MEET THE TEAM

Say hello to our team! If you would like to get in touch, please visit our Contact Us page.

RUTH COOKE

RUTH COOKE

Executive Director

Ruth has extensive experience of leadership within the arts, specialising in communications, audience development, and community engagement, and is passionate about theatre and ensuring that its power to inspire and entertain is open to all.

Ruth has been Director of Communications at Hull Truck Theatre since 2015 and was part of the strategic management team who delivered the theatre’s highly successful Year of Exceptional Drama as part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. In 2018 Ruth also covered the maternity leave of the Executive Director.

Before joining Hull Truck Theatre, Ruth was Head of Communications at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, and the Marketing Manager at The Spa Bridlington during its £21 million redevelopment.

Other career highlights include delivering the marketing for the first Yorkshire-wide, cross-artform Illuminate Festival and working with East Riding Libraries. She began her career with the unfunded, adventurous, site specific Creation Theatre Company in Oxford. In 2015 Ruth completed a Masters Degree in Creative Writing at the University of Hull.

KASSIE JONES

KASSIE JONES

Production and Administration Assistant

Kassie assists the team with our productions, projects and all things admin related.

She has experience of delivering programmes within the third sector, particularly with under-privileged groups. In 2019, Kassie piloted the Young Refugee Project with The Challenge in Manchester, connecting young people with volunteer and employment opportunities.

Kassie trained at East 15 Acting School. Alongside her role with Northern Broadsides, she is a performer, puppeteer and theatre maker. During the pandemic, she was commissioned by the Indonesian Embassy to produce a recording of her shadow puppetry show to be livestreamed on National Wayang Day.

JESS ROONEY

JESS ROONEY

Marketing and Communications Manager

Jess looks after the marketing of our shows and projects.

She studied Psychology and an MA in Advertising and Design at the University of Leeds. 
She previously worked in marketing at Leeds Playhouse and Theatre Royal Wakefield. She does arts marketing on a freelance basis for companies such as Northern Rascals, Claybody Theatre, Stute Theatre, Thunder Road Theatre, Filament Projects and Watershed Productions.  

LAURIE SANSOM

LAURIE SANSOM

Artistic Director / CEO

Laurie took up his role as Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Northern Broadsides in June 2019. His work for Northern Broadsides includes Christmas Broadsides, Quality Street, The Aftermath and As You Like It.

Between 2012 and 2016 Laurie was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS)  for whom he directed The James Plays trilogy by Rona Munro. They premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2014, where he won a Herald Angel, before transferring to the National Theatre in London, where they won the Evening Standard and Writers’ Guild Awards for Best Play. In 2022, Laurie returned to Scotland to direct James IV: Queen of the Fight.

Also for NTS he directed his own adaptation of Muriel Spark’s The Driver’s Seat, and The 306: Dawn.

Previously he was Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate where he directed the European premieres of Tennessee Williams’ Spring Storm and Eugene O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon, both transferring to the National Theatre, London, and winning him the 2010 TMA Award for Best Director and a nomination for Best Director at the Evening Standard Awards. He also directed new versions of The Bacchae, Blood Wedding and Hedda Gabler as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Frankenstein (with Frantic Assembly), The Duchess of Malfi, Follies and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

He has directed for theatres around the UK including the Traverse, Birmingham Rep, Salisbury Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith, The New Vic, Leeds Playhouse and the National Theatre.

At the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, where he was the Associate Director to Alan Ayckbourn, he directed over 20 new plays including Villette (with Frantic Assembly) and a micro-musical season. His Watford Palace production of Dangerous Corner was re-mounted at Leeds Playhouse and transferred to the Garrick Theatre, West End in 2002. He also directed Kiss of the Spiderwoman at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Nightfall at The Bridge Theatre and Genesis Inc. at Hampstead Theatre.

SARAH OLIVER-WEBB

SARAH OLIVER-WEBB

Finance Administrator

Sarah looks after our finances. With a background in event management, she’s worked in production, administrative, and senior management roles in the arts and now specialises in finance and company management.  

