Anna Newell

I have been making theatre adventures for people of all ages to watch and to take part in since 1989 - in theatres of all sizes, in a disused police station, in a shopping centre, on a barge, in a sonic lab, in a hydropool and in a secret apartment - in various cities in the UK and Ireland and also in the US, South Africa and Bosnia. I created the world’s first BabyDay (www.belfastbabyday.com) , introduced theatre for children and young people with PMLD into Ireland and helped start babytheatre in South Africa. I was shortlisted for the international Ellen Stewart Award 2015 for theatremakers whose practice has a strong social impact with a focus on young people.

Previous posts held include: Associate Director, Dundee Rep Theatre; Artistic Director, CETL(NI): The Centre for Excellence in the Creative and Performing Arts (a practical interdisciplinary arts programme at Queen’s University Belfast) and, most recently, Artistic Director of award-winning TYA company, Replay Theatre Company in Belfast.

I recently relocated to Bray in Ireland and my current freelance portfolio of work projects in development including a new inclusive dance show for audiences aged 3-5 with Indy4, the professional wing of Glasgow's Indepen-Dance, a new Early Years show with Oily Cart in London for winter 2017, collaborating on the International Festival of Childhood in Bath in 2017 and numerous other projects with a strong focus on Early Years and, in particular, babytheatre.