Background

My Story
In 1999 I left home in Somerset to study World Theatre and English Studies in London: World Theatre because it would be interesting and would inform and inspire my fascination in different peoples, countries and culture whilst tapping into my abilities in the performing arts. And English, so that I could get a ‘proper’ job afterwards.

With my personal debts rising as a result of normal student life in the UK and a growing dislike for city life, I decided to take a year out to think about what I really wanted to do. I completed my first year at university and deferred my studies. I took a gap year in rural Kenya. Hosted by the Anglican Church of Kenya I lived in the same electricity free and tapless conditions as the local people in that area. My mandate was to be useful to the community.

The majority of my time was spent with a local drama club made of up local people in their late teens and early 20s. Together we developed and toured a HIV/AIDS drama around the schools in the area, aiming to raise awareness of HIV and the consequences of AIDS on a community.

In that community I saw that people came together for dramas. I saw that drama and the arts would pull a gathering in a way that community meetings and education could not. I also saw poverty, exploitation and injustice. I believed that if a community gathered together and pooled their knowledge and resources they would be able to begin to regain control of their circumstances and begin to stand against the harming factors that had begun to be accepted.

“Women are a beast of labour – yes, we mind but it is our culture.” – Mama Route, educated and empowered resident.

“in our community there is corruption everywhere. No aid can benefit our community because every individual tastes a little of the money , nothing is left for the community. Things cannot change.” - Mr Nelson. Respected teacher and role model.

It was for people like these that I wanted to use my gifting in the arts to be a catalyst for change. I wanted to be part of a process of individuals and communities regaining hope and using the power that they do have to develop their own communities. I had become less concerned about getting a ‘proper’ job.

I returned to the UK and completed an Applied Theatre Honours Degree at the Central School of Speech and Drama, London. I used my facilitation and participatory arts skills to benefit children and young people in an Azerbaijan refugee camp, in teaching the young adults in Zambian churches and with churches in the UK. After graduating I worked with Tearfund in the East and Southern Africa Team and worked with and gave training to partners that used drama with their service users.

The need and opportunities to work with partners in the UK and internationally using drama and the arts for cultural development became a personal mission in itself. I sadly said goodbye to Tearfund as a permanent employee and entered the world of independent consulting in 2005. This was the beginning of this consultancy service, giving training to benefit those affected by poverty and injustice and in support of humanitarian agencies both in the UK and overseas.

How did this consultancy service come about?

Joy has always been exceptionally creative. Academically she has received top marks as a performer, playwright and director. ......

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