Alongside her role with us, Sarah is a freelance practitioner working with various arts & cultural organisations. Previous to Northern Broadsides, she was the Executive Director for Unlimited Theatre. She oversaw their transition from a producing model to a grant-making model in 2023 and continues to manage the charity behind the scenes as their General Manager. She is also a Company Director for Designing Dialogue (S.H.E.D), a spin-out CIC from the University of Derby. 

MEET THE BOARD

PATSY GILBERT

PATSY GILBERT

Joint Vice Chair

Patsy is Vice Principal at Leeds Conservatoire. Since joining the conservatoire in 2018 she has developed new undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Musical Theatre, Acting and Actor Musician. At the core of all of these courses is storytelling, in particular giving emerging artists the skills and tools to voice their own stories on stage. She is committed to making radical and sustainable change to conservatoire training – leading on projects in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, particularly in curriculum development. Also speaking nationally and internationally on the role of women in the arts – promoting, empowering and supporting women to succeed. As a proud Northerner she also aims through her work to remove barriers for Northern artists to training and opportunity in the arts.

SAFOORA MASOOD

SAFOORA MASOOD

Board Member

Safoora grew up in Dubai and worked as an ICT Teacher with Primary school Children. She has a Bsc in Computer Science and a Masters in IT. 12 years ago, Safoora moved to UK and found a new niche in cake making; running her own social media page Saf Sprinkles. She also plays an active role in the schools Parents Teachers Association. When she can find the time to break away from her children she has a fascination with plays, theatre and thought provoking dramas. Her claim to fame is when Muhammad Ali came to UAE, he picked a baby from the crowd and planted a kiss to the forehead, this baby happened to be Safoora.

KATE MROCZKOWSKI

KATE MROCZKOWSKI

Board Member

Kate has been working in the cultural sector for 20 years. Following ticketing and fundraising roles in theatres, concert halls and music colleges, Kate moved to the tech sector and is currently Strategy Director at Supercool, an agency building websites for the cultural sector. Kate’s role is split between working directly with clients, helping them get the most out of their website and digital marketing strategies, and growing the business with a focus on recruitment, financial planning and new business. 
In April 2023 Kate completed her MBA at the University of Bradford. Her final project focused on the Circular Economy and digital sustainability. Kate’s research looked at how we can reduce the environmental impact of websites and digital activity. 
DAN O'GORMAN

DAN O'GORMAN

Board Member

Dan is a partner with Leeds law firm Walker Morris LLP and is recognised nationally for the work he does advising companies and institutions on corporate transactions.  He grew up in Hull and after a spell in London has returned to Yorkshire with his young family.  Dan’s love of the north is matched by his passion for theatre.  He believes that regional theatre has a unique opportunity to connect with its audience, and he looks forward to contributing to the future success of Northern Broadsides.

DEBBIE RICHARDS

DEBBIE RICHARDS

Chair

Debbie has over twenty-five years’ experience in the not-for-profit creative industries. She began her career in marketing for a mid-scale touring theatre company and for a small-scale arts centre, and as a producer of site-specific theatre in extraordinary locations.

In 2003 she co-founded Baker Richards to provide consulting services and software to cultural organisations around the world, equipping them for success. She led the firm’s evolution and growth, including the establishment of a US sister company, the development of new markets and the company’s transition to employee ownership. As a consultant, she has supported organisations to grow in accordance with their visions, missions and values.

Debbie has extensive experience of governance and oversight and has served on boards spanning a range of sectors, including theatre, media and live cinema. She is proud to be the Chair of Northern Broadsides.

LEO WAN

LEO WAN

Board Member

Leo is an actor and arts campaigner. As an actor, he has worked with the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe and New Earth Theatre. He works with a number of campaigns to ensure the performing arts is diverse, equitable and accessible. He is passionate about theatre’s power to effect social change.

