TOTNES FRINGE CORE TEAM

Danielle McIlven is a theatre director and educator with almost two decades of experience working across the UK and internationally. She trained at Birkbeck, University of London, completing an MFA in Theatre Directing, and was resident assistant director at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre. Her directing work spans new writing, devised performance, and community-led projects, and she has held roles including associate director at The Space Arts Centre in London. Danielle has delivered theatre projects with young people in schools, youth theatres, and alternative education settings, as well as with refugee and Traveller communities. She has led international work in Bosnia, Kolkata and Beijing. Now based in Totnes- where she grew up- she founded Moveable Type Theatre Company and is a teaching fellow in Acting and Drama at the University of Plymouth.

Playwright, actor, and theatre-maker trained at RADA. Rosie is a Soho Writers Lab alumnus, where she wrote Filthy Animal, which was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award 2024. She is currently commissioned by Middle Child, Exeter Northcott, and is a mentored writer with Paines Plough. Associate Artist of Theatre Royal Plymouth, Documental, and Theatre Alibi, she has been passionate about bringing theatre to Totnes for 15 years, from devising performance with women and non-binary people on themes of grief, directing and co-producing the much loved Rotherfold Bull and founding Theatre Loco, a pop-up venue bringing award-winning work to the industrial estate every week for three months.

Susie has held a number of senior roles across project management, marketing and fundraising. She is part of the core team behind Totnes Fringe Festival, focusing on strategy, systems, operations, marketing and digital. She brings a commercial perspective to the festival’s growth, with a focus on building something that is both creatively ambitious and practically sustainable. Her theatrical ambitions were largely satisfied by understudying for Starlight Express. She has an MBA from Exeter and is a fellow of the CMI.

With a drama degree and years of acting experience, Lucy Matthews has a deep love for theatre in all its forms. Transitioning into a career in PR, she authored a best-selling book on how entrepreneurs can leverage PR to stand out, be heard, and attract clients. She helps  the Totnes Fringe secure sponsors and works on PR and marketing initiatives for the festival, combining her passion for the arts with her expertise in PR.