Meet the Team

Robyn Hambrook
Artistic Director

Katie Tranter
​Artistic Director

Robyn is a performance artist, director and producer with fifteen years expertise in street arts and outdoor theatre. She has worked internationally and performed with acclaimed physical theatre companies including Derevo (RUS), Akhe (RUS) and Oceanallover (SCO). In Newcastle, she is an associate artist with Let's Circus and Circus Central. Robyn teaches clowning through The Online Clown Academy. She has taught on the Foundation Degree at Circomedia and on the BTEC in Circus Arts at Circus Central. She has also directed successful productions; The Sexual Health Circus, The Vampire Rabbit and Arthur's Odyssey. Robyn completed an MA in Directing Circus at Circomedia in 2018 and has collaborated with companies including Cirque Bijou and Extraordinary Bodies. www.robynhambrook.com

Katie is an actor-musician, puppeteer and theatre maker who has worked on a diverse range of projects across the UK and internationally. Her credits include work for companies such as Extraordinary Bodies, Channel 4, Tin House, Theatre Sans Frontieres, Front Room Productions, The Bike Shed Theatre, Northern Film & Media, Tell Tale Hearts, Slingshot, Georgian Theatre Royal and BBC 2. She is Artistic Director of Fun in the Oven Theatre and an Associate Artist with Prom-Prom, Mazzu Teatro and Circus Central. Katie has also appeared in BBC 2's Edwardian Farm. You can also catch her this Christmas in Hiccup Theatre's Goldilocks and the Three Bears at Derby Theatre.  www.katietranter.com

Associate Artists

Amy ​Rose

Amy Rose works with the company as a director and company mentor. Amy is a director, teacher and facilitator of devised performance and combined arts with over 25 years experience.  Her specialisms include clown, puppetry, improvisation, play, movement,  socially engaged practice and outdoor arts. Humour, humanity, and challenges tp the status quo are regular features in her work.  Formally a street arts performer, she has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe.
www.amyroseprojects.com

Alys 
North

Contemporary dance and theatre artist Alys has a BA in Choreography at Dartington College of Arts and an MA in Performance Dance at the University of Chichester.  Originally from Bradford, she is now based in Newcastle. Alys works on choreography, performance and participation projects throughout the UK and Europe with companies such as Manasmitra, Merav Israel, State of Grace, Jabadao, Fertile Ground, Fun in the Oven, Changing Relations, Lizzie J Klotz and Amy Manacourt.

Dr Tracy Elisabeth Gillman

Tracy is an established actor, writer, director and academic specialising in performance, creative writing and the archive. She has worked with the company through the development of the project as historic consultant and dramaturg and to help uncover the creative potential of the archive. “The complex and disobedient story of the Canary Girls and related female munitions workers on Tyneside during the First World War remains untold. These working-class, property-less and mostly younger women were not given the vote in 1918 they would have to wait another ten years for that. We owe a duty of responsibility and solidarity to interpolate these women back into the archive and into our contemporary understanding of women’s lives as they have been actually lived.”

Roma
Yagnik

Acclaimed composer Roma Yagnik has developed the original sound design for 'Canary'. She is a composer for film, theatre and television with clients including BBC, Sky, EMI, Universal, UNICEF and Tate Britain. Her theatre and live event work also includes Key Change (Open Clasp), Taming of the Shrew (Sprite Productions at Ripley Castle), Leaving (Curious Monkey) and Enchanted Parks. Roma is currently part of BAFTA Crew. www.romayagnik.co.uk

Andrea
Jiménez

Andrea Jimenez has been involved in the development of the show since 2016 and directed ‘Canary’ in 2017. She is the Co-Artistic Director of international theatre company Teatro En Vilo, Based in Madrid she works internationally as an actress, director and teacher. Andrea has also collaborated with Blind Summit, Improbable and English National Opera. Teatro En Vilo's show, 'Interrupted' has won multiple awards at festivals since 2013.
www.teatroenvilo.com

Lesley-Anne
Rose

Award-winning artist, filmmaker and animator Lesley-Anne Rose has produced the short animated film which features as part of the show. Lesley-anne has made films for Channel 4 and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art as well facilitating participation in digital projects for people who have limited access to cultural experiences. She also works with the Anne Frank trust as a filmmaker in schools on a programme that promotes inclusion and challenges prejudice. lesleyannerose.com

Carole
Wears

Carole Wears is the associate producer and mentor for Fun in the Oven’s National Tour and beyond! Carole is the co-founder and associate director of Prague Fringe Festival and produces and programmes high quality work from inspirational theatre companies through her company CaroleW Productions. “​I am delighted to champion the work of ​Fun in the Oven​ and to be involved in their current Production​ Canary​. The company, their performances, their work and their ethos captured me from my first introduction. This is a team of women with a very clear vision, delight in spreading the joy of the craft of clowning with others and their ability to tell a good story with the tools of their trade.” www.carolewproductions.com

Sam
Fisher

Sam created the dynamic, tailor made costumes to respond to the unique aesthetic of 'Canary'. A recent graduate of Northumbria University studying BA (Hons) in fashion and design Sam has collaborated with a number of local theatre companies creating concepts and looks for their performances. He has worked as a wardrobe assistant at Northern Stage assisting in the creation of costumes for large shows including ‘James and the Giant Peach’.

Noemi Rodríguez Fernández

Noemi is show’s movement director trained at Escola Superior de Arte Dramatica of Galicia, Vigo University and LISPA. As a dancer and as a theatre practitioner she has played leading roles at the National Theatre of Galicia as well as with Spanish, Portuguese and several British companies including Blind Summit Theatre, Improbable Theatre and the English National Opera. Noemi is the co-artistic Director of the multi award- winning company Teatro En Vilo. www.teatroenvilo.com

Amy
Jones

For the 2018 tour, Amy Jones takes over costume development and hones their design to respond to the dynamic needs and aesthetics of the production. With a background in art, fashion and costume design, Amy founded The Artwear Emporium in 2012 in response to a demand for quality clothing for women on stage, onscreen or off screen. Amy endorses bespoke clothing, not only for it's quality, but as a way of reducing clothing consumption in favour of sustainable fashion!

Gary
Ward

Gary Ward is very pleased to be joining the team at Fun In The Oven Theatre as Stage Manager for their UK tour of Canary.  Born in Durham 35 years ago, Gary grew up in a theatrical home leading to an inevitable fascination for the arts. He has worked many productions over the years from Beauty And The Beast to Miss Siagon, even appearing onstage in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.   ''Having the opening line of the show was an experience I will never forget, I am more at home behind the scenes. My passion is to ensure that every production is staged with the quality and enthusiasm as if it were my very own" In 2014 Gary's own production company was the first to produce the Amateur version of AvenueQ outside of London's West End.