Join us for a series of online discussions about theatre for children and young people.

We will be talking to four leading arts professionals about their work and practice, and exploring some of the key issues in the sector today.Discussing the importance of creating and programming theatre that is accessible, inclusive and relevant, we will be asking speakers to reflect on past and current projects and highlight key aspects of their practice.

All events are free to attend and will take place via Zoom and will be live captioned, we will send out instructions for how to join us after registration.

Julia Collar - Tuesday 19th January, 11:00

Theatre maker, Collar and Cuffs Co

Julia Collar is a neurodivergent sensory practitioner creating theatre, sensory stories and sensory trails/tours for children in the early years and/or people with severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities (SLD/PMLD). She is also mum to 8 yr old twins, one is autistic and the other lives with chronic illness.

The majority of her work focuses on emotional development, mental health and wellbeing. Her company Collar & Cuffs Co, which was established in 2016, has received multiple awards for their productions as well as for their contribution to the community. They tour nationally, visiting over 6,000 children each year in both traditional and non-traditional theatre spaces.

Julia will be discussing the work with Collar & Cuffs Co, creating accessible experiences for audiences, and how that is built into her creative process including post-show sensory play sessions and sensory tours; alongside reflecting on how her work tackles important topics such as anxiety and big emotions with children.

Parmjit Sagoo - Thursday 21st January, 11:00 Drama and Yoga Practitioner, Community Artist and Producer

Parmjit has worked as a Creative Practitioner, Theatre Maker and Community Arts Project Manager for over 18 years, with extensive experience of working within education and community settings. Her unique approach weaves together drama, creative writing, story-making, storytelling and yoga. Working across these art forms, she creates safe yet dynamic spaces within which people can explore, imagine, question and collaborate. She is passionate about using creativity to develop connection, support wellbeing, inspire personal transformation and explore social justice.

She will be speaking about how she creates safe spaces for young people to explore their identities and share their stories creatively; alongside how she combines yoga with her creative practice. Parmjit will be speaking about what inspired her to create work for children and young people and consider what the art world needs to do to become more inclusive.

Adam Carver - Tuesday 26th January, 11:00

Creative producer, theatre maker

Adam Carver is an award-winning midlands based creative producer, performance-maker, and cultural activist. They develop socially engaged projects, which use performance in diverse contexts to think about queerness, community, fatness, care, and making change. They are the former Festival Director of SHOUT Festival of Queer Arts and Culture, Birmingham. Their work has been commissioned by Birmingham Hippodrome, Home Live Art, Without Walls, Appetite Stoke, Offsite, and Greenwich Docklands International Festival.Their recent projects have involved creating and supporting pioneering queer positive performance work for children and family audiences, and the outdoor arts sectors - including creating FANTABULOSA: a public space interactive drag show for kids. They are currently the producer for drag iconoclast Ginny Lemon, and delivering PALAVER!, a two-year artist, audience, and sector development programme supporting the creation of queer positive performance work for children and family audiences.

Adam will discuss their work creating queer positive performances for children and family audiences. They will talk about their public space drag show for children, FANTABULOSA! And why performance is a good medium for these messages to be portrayed. They will consider what the world of children's theatre needs to do to be more inclusive and to ensure more queer positive performances exist.

Noel Jordan - Thursday 28th January, 11:00

Festival Director, Edinburgh International Children's Festival

Noel is the Festival Director of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival joining the team in October 2015 from Australia where he had worked in Theatre for Children and Young People for almost 30 years.

Noel has extensive experience as a producer, director, actor-devisor and drama educator. Working as a Drama Lecturer in Arts Education at the University of Melbourne he also completed his Masters in Education. As a producer Noel worked at Sydney Opera House where he curated the House:ed and Kids at the House annual youth programs (2004-2010 and in 2011 as a guest curator). He was previously an Executive Committee Member of ASSITEJ from 2008-2014.

Noel will be exploring the programming process and how his work at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival reaches those who aren’t previously engaged in the arts. He will speak about the steps they take to ensure the festival is as inclusive and accessible as possible.