LUCINDA HARVEY

LUCINDA HARVEY

Joint Vice Chair

Lucinda has worked in theatre production; human resources and welcoming disabled people since 1993 – in the West End; across the UK; in subsidised and commercial theatre companies.  For many years, she has negotiated and advised on working conditions of workers in the theatre industry.  Lucinda put the first audio-descriptions into the West End and many regional theatres as Director of VOCALEYES; ran a major access campaign for the Mayor’s office and set up the Relaxed Performance Project. 

 In 2015 Lucinda moved to Manchester from London to form her HR consultancy.  She works with small, middle and large-scale dance, opera and theatre companies on all things difficult (investigations, any type of goodbyes, training, writing contracts and policies or devising tailor-made solutions for the way forward).  

ALICIA MCKENZIE

ALICIA MCKENZIE

Board Member

Alicia has worked in theatre for over 20 years and has taken on various roles in that time as an actor, facilitator and art’s administrator. She started out as a mentor with the National Youth Theatre which led onto more facilitation work various companies. She worked at the Unicorn Theatre as Finance and Education Officer and then as Assistant Youth Theatre Director. She was also Head of Children’s theatre at East End Shed. Nowadays she still wears several hats as an actor, musician, storyteller, facilitator and teacher. She has performed with Northern Broadsides in their touring production of Quality Street.

NELLI MOONEY

NELLI MOONEY

Board Member

Nelli is a Finnish born, non-binary creative currently living in Scarborough. They’re passionate about asking questions others might not, advocating for marginalised voices to be heard – and included – in the theatre industry. While studying Drama at York St John’s University, Nelli fell in love with Samuel Beckett’s works which in turn inspired them to write their own absurdist material.

 Their current day job is a double whammy of Assistant Producing and Talent Development Co-ordinating at Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.

ANDY PYKE

ANDY PYKE

Board Member

Andy is a financial professional with charitable ambition, desiring to use his skills and expertise to support and enable worthy not-for-profit activity. He trained as a chartered accountant within local accountancy practice in East Yorkshire and in 2015 joined Hull Truck Theatre as Financial Controller, playing a key behind-the-scenes role during the excitement and intensity of Hull 2017 UK City of Culture. In late 2018 Andy took up his current appointment as Finance Director of Hull Churches Housing Association.

The aims of Northern Broadsides to be sustainable, compassionate and irreverent in everything chime strongly with Andy’s personal values. He passionately believes that art makes life better and is delighted to be serving as a trustee of the company.

JESSE SCOTT

JESSE SCOTT

Board Member

Jesse works on climate change, mainly with projects about government policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. She collaborates with campaigners, scientists, communities, companies, and media around the world, including in Europe, Africa, China. Her day job as a director of thinktank Agora Energiewende sometimes requires wearing a suit, while her weekend activities sometimes involve protests with costumes, banners and uncomfortable campsites.

MEET THE ART SQUAD

The Art Squad is a diverse group of artists and activists who represent our local communities. They discuss the programme, monitor artistic quality and advise on culture and social justice and have had a leading role in developing the thinking behind our projects.

KASH ARSHAD

KASH ARSHAD

Art Squad

Kash is a theatre director based in Halifax. He is currently Associate Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Kash has always loved theatre and was an actor for 15 years before he realised he wasn’t very good and decided to be a director.
He trained on the National Theatre Directors Course and has a passion for regional theatre, especially in the North. He has directed for companies and theatres such the Royal Exchange, Leeds Playhouse, Bolton Octagon, Freedom Studios, Chester Storyhouse and Theatre by the Lake. In 2021, his show 10 Nights by Shahid Iqbal Khan, a co-production with Graeae, Tamasha and the Bush Theatre, was nominated for an Olivier Award. He is an Associate Artist with National Youth Theatre and a Mentor Director for National Theatre Connections. He is really excited to be part of Northern Broadsides’ Arts Squad, being able to make a difference and an impact to his local arts ecology in Calderdale. 
DANEKA ETCHELLS

