-year strategy for outdoor arts in the UK, setting out a national framework for artistic development, skills, evidence, advocacy and international collaboration.

Sud is currently a Trustee of London Sinfonietta and Without Walls, and a Governor of Rose Bruford College.

Programme Producer (Solent), Crying Out Loud 

Lucy joined the team with enthusiasm and a strong commitment to establishing Crying Out Loud (COL) in Portsmouth and the Solent region. She is playing a pivotal role in shaping strategic partnerships and fostering collaborations with artists and communities, ensuring COL’s work has a lasting impact in the area.

Her career in the arts began with Glastonbury Festival’s Theatre & Circus Fields, igniting a passion for live performance and festivals. Over 15 years at Larmer Tree Festival, she honed her leadership in programming and operations for outdoor events. As Lead Producer for Salisbury International Arts Festival with Wiltshire Creative, Lucy led ambitious projects, overseeing complex programming, marketing and delivery.

Based in South West England, Lucy is dedicated to harnessing the transformative power of the arts, driving cultural development and championing collaboration across the region.

Freelancer working on Creative Projects

Amanda has over 25 years of senior leadership experience, transforming arts and heritage organisations, most recently as CEO and Creative Director of Worthing Theatres & Museum.

With a track record in building resilient, financially sustainable cultural organisations that combine artistic excellence with real community impact. She is skilled in strategic planning, creative programming, audience development, community engagement, capital projects and equalities-led leadership.

With a strong love of circus and outdoor arts, for the last 10 years Amanda has programmed the Summer of Circus season in Worthing selecting work from the UK and internationally.

Newly entering the world of freelance project management, Amanda is now developing her interest in ecology and conservation and looking forward to a time when her two passions – circus and ecology might combine…

Co-founder & Artistic Director, Cirque Bijou

Billy is an experienced creator of outdoor spectacle, circus and street theatre since 1999. He started his circus life as an aerialist, performing all over the world, in tents in fields, parks and city centres, forming Cirque Bijou in 1999 with Julian Bracey. Since then Cirque Bijou have made thousands of shows across the globe for audiences of 50 to 50,000. In 2012 they collaborated with the Desperate Men and Diverse City to make Battle for the Winds and Breathe which launched the London 2012 Olympic Sailing events in Weymouth. It was a true epic, with 52 shows in 7 UK counties – with thousands of artists and hundreds of thousands of audience members. Significantly it bought Cirque Bijou into partnership with Diverse City. A year later the first Extraordinary Bodies show, Weighting, was made in only 10 days, with an exceptional company of disabled and non-disabled artists. Since that first commission in 2013 Extraordinary Bodies has made three more shows, co Directed by Billy and Claire, What Am I worth, Splash and Human.

In 2020 Billy created a new large-scale outdoor show that became the centerpiece of the Taiwan National Lantern Festival, which performed to 140,000 people over 16 nights. Billy is currently a board member of the Bristol City Culture Board and the Dorset Outdoor Arts Fund.

Creative Access Producer, Head Over Wheels

Daniella trained at the Royal Central School in Applied Theatre & Education, specialising in Disability & Access Arts and Community Outreach. She has worked with the National Theatre, Graeae, Access all Areas, Extant, and many more. With an adaptive practice to meet the needs of artists and companies, she has become a key company member quickly. Helping the companies creation, learning and development.

Director, Le Phare, National choreographic centre of Le Havre Normandy

Fouad Boussouf describes dance as momentum, movement. This definition also characterizes his own journey, marked by an ever-present curiosity and a constant desire for escape. His early years in Morocco, in an isolated village in the Moulay Idriss region, shaped his imagination with family celebrations and a natural environment of monastic simplicity.

After his schooling he attended workshops at the National Center for Circus Arts. In 2000 and began a degree in social sciences at the University of Paris XII Créteil while teaching street dance, initially informally and later as a teaching assistant. After completing a postgraduate degree in hip hop dance, he went on to dedicate himself fully to dance.

