“Foxtale is a group of international actresses who are pushing at the received notion of theatre, twisting narratives with their energy and imagination.” (Paul Hegarty, Theatre Bubble)
Five European women step into the unknown and tell stories that you have to finish. Threading images and text, we piece together visceral performance artworks. We come into the space with a shared physical language that playfully guides our devising process. We train, we play, we dance together.
We believe in the liminal.
We believe in the spontaneous.
We believe in creating for the sheer joy of it.
Meet the Devising Performers of Foxtale Ensemble
We are five women – Judita Vivas (Lithuania), Lucy White (UK), Hannah Newman (UK), Emilia Oldani (Norway) and Elena Skreka (Greece) – we are devising performers with five different bodies and a shared performance making vocabulary.
Judita Vivas
Judita is a Lithuanian performer and physical theatre artist based in the UK. She is an Associate Artist of DUENDE, one-half of theatre duo Double Trouble, and holds a PhD from the University of Kent. For the past ten years, Judita has devised and toured a solo piece, collaborated with international theatre practitioners, companies and researchers, facilitated community projects, and taught physical theatre and actor training. With an emphasis on performer’s presence, movement, text and tangible materials, her work often draws on real stories, mythologies and autobiographical narratives.
Lucy White
Lucy is a process-based artist with a drive for social change. She is a Reflective Practice Facilitator and creative movement practitioner. Based in Bristol Lucy is investigating the subtle line between Arts & Health; currently developing ListenIN, sessions in creative body-listening practices for a more holistically healthy future. Since graduating from LISPA (now arthaus.berlin) in 2017 she has further her training in Clown with Dramatherapist and Clown Teacher Holly Stoppit and gained experience of working in the homelessness sector with Reboot West, an innovative project working with Care-Leavers using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In her solo-practice Lucy focusses on processing emotional material through the medium of the body, using character and story as a way of accessing presence and creative interpretation of the psyche. This is also manifested through drawing, painting and writing. Values of play, presence, integrity and communication drive her work.
Hannah Newman
Hannah is a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey working on a project, Playing A/Part, that explores the identities and experiences of autistic girls through the creative arts. She has previously completed a PhD looking at how immersive environments can help the diagnosis and understanding of autism and has worked as a senior practitioner on Imagining Autism. She works as a freelance evaluator for theatre companies, runs drama workshops in schools and has taught physical theatre and devising modules at University level. Hannah is interested in the combination of drama and the sciences, exploring how this connection can be utilised in training, performance and research projects. She is drawn to physical comedy, working with the ridiculous and encouraging playful encounters with others. She is a self-confessed geek who loves to research ideas and is always on hand to feed and water the Foxies (and anyone else).
Emilia Oldani
Emilia is a Norwegian theatre and film actress. Before returning to work in Oslo, she studied theatre in the UK and attended DUENDE School of Ensemble Physical Theatre in Athens, Greece. She enjoys experimenting with text and physicality on stage, telling imaginative stories, doing comedy and drama on the screen and creating moving experiences for the audience. In 2017 she co-funded a film collective in Oslo called På en måte Produksjoner, a group of up-and-coming actors who write, produce and perform in film. In autumn 2020 she started a five year long MA degree in primary school teaching at OsloMet.
Elena Skreka
Elena is a Greek performer and dramatherapist residing in England. She has studied English Language, Literature and Theatre (in Greece and the UK) and trained with DUENDE School of Ensemble Physical Theatre in Athens. She has an MA in Drama and Movement Therapy from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and works as a drama and movement therapist. Her performance-making interests include creating abstract narratives, innovative staging of literature and physical improvisation.
Foxtale Ensemble 