DANEKA ETCHELLS

Art Squad

Daneka is a disabled, queer, non-binary, working class actor and writer-for-performance from Carlisle, Cumbria.
They are alumni of the inaugural BBC North East Voices cohort and have just completed BBC Northern Voices 2022.
Daneka was Writer-On-Attachment with Box of Tricks 2021/22. They were shortlisted for the WarnerMedia/Royal Exchange Writers Exchange 2022 and for Sky Studios/Box of Tricks Screen/Play award 2020. Daneka has completed writers development schemes with Sky Studios, BBC, Royal Exchange, Live Theatre and New Writing North.
For theatre they have written with: Paines Plough, Box of Tricks, Theatre by the Lake, Emmerson and Ward, DaDa Fest and on ACE funded independent projects. 
Daneka writes about sore-thumb otherness – through disability, queerness, gender, class, rurality, identity, centring big cosmic stories in forgotten spaces and asking difficult questions.
As an actor, they have worked with: National Theatre, HOME, Northern Stage, Live Theatre, CAST, The Customs House, Northern Broadsides, Theatre by the Lake, Pilot Theatre, Octagon Theatre Bolton, Hope Mill, artsdepot and Papatango. 
She holds a BA Acting degree from ALRA and is about to commence a MA in Disability Studies, investigating the portrayal of disability in TV, film and media, in October 2022.
Hana Gillani

Hana Gillani

Art Squad

Hana Gillani is a single mother, achiever, dreamer and hoper. Having sought and won asylum after eight years, she now lives and works in Calderdale. Hana is part of our writing group at St Augustine’s Centre.

YOLAN NOSZKAY

YOLAN NOSZKAY

Art Squad

Yolan first got involved with Northern Broadsides when she took part in The Aftermath as a member of the ensemble. She is excited to share her perspective as a young person from Calderdale with the company. She works at a nonprofit tutoring agency, where she teaches children with lots of different educational needs. Having performed in plays with Calderdale Theatre School between 2015 and 2019, she now works there as a teaching assistant.  She speaks four (and a half!) languages, and in her free time she enjoys reading, writing and sketching.

LUCY CURTIS

LUCY CURTIS

Art Squad

Lucy is currently the MA Acting Course Leader at ALRA North. She is a theatre director who trained on the MFA Theatre Directing course at Birkbeck, the National Theatre Studio Directors Course led by Katie Mitchell and RADA. She then trained and was resident at the Royal Exchange Theatre under Sarah Frankcom. Lucy was Artistic Director of award winning theatre company, Changing Face, from 2014-2017. She has directed for the Southwark Playhouse, Arcola, York Theatre Royal, Bristol Old Vic, Oxford Playhouse, Park Theatre and Queens Theatre Hornchurch, amongst others. She has been an associate and assistant director for the Bristol Old Vic, Royal Exchange, RADA, and the Young Vic. Lucy has worked in drama schools for several years including East 15, Mountview, Fourth Monkey, Identity, ALRA and RADA.

KARL FALCONER

KARL FALCONER

Art Squad

Karl is an educator and the managing director of The PurpleDoor, the UK’s first truly free theatre. Through research with the Shakespeare Institute and fifteen years of experience in participatory and outreach arts, Karl has published research into working-class engagement with theatre and had work funded by the Arts Council and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. His work for stage and screen has toured the UK and Ireland and won numerous awards. He is the editor of Educate Yourself, a new collection of essays designed to bring empathy in education around some of the most pressing topics of the 21st century.

GOBSCURE

GOBSCURE

Art Squad

We write as burn, create visual-sound-and-perform as gobscure. We use plural as a reflection of our broken-mind. We’re Artistic Associates with Museum of Homelessness and Disability Arts Online (both lived experiences). Our last play joey was a testing ground commission (New Wolsey Theatre) in association with Greyscale, published by Aurora Metro, named ‘experiment of the year’, British Theatre Guide. From being a teenager under Thatcher to ‘rewriting the future’ with real creative resistances. provoked 2 madness by the brutality of wealth currently tours supported by BOOST: the Third Angel Mentoring Scheme and is about our revenge (13 years of reading, graduating from Open University, 2016) on one ‘support workers’ what dya need books for yr homeless? Currently turning mazer (part of Northern Broadsides’ Digital Squad) into a full length play.