About Us


iceandfire was founded in 2003 by playwright Sonja Linden inspired by her seven years as writer in residence at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. Over the last six years we have become a theatre company with a distinct, contemporary voice creating work of excellence across our four work strands: production, outreach, education and participation.

The company sees theatre as the natural medium to communicate stories that make real and relevant the impact of human rights issues on our everyday lives; a dedicated space to explore and understand stories of interrupted lives of ordinary people; ordinary people who have become extraordinary because of what they have had to witness and endure.

iceandfire believes in the importance of giving a platform to stories that are often passed over or ignored. We choose to use theatre as that platform and by bringing people closer to those stories we hope to create empathy, understanding and fraternity.

We also believe in cultivating powerful new writing and aim to attract, foster and promote writers that respond imaginatively and dynamically to our mission to create dynamic, muscular theatre.

Through active involvement with human rights themes we creatively respond to key issues affecting our society and the world beyond. By working with a varied range of partners – arts, community and campaigning organisations – we will continue to disseminate our work to an increasingly wide-ranging audience.


Artistic Directors


Sonja Linden
Sonja's plays have been produced in theatres across the UK and USA. Plays for iceandfire include: I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda and Crocodile Seeking Refuge. Other work includes: Call Me Judas (Paines Plough, Finborough Theatre), The Jewish Daughter, sequel to Brecht's The Jewish Wife (New End Theatre) and The Strange Passenger (Paines Plough, Battersea Arts Centre).

Sara Masters
Sara trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and worked as an actor before forming the award winning theatre company, fervour in 2002. She joined iceandfire in 2004 as producer for the London run and UK tour of Crocodile Seeking Refuge. She has since developed he company's education and participation programmes, writing iceandfire's first production for young people, Separated, and creating the ‘Protect the Human’ playwriting competition. Sara also holds an MA in Human Rights from University College London.


Director, Actors For Human Rights:

Christine Bacon
Christine Bacon is originally from Australia, where she was an actor for many years until the Australian government's actions towards asylum seekers and refugees urged her (and thousands of other Australians) to take action. She has a postgraduate degree in Political Science, has been involved in numerous grassroots campaigns, including Actors for Refugees Australia, where she remained one of the core members until she moved to the UK in 2004 to complete an MSc. in Forced Migration at Oxford University. She has worked at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, London, and has been working on this project with iceandfire since November 2005.


Administrator:

Mary Connolly
Mary trained as a dancer in her native Ireland. After gaining her qualifications as a dance teacher, she continued her career in New Zealand teaching dance, choreographing, and producing dance performances with young people. Having undertaken an MA in Ballet Studies Mary’s interest in dance writing developed and she continues to pursue this, in particular investigating dance and performance which explores notions of rupture, social exclusion and displacement.


Associate Artist, Children in Exile:

Kieran Sheehan
Kieran is a freelance movement practitioner based in London. He has worked on numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company as a movement coach. Kieran is the co-founder and movement director of Knavish Speech, who focus on making pioneering work for early years children and adults (www.knavishspeech.com). Kieran is head of movement for the Actors Company and teaches regularly at other London drama schools.

For iceandfire: movement direction Separated (dir. Vicky Jones, 2007), Asylum Monologues (dir. Christine Bacon, 2007).


Education Project Manager, Separated:

Beth Anderson
Beth is a freelance project manager who works for creative arts and education organisations. A qualified drama teacher with 10 years professional experience developing and delivering drama and arts projects to empower children, young people and adults through formal and informal curriculum in schools, FE's and community institutions. Companies Beth has worked with in the past include Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Design Museum, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Creative Partnerships.


Trustees:

Mike Fage
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Jo Glanville
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Robin Harris
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Andrew Long
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Natalie Maher
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Matthew Reisz
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Kate Slattery
(biog coming soon)

Kavita Venkateswarlu
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iceandfire is supported by: