About
Feral brings fresh perspective to familiar environments, giving voice to the essence of place through site-specific, multi-sensory productions.
We pioneer site-inspired performance that is Made In Herefordshire and resonates with national and international audiences.
Our vision
who we are
To give voice to and creatively celebrate a sense of place.
To stir the present to air the past through unrivalled, multi-sensory production.
To unearth the extraordinary in the ordinary.
To inspire people to live more consciously in their environment.
To work across art forms in order to promote synergy and understanding in diverse communities.
Feral delivers productions on a project basis alongside an ongoing education programme. A core team form the foundation of the company, supported by the board of directors and strong partnerships with other creatives.
Estelle van Warmelo
Artistic Director
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Estelle is an award-winning director whose career began in Scotland where she worked with new writing companies including The Traverse, Fifth Estate and First Base.
She moved to Hereford in 1999, working as a freelance director until Feral’s inauguration in 2009.
Since then she has prioritised driving forward the relevance of place-making production while continuing to hone her stage craft skills with her annual return to the Courtyard where she directs their highly respected pantomime.
Estelle is also a trustee of the national arts advocacy charity, The Campaign For The Arts.
The team
Jordan-Alicia Todd
Assistant Producer
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As Assistant Producer for Feral, Jordan draws on a varied career in and around performance.
Originally hailing from Hereford, she earned a B.A. (Hons) in Performing Arts from London Metropolitan University. She spent several years working as an actor, dancer and presenter in touring pantomime and at UK holiday resorts.
Away from the stage, Jordan has assisted in marketing for Moving Arts Base in Islington, as well as working in front of house and finance for The Courtyard for many years.
In 2009 Jordan undertook an MA in Writing for Stage & Broadcast Media at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
She is now a member of Feral's Writing Room Extra, co-creating 'Got Beef' as part of 'Love Bites' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.
Recently she wrote 'Shadows of the Heart' for Mountview College's 2024 View Festival and is collaborating on a short film for Feral's The Ground Beneath Our Feet project.'
Lou Rogers
Producer
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An experienced Producer with over 30 years experience, Lou has a background in performing and trained at Birmingham Theatre School, The University of Birmingham and ALRA (The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts).
Lou has been working as Feral's producer since 2022. Lou is a freelance Creative Producer and was previously Producer at Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, Senior Producer Artist Development at South East Dance, and Creative Producer at Stopgap Dance Company and worked with Unlimited, The British Council and Disability Arts online to create integrated dance work with disabled and non disabled artists.
Lou created and curated the iF (Integrated Fringe) Platform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015 - a unique platform showcasing the best disabled artists and integrated companies working in the UK. Lynn Gardner of the Guardian called it a 'brilliant initiative'. Work included Jo Bannon's production of ALBA, Marc Brew's For Now, I am, Backstage in Biscuitland by Touretteshero, Easy for you to Say Rowan James and Stopgap Dance Company's Artificial Things.
Mina Nakamura
Stage Manager
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Mina has worked in a wide range of roles in the arts for companies across the UK including ZOO Venues (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Open Sky, Malvern Theatres, The Music Pool, The Courtyard and Feral Productions where she is resident Stage Manager.
Stage Management credits for Feral include: Shattered, Four Corners, Love Bites, The Word On The Street, Feral Tales and Hush Now. Other credits include: Box Of Delights (2Faced Dance Company, 2019); Hopeless Romantics (The Courtyard, 2021) and Birmingham International Dance Festival (2022)
Her recent digital works include: MicroPlays (Open Sky Productions, 2020 & 2023); Hush Now (Feral Productions,2020); Bloodlines (Amy Siegel, 2020); Last Call (Feral Productions (2021).
Associate Artists
Sara-Jane Arbury
Writer in Residence
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Sara-Jane is a writer, performer and arts practitioner.
She has been involved in the production and promotion of creative writing and live literature since 1993.
She has collaborated with organisations such as Arts Council England, the BBC, Oxford University Press, the Department for Education, NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education), The Poetry Society, Apples & Snakes, Writing West Midlands and Bloodaxe Books to name but a few.
She was Voices Off Director at Cheltenham Literature Festival for many years.
Carl Davies
Designer
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Carl has worked with Estelle on many productions including Hush Now, Love Bites and Feral Tales.
He also designers for the Sherman, Theatr na-nog, Vamos Theatre, Theatr Genedlaethol, The Courtyard, The Other Room, 2Faced Dance Company, Italia Conti, National Theatre Wales, Royal & Derngate Northampton, Wales Millennium Centre and Theatr Iolo.
His film work for Feral includes the Hush Now and Last Call series of short films. Other film work includes: Cold, Micro Plays and The Ceremony for Open Sky.
Ant Stones
Theatre Director and Playwright
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Ant Stones is a Director, Writer and Producer from Hereford in the West Midlands.
He is a graduate of the Birkbeck MFA in Theatre Directing and The Royal Court’s Young Writer’s Programme.
He is the former Associate Playwright for Guildford Shakespeare Company.
Credits include: The Word On The Street (Feral/The Courtyard); He Said She Said They Said (Cracked Slipper); Lovec@t (Ludlow Fringe and Theatre 503); Back To The Light, What Will We Say To Those Who Can Hear Us? (Pentabus); The Tempest, Macbeth (Guildford Shakespeare Company); My Mad Mum (The Courtyard and The Swan, Worcester); Maximus and Audencia (The Bush); North Pole Junction, 17 Hands (Theatre 503).
The Courtyard Hereford is an Arts Centre that sits at the heart of Herefordshire with a mission to be a dynamic venue creating artistic excellence and building opportunities through participation, diversity and inclusion.
The Ledbury Poetry Festival takes place over ten days each July. It is the biggest poetry festival in the UK, featuring poets from all over the world.
Who we work with
We collaborate with many other organisations to make our work happen.
Our stalwart partners are:
Rural Media are a Hereford-based production company and charity producing award-winning films and digital arts projects. Founded over 25 years ago by CEO Nic Millington, they have a reputation both locally and nationally for telling powerful stories from unheard voices and nurturing creative talent.
Open Sky was founded in 2012 by life and creative partners Claire Coaché and Lisle Turner.
Produced by Turtle Key Arts, Open Sky combine new writing with visual, physical theatre and work with local, national and international artists.
The National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity. They look after nature, beauty and history for everyone to enjoy. They care for the miles of coastline, woodlands, countryside and the hundreds of historic buildings, gardens and precious collections they protect.
Powerhouse is a professional theatre company committed to developing creative talent in Herefordshire.
Powerhouse Artistic Director, Tim Evans oversaw a two year redevelopment of ‘The Writing Room’ for Feral.
The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is the UK’s leading Further Education College for those aged 16 plus with visual impairment.
Adrian Lambert
Chief of Staff at Hay Festival
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Adrian has had an extensive career in the creative industries, from managing high profile arts organisations to delivering multi-annual creative programmes.
Prior to joining the Hay Festival he was the Artistic Director of Rural Media’s pioneering digital media programme.
The board
Barbara Shore
Systemic psychotherapist and trainer
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Barbra was a systemic psychotherapist and trainer.
She worked with children and families in Children's Social Care, in the voluntary sector and in Adult Mental Health.
Now retired, she is involved with a local women’s organisation campaigning for equality and better representation for women. She also volunteers with Hereford Food Bank.
Barbara is firmly committed to the principle that theatre contributes significantly to the wellbeing of individuals, groups and communities.
Dawn Lewis
QtoD Qualified Teacher of the Deaf
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Dawn has a professional background in Primary Education and now specialises in Deaf education.
She works as a peripatetic teacher for individuals with hearing loss, ranging in ages from birth to 25, for Herefordshire Council.
In her spare time, Dawn loves to perform, read, watch, support, and participate in various forms of drama.
She is passionate about ensuring performance art is accessible, enjoyable, and representative for all.
Rachel Lambert
Film & theatre maker
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Rachel is an award-winning film, theatre, and television director.
Throughout her career, she has been an educator and mentor and has a passion for giving meaningful creative opportunities to young people in industry settings.
Currently she is a Director/Producer at Rural Media, where she directs programs for BBC, Channel 4 and SkyArts, and campaign films for charities like Women’s Aid, MacMillan, and Samaritans.
Todd Fower
Head of Finance at The Royal National College for the Blind
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Todd was previously the Finance Manager at The Courtyard, Hereford for 5 years.
Outside of work and when time allows, he plays badminton and is a keen golfer.