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About SPID Theatre

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MISSION STATEMENT

MEET THE TEAM

Meet the amazing team members that make SPID what it is.

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Helena Thompson

 Artistic Director

Helena founded SPID in 2005 when the Residents Association invited her to run Kensal House Community Rooms, which was on Historic England's Buildings at Risk register, and has long suffered neglect, leaks and floods. She has since used her script writing commissions from Radio 4, the Bush and the National to advocate investment in social housing through plays like The Burning Tower and Smile!, both published by Methuen

Nnenna Samson

Head of youth and community programs

Nnenna is Head of Youth & Community Programs at Spid.

She created the living heritage programs and co produced it. Nnenna has continued to lead and write youth theatre and heritage projects for SPID. The F.F.A & Kensal Voices program, Trellick Tales, Reimagining Goldfinger, Game Changer, A Place for People and The Dream.

Nnenna directed Face by Benjamin Zephaniah, written, directed and produced 23176 Passerby and Team Spirit. She has consulted on the National Youth Theatre “Playing up Program” and has work credits with Talawa Theatre and the National Theatre Connection Youth Festival. Nnenna is passionate about empowering communities with theatre projects develop around shared spaces & experiences.

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Eeshita Azad

Production, Outreach and Marketing Manager

Eeshita Azad is a community arts activist, a poet and an arts management consultant with a career spanning over 15 years. Some of the places she has worked previously: BBC Media Action, British Council, Asia Foundation, Future Arts Centres. As a British-Bangladeshi woman growing up in London in the 90s, she feels strongly about social justice, diversity and inclusion. Currently Eeshita leads British Bilingual Poetry Collective based in East London, mentor for Middlesex University and Exceptional Individuals, an organisation that helps neurodiverse young adults to employment.

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Rosie Hull

Community Outreach Arts Producer

Rosie is a spoken word artist and theatre-maker who has predominately worked and studied in drama and applied theatre settings. Community engagement within the arts is particularly
important to her and is inspired by the people she connects with, often drawing on these encounters and experiences in her own writing. She is a strong believer that art and community go hand in hand, one will not survive without the other. Rosie has co-produced and written for
her first spoken-word film ‘(C)harm(h)er’ which is set to be released in September 2022. In her
spare time Rosie writes for grief and bereavement support forums.

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Sean Cleary

Community Project Coordinator

Sean is a writer and editor who has lived in social housing in Ladbroke Grove for 38 years. Passionate about the art of storytelling, the empowerment of self expression and working with local young people in the area, Sean enjoys having the platform to do this at SPID.

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KikiTurner-Brightman

Youth, Outreach and Marketing Officer

Kiki is a theatre maker and spoken word artist who has a passion for art and activism. They like creating thought provoking theatre that challenges societal boundaries and educates their audience, whilst infusing spoken word into performance. Their work often has an emphasis on social change as they believe Theatre can be used as a tool to educate and raise awareness on important issues. Kiki has toured serval pieces of theatre exploring their experiences as a burns survivor, the most recent being ‘The Snake Pit’, an autobiographical solo performance exploring trauma and avoidance.

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Melissa Lozano

Tech and Design Officer

Melissa has a background in Visual Arts and obtained a Masters degree in Moving Image. Her work primarily focuses on the local community.  She is mostly involved in education and developing workshops using the expertise of other profesionales when required. Melissa has great interest in developing studies, concentrating on graphic urban design, taking into account environmental issues, and visual anthropology. Her work also involves  artistic intervention in heritage buildings.

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Aini Javaid

Youth Assistant 
Aini is an hopeful writer and director, attending one of the UK’s leading film schools. Having come from a British Pakistani family in Bradford, she aims to challenge the norms of the film industry through the topics she chooses to create content about. Being around SPID allows her to join social justice and filmmaking together to achieve her goal of ensuring people from all walks of life are seen on any sized screen and to produce thought provoking stories.
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KeimarniHardy

Youth Assistant 

Keimarni is an aspiring actor, writer and director. He has written and directed 5 short films
and a pilot, one of which is his most prominent short films, romantic comedy “Frozen Mind”.
He joined Estate Endz in September 2021 which further equipped his filmmaking skills and
gained a valuable network that has benefitted him for his own projects. Fun fact: He has
featured as an extra in Adjani Salmon’s short film “Mai Jeroum” which won an award and 3
nominations.

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Sophia Ollivierre

Co Chair

Sophia's son attends SPID’s Far Far Away and took part in Step Up, SPID's professional program. Sophia’s work involves managing repairs for estates. She has first hand experience of advocating justice. She and her son were displaced by Grenfell, and live in social housing.

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Naomi Israel

Co Chair

SPID Trustee and Youth Ambassador, North Kensington resident
Naomi Israel is a North Kensington residents who grew up attending SPID’s free youth program before becoming a Youth Ambassador for the charity – because at a time when so many youth centres are closing, young people cannot do without SPID.

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Kai Gama

Associate Artist 

Kai runs Dare Arts Society, a valued SPID partner. He co produced SPID's radio play, The Dream. Kai has a background in music, film and theatre, and continues to record and produce short films for his band The Insomniax. Kai's spent most of his formative years living in social housing leading to him being passionate about providing positive experiences and opportunities to the community.

kai@dareartssociety.com

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Sammy Campbell

Yoga

Sammy has run SPID’s free yoga classes for more than 10 years. He specialises in using breathing and exercise to reduce stress .

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Mickell Lemard

Qi Gong and Gong Fu

Mickell has run SPID’s free Gong Fu classes since 2012, improving poise, stamina and strength with martial arts techniques.

ielboxing@hotmail.co.uk

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