From 2020 to 2022 Fouad was an associate artist at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon, Équinoxe – Scène Nationale in Châteauroux, and the Maison de la Musique in Nanterre. Chosen to direct Le Phare – Centre Chorégraphique National du Havre Normandie since January 2022, he was awarded the insignia of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres the same year. At the CCN, he has added two new works to his repertoire: Fêu, a piece for nine female performers (2023), and °Up: Violin vs Football, a duo featuring a violinist and a freestyle footballer (2025).

CEO, Chief Executive,  Portsmouth Creates 

Gemma Nichols FRSA is Chief Executive of Portsmouth Creates, a Community Interest Company dedicated to championing Portsmouth’s creative sector and driving cultural development across the city. With a career deeply rooted in arts, culture, and placemaking, Gemma brings extensive experience in strategic leadership, partnership development, and delivering transformative cultural initiatives that put people and communities at the heart of the process.

Before joining Portsmouth Creates, Gemma played a key role as part of the senior leadership team for Southampton’s UK City of Culture 2025 bid, helping shape the city’s ambitious cultural vision and leading on stakeholder engagement, fundraising and campaign development.

Starting her cultural career as part of the team at Culture Liverpool, contributing to the city’s internationally recognised cultural programme and supporting major events that strengthened Liverpool’s reputation as a world-class cultural destination.

Throughout her career, Gemma has championed collaboration, inclusivity, and innovation, ensuring culture is not only celebrated but embedded within economic and social growth strategies.

Under her leadership, Portsmouth Creates supports artists, cultural organisations, and community-led initiatives, driving creative opportunities, cross-sector partnerships, and long-term investment in the city’s cultural future.

As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), Gemma is committed to advancing creativity as a catalyst for positive change, advocating for the power of culture to strengthen communities, improve wellbeing, and create vibrant, sustainable places to live and work.

Joint Artistic Director of Diverse City, and Lead Artist for Extraordinary Bodies. 

Recent artistic projects include two Extraordinary Bodies theatre productions; Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror (co-writer) and Delicate, (writer and co-director), both touring nationally, and the New Wolsey Theatre production of The Red Lion (associate director).  He has also been involved as a co-director of a large-scale outdoor film and community project on Dartmoor as part of Green Spaces Dark Skies, and Extraordinary Bodies’ outdoor, inclusive circus performance, ‘Splash!’.

As a performer Jamie has played the title role in the Elephant Man, the Leader in The Messiah at Bristol Old Vic, the role of Mathias in The National Theatre’s production of The Threepenny Opera, and performed in ‘Weighting’, a large-scale outdoor circus show created by Extraordinary Bodies.

He has previously been Agent for Change at The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich,  Diversity Officer (Arts Council), Associate Director (Graeae Theatre Company) and Editor of ‘Disability Arts in London’ magazine (DAIL).  Additional directing credits include ‘The Last Freakshow’ (Fittings), ‘Can I Be Frank With You’ (‘Datco’) and ‘The Trouble With Richard’ (Graeae). Numerous acting credits include Quills, I.D, All the King’s Men, Wonderful You (Film/TV) and Ubu, Alice in Wonderland, Flesh Fly (Graeae), 15 Seconds (Traverse) and Waiting for Godot (Tottering Bipeds).

Jamie is on the board of Level Playing Field, and Metal.  He is a Clore Fellow and a patron of Face Front.

Co-Artistic Director, Head Over Wheels 

Jonny Leitch is a musician, dancer, and aerialist working with Diverse City, Cirque Bijou, Graeae, Extraordinary Bodies, and Paraorchestra. They have Performed at the National Theatre, Southbank Centre, and Glastonbury Festival. Jonny is passionate about disability representation, inclusive sound design and using circus skills to push and explore his body’s movement in unique ways.

