Who’s who at DIY
Meet the team of individuals who make up DIY Theatre Company!
David Austin
Core Company
David loves music and listens to all different kinds of music. David is a founder member of DIY and has appeared in all our performances. He enjoys touring and visiting schools because he likes to work with the children.
Martin Riley
Core Company and DIY's Board
Martin works at HMG Paints three days a week. Martin thinks DIY is great. His favourite character is Samuel from “Don’t Call Me Babe!” because he likes singing and he enjoyed asking the audience where they wanted to go on holiday.
Joan Lavin
Core Company and DIY's Board
Joan is on our Board and a member of the Friday Group as well as being part of the main company. Her favourite DIY show is ‘Don’t Call Me Babe!’ – especially the scene with the ‘shiny shoes’.
Sharron Casey
Core Company and DIY Board
Sharron likes finding out different information on the computer. She found out about DIY on the internet. Sharron likes coming to DIY because she likes joining in and meeting new friends.
Angela Chadwick
Core Company, Friday Group and DIY Board
Angela enjoys playing bingo. Angela is a founder member of DIY. She has been with the company all the way through and still likes doing it. She says she’s never going to stop! She likes representing DIY at meetings and telling the rest of the company about what has been happening at the meetings.
Anna Ward
Core Company and Friday Group
Anna likes wearing the DIY T-shirt. She likes going to Langworthy Cornerstone and working with instruments. Anna is one of the leaders at DIY BUDs. She puts out the chairs at the beginning of the session and leads games like passing the microphone round the circle.
Cathy Rothwell
Core Company, Friday Group and DIY Board
Cathy loves all the Soaps – especially Corrie. Cathy enjoys coming to DIY and her favourite part is doing performances. Cathy is a member of the core company and also leads workshops with the Friday Group.
Robert Noble
Core Company
Robert likes playing bingo. He enjoys acting, playing with all the instruments and working with the props.
Charlotte Little
Core Company, Friday Group and DIY Board
Charlotte loves Lego – if she gets worried she does Lego to take her mind off things. Charlotte likes working with DIY because she likes learning new skills and working with different people. She also likes working with different organisations like Graeae Theatre Company and being involved in conferences like Creative Minds North.
Amy Carter
Core Company, Friday Group and DIY Board
Amy works at the hospital, where she keeps the staff corridors clean and tidy. Amy was told about DIY by a friend. DIY has helped her become more confident. She likes leading at DIY BUDS on a Thursday afternoon.
Paul Traynor
Core Company
Paul is a member of the Tuesday Group and of DIY Buds. He likes playing the drama games. Paul also enjoys playing bingo at Top Club.
Adam Leech
Friday Group
Adam is a member of the Friday Group and DIY Buds. He is a big fan of Manchester Storm Ice Hockey team. His family is very important to him.
John Doyle
Administrator
John has six grandchildren and enjoys seeing them growing up and taking part in their worlds. John says coming to work at DIY is a joy because he feels he is giving and achieving something. There’s plenty of variety in the work and there’s always something new to do.
Sue Caudle
Artistic Director and Board member
She has been Artistic Director of DIY almost since the beginning. She says working at DIY never gets boring because it’s such a creative place to work. Sue is trying to learn the saxophone.
Nikki Mailer
Friday Group Facilitator
Nikki works with DIY’s Friday leadership group. She studied an MA in applied Theatre and worked with DIY when she was a student in 2008. She is very happy to be reconnected with the company again. Nikki also runs a small arts collective called ‘Outside The Frame Arts' based in Manchester. She believes it’s really important that everyone is given a voice to be heard and thinks the arts is a great tool to do that. Nikki can also be found dancing like no one is watching.
Mary O’ Neill
DIY Supporter
Mary supports the DIY Tuesday group. She loves the warm, friendly atmosphere at DIY and being part of the team. She also works in street theatre and as an arts project coordinator.
Hebe Reilly
Project Co-ordinator and Facilitator
Hebe is a Drama Worker and Project Coordinator at DIY. She really enjoys working alongside group members, as well as working behind the scenes helping coordinate shows and events. Hebe also loves yoga & cooking food for friends.
