OUR TEAM
Keziah Berelson
Co-Artistic Director
“Running Mafwa Theatre with Tamsin is brilliant because anything could happen each week. I loved our last project ‘Cooking with Parveen’ because I used to be a chef in France.”
Keziah is an Arabic and French speaker who has worked as a theatre facilitator in the UK, Morocco and France. Alongside running Mafwa Theatre, she is Project Coordinator for the Studio of Sanctuary at The Art House, where she develops partnerships, manages large budgets and engages artists in print workshops for refugees, asylum seekers and wider Wakefield communities.
Tamsin Cook
Co-Artistic Director
“I love working at Mafwa Theatre because every week is different! I like solving creative problems with a great group of creative, funny and kind women. The best moments are when we are in the middle of an activity and something unexpected happens, which gets the whole room laughing uncontrollably together!”
Tamsin has been working as a theatre practitioner since 2012. She has project managed and directed site specific theatre commissions for festivals. Tamsin has designed, delivered and evaluated community theatre projects for young people, prisoners and homeless men. Alongside running Mafwa Theatre, she is Community Director (Prisons) for Imagine If Theatre, managing staff, large budgets and criminal justice sector partnerships.
Matilya Njau
Project Coordinator: Lincoln Greening
Matilya is an RHS qualified gardener working in the Leeds area for mostly private domestic clients. She’s a keen amateur herbalist and spends a lot of her personal time learning about medicinal plants and how we can incorporate them into our lives. At the heart of her practice is helping people reconnect with their immediate surroundings, creating green spaces in difficult places and using gardening as a vessel to connect with self, ancestors and other human and non-human beings.
Bei Gao
Project Manager
Bei is an active Community Leader with over 7 years of experience within local charities working with new arrivals and settled communities, and over 10 years within the legal sector. She works with adults and children from diverse backgrounds, and regularly organizes cultural events and projects. She loves artistic performances and leads activities within Mafwa and in the wider community. Bei engages with people through art, language, and culture to promote togetherness.
Bei received her Master's Degree from the University of Bristol, and is a Level 2 Community Interpreter.
Beth Howson
Lincoln Greeners Support Worker
Beth is a community gardener, food grower, and group facilitator from Bradford. She has been involved in community food growing for over 10 years - running volunteer sessions and wellbeing gardening programmes, managing food production for a cafe, and running a veg box scheme. She likes getting to know people over a patch of weeding, and her favourite thing to grow is squash.
Molly McGee
Marketing and Communications Officer
Molly is an Arts Administrator and Office Manager with experience in Events Coordination and Production. She has previously worked with community arts organisations championing marginalised groups and implementing creative marketing and communications strategies. She likes playful, interactive content strategies and enjoys utilising digital platforms to provide behind-the-scenes access and insights into how creative projects get made.
She has a Film and Television Degree from The University of Nottingham and recently completed her Events Management Diploma.
Iman Elsayed
Community Engagement Worker
Iman was introduced to art's impact on society whilst studying a Research in Classics (Greek and Roman Studies) MA. Her passion for helping people to learn about each other and bringing different cultures together peacefully through the arts led her to volunteer at the Refugee Council. This connected her to Mafwa Theatre and in 2021 she was chosen to participate in the Associate Artist programme, developing her own practice as a writer and spoken word artist. She started an apprenticeship as Cultural Learning and Participation Officer at Open Source Arts in November 2021. She prioritises a greater understanding of different cultures, focusing on how the next generation can bring peace to communities.
VALUED SUPPORTERS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Mary Brandon
Sumera Bhatti
“As a board member of Mafwa Theatre I believe I have been given the opportunity to share my ideas and thoughts. It is a great privilege for me to learn, observe and experience the role of Board of Trustees. It’s a great platform for those women who were not vocal…they have gained the confidence to speak and share their ideas.”
Anne Collins
Anne Collins is a performer, writer and all-round creative person based in Leeds. She has been a Mafwa Theatre member since 2018 and became a Mafwa Theatre Associate Artist in 2021, embarking on a year-long programme with the company to develop her artistic skills and career path. Anne is a keen singer and member of Harmony Choir, Asmarina Voices and Holbeck Choir. She regularly performs with and represents Mafwa Theatre at events, has previously performed at the Leeds Transform Festival and is a campaigner with Lift the Ban. She volunteers for Refugee Council and Women's Health Matters.
Deborah Pakkar-Hull
Deborah is a freelance theatre-maker specialising in making work for/with children and young people. She has devised and directed over 25 shows, touring to schools, heritage, community and theatre settings, collaborating with a range of organisations, artists and audiences both in the UK and internationally. Deborah has previously held Artistic Director roles at The Play House, a respected theatre-in-education company in Birmingham; the York Mystery Plays, an outdoor community theatre event; and Leeds-based Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah, a longstanding children's theatre company. She combines her theatre-making with drama education consultancy work for primary schools and university lecturing on applied theatre practice.
Carys Fieldson
Carys is passionate about people-powered places and creative place-making. She has professional experience delivering urban regeneration and place-making projects. Through her work and advocacy, Carys champions creative and community-powered approaches to building thriving and sustainable neighbourhoods. Having worked with Mafwa on the development and delivery of Roxby Close Community Garden, Carys feels incredibly privileged to continue to support Mafwa’s mission-driven work as a Trustee.
Anthony Haddon
Anthony Haddon is a performer, writer and director specialising in work for children and young people. Founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Company Blah Bah Blah from 1985 to 2014, Anthony has continued creating new work for young audiences in the UK and with the Theaterhaus Ensemble in Frankfurt, Germany. He has recently set up kissküss, a partnership with theatre designer and visual artist, Nanette Zimmerman to create accessible theatre for the very young and the not so old.
Mary Brandon
Mary is passionate about the power of strong, supportive communities to affect change. She is the Campaigns Manager in Yorkshire & Humber for Asylum Matters, a national charity that works with communities to improve the lives of people seeking sanctuary through social and political change. She has been involved with and co-led on local, regional and national campaigns for asylum rights, including the #LiftTheBan campaign for the right to work for people seeking asylum. Before Asylum Matters, she worked at a local refugee charity delivering case-work and ESOL tuition, and also in mental health. As well as a proud Mafwa board member, she is a volunteer with Leeds City of Sanctuary and Bradford Rape Crisis.
MENTORS:
Tim Wheeler
Deborah Dickinson
“Working with Mafwa, I remember what it’s like to set off on a journey; the barriers, the obstacles and challenges. I remember the friends, experiences and skills developed on the way. Above all, I experience the joy of being in the company of others.”
Tim Wheeler
