Artistic Director Third Theatre Ltd. 1987-1997

Before setting up Third Theatre, Phil Knight graduated with a first class degree in Expressive Arts and Dance from Brighton University, after which he toured the alternative cabaret circuit with ‘Open Secret’ (“manic politically barbed repartee” – The Guardian) and performed in, and choreographed, pop videos.

Since Third Theatre, he has lectured in; Movement for Actors, Directing, Devising, and Physical Theatre at a range of institutions including; Rose Bruford College, Royal Holloway College, Salford University, and the University of Central Lancashire. Further directing commissions include a series of theatre productions at Hoxton Hall Theatre, Hackney which resulted in a mystery cycle for the Shoreditch Festival. Creating the cycle involved working with participants from a wide range of ages and ethnic backgrounds from twelve separate community groups. Other productions, involving work with the public include; a production of Bizet’s opera ‘Carmen’ at the Harwich Redoubt Fort where professional singers and dancers worked with local choral society and youth orchestra and ‘Lie of the Land’ again working with the public to devise a play about Brexit. The latter gave rise to a related project on the same theme with people from across Europe which was performed in Luxembourg’s St Georges International School.

Phil has also lead workshops in schools and colleges across the country exploring Devising and Third Theatre’s method of creating theatre. He also directed drama projects for; Insight Arts Trust (working with ex-offenders), for the Children’s Parliament, Scotland, and for Creative Art Works in Edinburgh.

In 2015 he wrote and toured ‘Prometheus’, reworking the myth to explore mental health.

At present he teaches yoga and is designing ‘The Happiness Machine Project’ as a tool for facilitating expression, creativity, and engagement.

Tina Taylor Theatre – theatre director, teacher, and writer

Tina Taylor was a core company member of Third Theatre, performing regularly with the company during the years it was based in Bradford. Before working with Third Theatre, Tina studied Dramatic Arts and Dance at Bretton Hall College, Leeds University, and performed with the LEAP Project in London, touring to prisons and youth custody centres throughout the UK. For the past twenty years, Tina has been directing and teaching theatre in the San Francisco Bay area, including work with California Shakespeare Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Intersection for the Arts, EchoTheatreSuitcase, and Ross Valley Players. Additionally, Tina has created original, group devised productions and facilitated community engagement workshops with domestic abuse survivors, housing project residents, military veterans, youth groups, and with Amnesty International.

Since 2015, Tina has been the artistic director of Theatre Lunatico, Berkeley, California, a company whose primary focus is on creating gender parity, and on placing women’s stories at the centre of the narrative.

Tina has adapted her seasoned understanding of ensemble approaches to theatre making to develop a dynamic methodology of teaching and directing Shakespeare. Tina has directed over 80 Shakespeare productions with school, youth, community, and professional companies. She teaches Shakespearean text within the framework of ensemble, physical theatre.

During the pandemic, Tina moved back to the UK, and, whilst traveling regularly to California to teach and direct, she is now rebuilding her freelance career back in her home country. In 2019, she wrote her first full length play, Convoy 31000, and is currently working on several new theatre scripts. She is based in rural Suffolk.