ABOUT WORKIE TICKET
OUR AIMS
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Produce work which reflects current social issues
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Celebrate Women’s Theatre
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Promote Diversity
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Push Boundaries
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Provide new and exciting opportunities for North East Creatives
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Make lush theatre for lush audiences.
The term Workie Ticket is a Geordie colloquialism, which means someone who likes to push one’s luck- a chancer or a cheeky trouble-maker. When JoJo Kirtley was a young lass, her Grandad Joe would call her, “a proper little workie ticket” and the nick-name stuck. So, when thinking of a name for her theatre company, it seemed the perfect choice. In 2017, Workie Ticket Theatre was founded by JoJo Kirtley and in June 2018, Lindsay Nicholson officially joined the company.
Our mission is to shake things up, be bold, push our luck within the theatre world and empower people through our work.
OUR TEAM
Lindsay Nicholson - Co-Artistic Director
“We want to see more women in theatre, we want to see people of different ancestry and heritage, people no matter how they identify gender wise or sexually. It needs to be a lot more diverse.”
Lindsay Nicholson is a performer, facilitator and events manager. Having travelled, worked and lived on various continents she has returned home to use theatre as a tool in her local communities to share women’s stories and affect positive social impact. Lindsay was delighted to join the WT team and use her training and experiences to give a voice to
marginalised groups and share their experiences to others. Working for WT has given Lindsay skills as a Theatre Producer and she has learned how to engage wider audiences and develop cross sector relationships and lasting working partnerships to enrich and enlarge future projects. Lindsay is a performer, producer and facilitator.
JoJo Kirtley
Founder & Co-Artistic Director
“It’s hard being a woman in terms of what is happening in
the current climate, but also I think there is a gap in
the market for what we do and how we do it- working with
women and encouraging them through theatre to tell their
stories. Now is the time to speak up and speak out.”
A writer, producer, facilitator and founder of Workie
Ticket Theatre Company, JoJo Kirtley has been working
for over a decade to create real social impact through
theatre. Her work has been performed at The Lowry,
Contact Theatre, The Exchange, (North Shields), Live
Theatre and the 24:7 Theatre Festival. She is passionate
about developing work within local communities to
create a platform and raise awareness of issues that
affect women in the North East region. JoJo is also a
qualified teacher with a MA in Theatre Studies. She
balances running Workie Ticket with being a mother
and working for various women's organisations in the
North East.
OUR ASSOCIATES
Rosa Stourac McCreery
Rosa is a performer, facilitator, director, and organiser. Rosa is a Clown Doctors, and has been working in hospitals in the region for 13 years. She trained in Performing Arts at Middlesex University, RESAD Madrid, Ecole Jacques Lecoq Paris, and in Forum Theatre and other Theatre of the Oppressed techniques with Cardboard Citizens in London, and Theatre for Living in Vancouver. Her directing work includes mostly devised and new writing work. She directed a piece of new writing for Workie Ticket's first production, 'Hear her Roar'. Rosa is our theatre director for Women Warriors.
Dr Alice Cree
Alice is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Geography, Politics & Sociology at Newcastle University. Her research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, focuses on the value that theatre has in exploring gendered military stories and narratives. As part of the Women Warriors project, Alice attended our weekly workshops and will have ongoing involvement in order to conduct her research.
Sarah Dunn
Sarah runs Bridgelight Media who are a video production team based in the North East of England. Their work includes helping organisations - reach new audiences, address societal issues and bring attention to important causes. They endeavour to offer a personalised service that puts their clients first creating content that focuses on connecting with audiences and telling stories. In the past, Sarah has worked alongside Changing Lives, Newcastle Community Asset Trust, Turning Point, Workie Ticket Theatre Company, Spotlight Music and Roarsome Events. In addition to this, she has worked with a number of musicians and bands such as Hattie Murdoch, Palm Beach and Jah Glory. She has freelanced for organisations such as Little Big Butterfly, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Young Women's Film Academy, Sofar Sounds and DB Media. Sarah made our ‘What about female veterans?’ documentary and will be expanding this into a full film production.
VOLUNTEERS
Lucia Wyles
Lucia Wyles is a retired advanced lecturer specialising in performing arts, a director and she is also disabled. She has mainly directed Tom Haddaway’s earlier, original work. Being part of Workie Ticket TC has changed her life for the better and empowered her to be able to give something back. She believes Workie Ticket has given her the opportunity to re-start her career. Lucia will be volunteering as an assistant director for our Women Warrior project.
Sarah Sanderson
Special mention must go to the founder of Workie Ticket TC. Sarah is a Family Worker and mother of two. She is passionate about supporting Workie Ticket TC’s mission to empower North East communities. She helped JoJo from the very start and we are all very grateful.
GALLERY
PRESS & REVIEWS
See what some of our actors, writers and audience members think about our work...
KARIN YOUNG
Writer
“Workie Ticket Theatre Co is an important new addition to dramatic storytelling in the North East. 'Hear Her Roar', their first production, commissioned a series of short plays written by new and established writers, providing a fresh and exciting night upstairs at the Bridge Hotel. The show was attended mostly by people who weren’t regular theatre goers, which was great and different, and feedback was incredibly positive. The production was in conjunction with Newcastle Women’s Aid, and the whole thing had a compelling campaigning feel. We need to bring new audiences into theatre. This will happen through dynamic, funny and challenging new writing, often best performed in more informal spaces. Hear Her Roar achieved all this in spades. Writers, actors and artists are keen to get involved with this great new venture. We want and need a Workie Ticket.”
LISA WHIP, THE GUARDIAN
Review: Readers Favourite Theatre
Above a pub, in Newcastle, overlooking the Tyne, nine pieces of new writing written mainly by women, about women and women’s issues, played to a sold-out Geordie audience. Brought to us by brand-new theatre company, Workie Ticket, whose aim was to raise money and awareness for Newcastle Women’s Aid by staging stories about domestic violence, sexuality, abortion, pregnancy, bullying and the Durham teaching assistants strike action. Hear Her Roar had passion, heartache, love and solidarity.
LUCIA WYLES
Director
“My time with workie ticket has been extremely rewarding. The company is so refreshing and forward thinking. I love that they embrace disability (as in me) ! And that they are inviting to all who need a voice in today's society. They provide an open door policy to all and treat all their members as equal, valuable people. I love Workie Ticket because they gave me the opportunity to grow and participate within a company that promotes and celebrates women in the community as a whole.”
CHRIS IDDON
Actor
"I consider myself very lucky to have been a part of Hear Her Roar as both times I've had the privilege of working on powerful scripts with hugely talented actors and directors. Workie Ticket has achieved with Hear Her Roar, what all good theatre should, questioning what it means to be human, specifically through the eyes and experiences of women. Jo has created an environment of exploration and discovery which provides a safe, creatively fertile arena in which stories that illuminate the everyday and the hidden lives of women who face prejudice, abuse and the challenge of simply being women in a male dominated world.I know Workie Ticket will continue to champion new writing, emerging and established artists and exhilarating theatre as long as Jo along with many others, wish to give a voice to the unspoken.Thank you Jo, Workie Ticket and all of the talented creatives I have had the honour to meet, work with and observe".
MHAIRI LEDGERWOOD
Writer
“I was really impressed by JoJo as a producer. She kept in touch with me throughout her process and kept me updated as to developments during the rehearsal process. As I couldn't be involved with rehearsals due to work commitments, I was really grateful to JoJo that she did this. I've also been impressed with how Workie Ticket has brought in a whole new audience, and for the money raised so far for charity. A really worthwhile project and I hope it continues.”