biography



Somehow, I got into Factory through a hole in the fence, since I am not an actor as such, but a singer. I do quite a lot of opera, which should involve acting, but in my experience, it rarely does. It was as a result of working with and having lengthy conversations with Tim Carroll about acting in opera and acting in general, that I wanted to take this research a stage further and work with the actors and directors at the Factory. Since that first day of work in 2007, I have progressed enormously in my understanding of what can be possible, though it must be said that the more that is revealed, the more questions arise.

Apart from mincing about in operas, my partner and I have a wreck of a barn in Herefordshire, which we are turning v-e-r-y slowly into a house. It's all very eco-friendly, and many of the techniques are derived from vernacular building styles in the area. We cut our own trees, turn them into parts for the timber frame, use wattle and daub for walls, sheepswool for insulation and we have other daft plans, like building a wood-fired kiln to make floor tiles from the clay we have dug out on site, and constructing an underground rainwater cistern for flushing the toilets and supplying the washing machine. Any Factory members are most welcome to follow the example of the two brave volunteers pictured in the slideshow and come and help out - there's usually food and drink around and it's usually a laugh (when things go wrong). The barn and outlying area is also available as a free rehearsal space, being characterful, full of interesting objects and lethal.