Posted on October 2nd, 2025
Let’s Talk…
… because I love to talk. I’ve been AD of HighTide for a few months now and the team is getting used to my love of chat. I have so much to say and I believe HighTide does too. I think there’s so much opportunity for those working in and amongst the East of England to bring forward its own perspectives of being rooted in place, being shaped by community and being fuelled by the wide range of voices we have across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Essex.
So that’s why we have HighTide Conversations.
HighTide has always been part of the bigger picture, not just about a festival or touring plays. Proudly, we’ve always been about bold storytelling and creating opportunities for writers. But we’ve also been about highlighting the importance of being a strong voice within the theatre ecology from the lens of the East of England. HighTide Conversations is carrying on the legacy of bringing a voice into those spaces where others from these regions can be heard too. It’s a region of contradictions and possibilities: rural and urban, coastal and inland, deeply rooted and outward-looking. The stories that come from here, of migration, of climate change, of working-class lives, of joy and resilience, deserve to shape the national theatre conversation.
This is about telling people what HighTide is up to, what we’re interested in, what we’re passionate about. It’s about asking questions that matter to the industry and beyond. HighTide is in great company with other theatres and arts organisations, working in the East of England, so along with artists, creatives, supporters – you’ll be hearing from us all.
What I want HighTide Conversations to be is another form of dramaturgy, where it’s about listening, asking questions, and holding space for artists and communities to articulate their ideas and give us their perspectives. Some of the biggest challenges we’re facing in this industry, aside from economic issues, is the political landscape (which is where the economic issues stem from). The rhetoric is that new writing is at risk for touring theatre. Theatre programmes and initiatives are closing. Work is drying up and redundancies are happening. The East of England has increasingly become home to Reform UK constituents. Climate and environmental issues have long ceased to be just about melting icebergs and extreme weather conditions.
So yeah, we’ve got a lot to talk about!
Because now more than ever we need an uprising of artistic expression that speaks to what we’re facing as a nation. But also the joy of making and being artists despite all of these problems. The joy of creating work, engaging others in a concept, an idea, a story. I want to talk about this too.
The first episode was with Zoë Svendsen and Suzanne Dhaliwal, two artists and climate activists. We’re in the middle of a piece of work on Orford Ness, a former military testing zone, now a nature reserve, based on a piece of writing by Robert McFarlane. We talked about how climate change affects people in poorer or working class communities, people with health vulnerabilities, etc, but these groups of people are the ones who are not involved or invited into these conversations. We got into how we as artists can make climate action accessible through creativity. Heavy stuff right, but we need to talk about it.
The second, a completely different vibe, about a writer’s journey from being a teacher, taking time out to focus on motherhood and then finding her way back to writing. I was joined by Tassa Deparis whose new play Swallow the Lake on at the Mercury Theatre, is a nuanced and layered play about how identity is formed in small communities, the effects of being dual-heritage and being ‘othered’ from childhood and adulthood. We spoke about being women of a certain age, and knowing we still have so many stories within us, but aren’t often given the platform. Complex stuff. But we need to talk about it.
For those who are getting to know me as the new Artistic Director, this is me. Big conversations, deep themes. Constantly seeking collective voices and ways to express ourselves artistically. I’m not interested in HighTide Conversations to be another platform that talks at people. Goodness knows it’s already crowded with people with mics.
From the East of England, we’re connecting to a bigger story about what theatre can be. We’d love you to listen in, join us, and add your voice to the conversation.
Listen to the first episode here.