Senior Manager, Theatre Arts Council England

A former producer with over 20 years’ experience across cultural policy, funding and international performance. Her career has spanned theatre work of all types, including producing major circus tours with Crying Out Loud and CircusFest at the Roundhouse, giving her a long-standing interest in circus as both a contemporary artform and an important part of cultural heritage.

Tight wire Artist 

Poppy Plowman is a neurodiverse, dual heritage, tightwire artist who is best known for creating all-inclusive work that actively embraces identity and inspires anti-oppressive attitudes to emerge from her audience. 

Poppy Plowman is a neurodiverse, dual heritage, circus artist who experienced her lower education in several circus schools across Europe before graduating from Le Centre National des Arts du Cirque de Chalons en Champagne (CNAC) in 2018. Specialising in tightwire, Poppy later developed her practice to include hair hanging and highwire, performing a combination of these three specialist disciplines in contemporary circus companies across Europe. 

In 2023 Poppy began creating her own all-inclusive work around themes of intersectionality with the aim of embracing identity and inspiring anti-oppressive attitudes to emerge from her audience. Through her diverse background, and rich knowledge of circus, Poppy has since been able to create innovative work that is both deeply personal, and universally resonant. 

Co-Artistic Director and Producer, Head Over Wheels

Tilly is an interdisciplinary artist and circus creator. She loves to merge artforms and use circus skills to tell stories. She has two solo shows Ripe, which has toured extensively around the UK. She has most recently created Handful of Nothing, which is touring the UK. She has also worked with companies such as Extraordinary Bodies, Stumble Dance Circus, Cirque Bijou and Metta Theatre.

This New Ground (TNG) is a participatory arts organisation working to elevate the voices and artistic talents of people with a learning disability. Our aim is to remove the barriers and increase access for people with a learning disability to make, participate and lead in the arts.

We provide high-quality creative learning and performance opportunities, enabling people with a learning disability to make and share art as widely as possible, live, recorded, digitally and online. We support participants to gain new skills and experience, grow aspirations, work with new people and move onto new opportunities.

Every TNG project is responsive to the people, communities & culture places it encounters. Since 2015, our work has been rooted in Hammersmith & Fulham, first as a response to gaps in provision for adults with a learning disability and growing organically into a thriving creative hub with local learning disabled voices at its heart.

Facing the exclusion and isolation of the pandemic, TNG has grown in ambition, developing blueprints for creative inclusivity and resilience, widening opportunities for adults with a learning disability to express themselves, to develop skills, to create and participate in their communities – through physical and digital engagement.

Today, TNG has extended its reach and impact by establishing a second hub in Arts Council England’s Priority Place, the City of Portsmouth, offering new opportunities for under-provisioned adults with a learning disability to engage with excellent cultural experiences, creative activities and place-based community projects. For TNG, this is an opportunity to touch more lives and further invest in our place-based philosophy and approach.

Below is a statement written by our TNG Collective of people and artists with a learning disability based in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Collective Statement: We might have a learning disability but people need to see us as individuals. We are all artists. We want more people to look at our art. Art brings us together. We are all unique. We are welcoming. We all have different talents and interests. We support each other. People should see our art and be inspired. We want acceptance and understanding. Unless people see our art it is pointless us making it!

Artistic Director, Upswing

“I fell in love with Circus because of it’s artistry. I stay in love with circus because it is a space for people to explore human connection – and to see the potential for the extraordinary in other human beings.”

Originally training as a research scientist, Vicki ran away to join the circus and performed across the world as one of the UK’s leading aerial artists. She is the Artistic Director of Upswing which she founded in 2006 – an award-winning performance company that expands the possibilities of circus not only as an art form but as an evolving and adaptive set of practices that can help us imagine and shape the world we want to live in. 

With Upswing Vicki has created/directed large-scale ‘headline’ events for festivals, projects in found spaces, theatre projects, and innovative participatory projects including developing a commercial toolkit to enable circus in care homes. 

Outside of Upswing she is Creative Director and joint CEO at the Albany Deptford and Associate Director at The New Vic Theatre.