Creative Team

Collette murray

(creator/director)

Collette’s recent professional credits as an industry director and voice coach include:  The Royal Court, Theatre de Complicite, HOME, Royal Exchange. 

Earlier credits include: National Theatre of Scotland, The Old Vic, The National Theatre, The Lowry, English Touring Theatre, Theatre Babel (World Tour) and Creative Partnerships.

In her role as a mentor of artistic development, Collette was Associate Voice Artist in Residence at The Sheffield Crucible for four years, and developed a bespoke voice and text traineeship for an actor at National Theatre of Scotland.

CHRIS PAYNE

(PRODUCER/PHOTOGRAPHER)

Chris is a photographer based in North Manchester. 

Box Office Manager (and the weekly quizmaster) at Cornerhouse cinema for nearly ten years, Chris then worked in audience development at The Audience Agency for five years, before going freelance as a photographer.

Chris’s first exhibition, Flash Bang Wallop, premiered at HOME Mcr in Autumn 2019, and he continues to photograph a wide range of other subjects, including food, events, theatre and, of course, "The Lost Words: Told In Gold".

Chris co-hosts The Gig Stories Podcast - a pod celebrating gigs, venues, festivals and the live music experience.

meriel pym

(Props design/Production Manager)

Meriel is head of Scenic Crafts at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. This is her first year in teaching. 

She has worked in Theatre for the last twenty years as a scenic artist, prop maker and designer, and enjoyed working for The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester for 14 years. 

The props for the show have been created by the first year students on the Production Arts course at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. 

These students have specialised in prop making this summer term. The training is entirely focused on equipping students with the practical skills and knowledge they need to enjoy long sustainable careers. 

Thanks to props assistants: Ella Lovelady, Felicity Simmons, Ella Jackson and Maya Barker. 

elinor birkenhead-jones

(Costume Designer/Maker)

Elinor is a multidisciplinary designer-maker based in Manchester.

She freelances as a prop-maker and costume designer-maker in Manchester and the North West for organisations such as Wild Rumpus and Frenzy Creative, working on productions such as Lanterns at Chester Zoo, Just So Festival and The Lost Carnival at Dunham Massey.

Having studied BA (Hons)Textiles in Practice at Manchester Metropolitan University, Elinor has a keen eye for colour, detail and texture, all of which, combined with a mixture of traditional and non traditional textile techniques, create rich, tactile surfaces that tell a story.