Cath Snow
DIY Supporter
Cath assists Hebe on Monday nights with DIY’s Young Leaders. As a group the Young Leaders plan workshops to deliver and brainstorm ideas for DIY activities! Outside of DIY Cath facilitates workshops in prisons and secure care units and delivers arts facilitation to youth groups across Greater Manchester. In her spare time she reads a lot (her telly broke!) and cycles around Chorlton, occasionally popping into charity shops!
Bill Skeer
Access Co-ordinator
Bill is the company’s new Access Co-ordinater. It is his job to ensure that all the DIY Theatre Company members are able to be involved and reach their full potential as independently and as safely as possible. Bill has been involved with DIY for over 20 years. He worked for Salford Learning Disability Services for over 30years before retiring to spend more time on his hobbies, building stringed instruments, playing music and walking his border collie "Flint".
Molly Steadman
DIY Supporter
Molly supports DIY’s Friday group and DIY BUDS. She first met DIY when she wrote about them as a student and is really happy to be welcomed back to DIY to support their amazing work. Outside of DIY, Molly loves dancing and going to the theatre!
Carol Kubicki
DIY’s Treasurer
Carol oversees the finances; providing advice and help with budgeting and financial planning. When Carol isn’t at work she can usually be found touring in her campervan, walking or cycling. Carol enjoys playing her part in making DIY Theatre the excellent company it is.
Jenny Harris
Board Member
Jenny is very happy to be on DIY's board. Having worked with DIY for 14 years she says that to her DIY is like being part of a very happy family. Jenny believes that the work DIY does is extremely important and crucial to continuing to hear the voices of learning disabled actors in the theatre world. So she wants to help to find ways to better what the company does and help DIY to continue on their journey.
Di Critchley
Co-Opted Board Member
Di has been involved in DIY Theatre from the very beginning. First as a support worker and later as co-ordinator and occasional facilitator. Now she has welcomed the opportunity to remain involved with the company as a board member and feels she is able to use her skills and connections as a health and social care engagement and development officer for the local authority and NHS to support and advise the company on a range of issues such as accessible futures planning, creating easy read information and exploring total communication methods.
Andrea Fanchette
DIY’s Communications Officer
Andrea is proud to be involved with DIY and loves to see the inspirational work DIY does. She also works with other organisations who are doing inspiring work as a graphic designer, advisor and project evaluator.
Claire Hignett
Visual Artist and Co-opted Board Member
Claire is an artist and has known and worked with DIY Theatre Company and many of its members since its early days! Claire is a co-opted/non voting member of the board and supports the board members to ask difficult questions and understand the answers. Because she knows a lot of people and likes talking, Claire promotes DIY at various events and forums. Every three years Claire helps facilitate DIY's three year plan. She also runs the making for Theatre Courses. Claire makes art and grows vegetables and likes making a mess!
Leah Witton
DIY Supporter
Leah supports the Wednesday and Thursday sessions for DIY with Claire. She loves being a part of the DIY team and using her creative skills in a group setting. Outside of DIY she is a freelance visual artist who works on a broad range of projects and also sells her own artwork.
Nerissa Cargill Thompson
Designer
Nerissa is a Visual & Community Artist working on both performance and non-performance projects. Originally trained in Theatre Design at Nottingham Trent and recently graduated from MA Textile Practice from Manchester School of Art. She works closely with DIY members, using design within show development as well as designing sets and costumes for performances.
DIY Patrons
Jenny Sealey MBE
DIY Patron
Jenny Sealey has been Artistic Director of Graeae since 1997. In 2009, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Honours and in 2012 Jenny co-directed the London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony. She also won the Liberty Human Rights Arts Award and in 2018 was named in The Stage’s top 50 most influential figures in UK Theatre.
"I love being patron of DIY. The commitment, camaraderie and care with the company means the work is authentic, left curve and all embracing.
Theatre should be for everyone and DIY demonstrate this with chutzpah and pride."
Chris Gascoyne
DIY Patron
Chris is better known as Peter Barlow in Coronation Street. We are very pleased to have him as our patron!