Who we are | knaive-theatre

We are about as small as they come. Just two colleagues who decided to make their first professional show together. It was a terrifyingly controversial show which took us all over the world and we have stayed together ever since.

TYRRELL JONES, Artistic Director. Tyrrell creates contemporary political theatre and work which provokes discussion and debate. The director of all Knaïve Theatre’s shows to date, he also co-wrote the company’s multi-award winning play, Bin Laden: The One Man Show, which has toured extensively, nationally and internationally since 2013, and adapted Karel Čapek’s War with the Newts for national touring throughout 2018. His most recent directorial projects for Knaïve Theatre include Covid Lockdown Breath Machine by Lavinia Murray and Us, (Post 23/3) by Kamal Kaan.

For Impermanence Dance Theatre, he directed and adapted Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, with performances at Royal Exchange, Manchester and Bristol Old Vic, and as Assistant/Associate Director he has worked with Indhu Rubasingham, Chris Goode, Mark Rosenblatt, Lucian Msamati, Amy Leach, Max Webster and James Brining.

He also teaches at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, University of Leeds.

Tyrrell has an MA in Politics from University of Cambridge and an MFA in Theatre Directing from Birkbeck, University of London.

SAM REDWAY, dramaturg & creative director. Sam is a dramaturg, librettist and director who specialises in drawing out the contemporary relevance and remade mythology of new works. He co-wrote and performs Knaïve Theatre’s Bin Laden: The One Man Show, wrote and performed in the company’s interactive educational project, Antarctica, and also performed in their adaptation of War with the Newts. For the latter he was also dramaturg as he is on the forthcoming productions, Covid Lockdown Breath Machine and Us, (Post 23/3).

As a dramaturg he has developed Plate (HER Productions), Daddies (Patrick Maguire), A Quiet Night In (Robert Elkin) And It Rains (Joanna Nicks) and many others through Manchester ADP. In addition to which he has also devised with many national and international theatre companies including: Theatre Ad Infinitum, Familia De La Noche, Dangerous to Know, Manchester Camerata, Smoking Apples, Hiccup Theatre and Engine House Productions. Whilst his directorial credits include, GOLD (Laura Bowler and Riot Ensemble), Contractions (Play With Fire) and Dead Tree Gives No Shelter (self-produced).

Previous libretti include Women Conduct (Size Zero Opera), Here Nor There and Cummings and Goerings (Royal Academy of Music) and a regular movement consultant for Dr. Laura Bowler’s New Music Theatre works, including FFF and Antarctica. He also regularly works with non-theatre communities to empower them to create their own political theatre and has written and directed a Modern Mystery Play, The Fall, for Ungdomskirken, Aarhus, Denmark and a large scale outdoor piece of community theatre, Macclesfield Potato Riot.

Sam has an MA Theatre Lab from RADA

Because we are such a tiny enterprise that means we love to collaborate. We are always looking for exciting people to work with and to inspire us.

So if you have something you think we might be interested in, which fits in with our ideals please get in touch.