Chronic Illness and Theatre
14 Oct 13:00-14:30

Join us to hear about the experiences of chronically ill theatre-makers. We will explore questions around the challenges of creating theatre whilst living with chronic illness and of working in an overstretched, often inaccessible theatre industry; as well as the benefits of creative expression for wellbeing and the value of connecting with other disabled artists. The panel will be made up of theatre-makers previously on The Bank, Sheffield Theatre’s supported artist scheme, and led by Katrina Woolley.

Katrina Woolley (she/her) is a chronically ill theatre-maker and producer and director of Sightlines Festival. She is the founder of Big Mind Theatre, has worked with companies including Utopia Theatre and MAYA Productions, and was previously a supported artist at Sheffield Theatres, where she ran a creative affinity space for other chronically ill theatre-makers. She also works as a Support Worker and Youth Engagement Officer for mental health charity, Young Minds. 

Nicole Joseph (she/her) is a Writer, Theatre Maker & Community Artist based in Bradford. She is Creative Instigator at Bradford Producing Hub and has led on their Empowered programmes for Black & Global Majority, LGBTQIA+ and their upcoming Deaf, Disabled & Neurodiverse programme for artists. Nicole has a holistic, spiritual, human centred and community-care focussed practice. She was recently awarded ACE’s Developing Your Creative Practice funding to progress her playwriting practice. She is a director for Graeae’s Crips Without Constraints and has worked with the RSC, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Crucible Theatre, Tamasha Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre and Leeds Playhouse.

Zoyander Street (they/them) is a theatre-maker, an artist-researcher and critic working at the fringes of indie videogames for over a decade. They are a disabled, neuroqueer transgender person working with digital and interactive media. They are a PhD Student in Sociology at Lancaster University, on the Board of Directors at Typeset Rotherham and Critical Distance and the Board of Trustees at NEoN Digital Arts.

Shreya M Patel (she/her) is a disabled and neurodivergent actor and writer. She is a wheelchair and walking stick user with ME and chronic migraine. Recent screen credits include Then Barbara Met Alan (BBC), Perfect (Dave), and MO <3 KYRA 4EVA (Film4). Recent stage credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Sheffield Theatres, 2022), The Secret Garden (2022) and she is currently working on Night Shift with Zoo Co Theatre.

Eleanor May Blackburn (she/her) is a 26 year old disabled, neurodivergent, queer, working class theatre-maker/actor/writer living in Sheffield. She primarily creates autobiographical theatre surrounding mental health, trauma and feminist narratives through a comedic lens. She is an alumni of the 2023 Sheffield Theatres Bank Cohort as a writer. 

Alexandra Whiteley (she/her) is a disabled director and dramaturg, and recently competed a year as a member of Sheffield Theatres Bank Cohort. While her specialism is in Shakespeare and classical text, she has also worked extensively in new writing and horror both as a director and dramaturg and has a keen interest in accessible work (in particular BSL and integrated audio description). As well as this, she is an experienced facilitator, devising and delivering workshops from primary school age to drama school level. She also works as an access consultant and as Safeguarding and Access Lead for Radical Body Arts.