Our Story

Bright Torches began with a simple idea: what if we brought the energy, imagination and collaboration of the rehearsal room into learning?

Founded by actor and educator Tom Davey in 2021, Bright Torches grew from years of experience of Shakespeare in professional theatre and education — and a belief that young people should encounter great stories actively: not simply as words on a page, but as worlds to explore, question and make their own.

Since then, we have worked with children and young people from Early Years to secondary school, alongside teachers, trainee teachers and university partners in the UK and internationally. Shakespeare remains central to our work, but we also work across storytelling, literature, talk and creative learning.

In 2026, Bright Torches became a registered charity. Our ambition is to bring these experiences to many more young people and teachers, particularly where access to creative learning is limited.

At every stage, the idea remains the same: stories belong to everyone — and everyone has something to contribute.

About Us

“Theatre is where it began, education is where it happens.”

Tom Davey, CEO

A Welcome from Tom Davey Bright Torches Founder and CEO

Our Approach 

Learning is something we do together.

Our work draws on the best of creative practice and education. We bring the collaborative spirit of the rehearsal room into classrooms: exploring stories from the inside, asking questions, trying ideas, making discoveries and learning from one another.

There isn’t always one right answer. Young people are encouraged to think, speak, listen, challenge, imagine and contribute. Teachers are part of that creative process too, working alongside their students and discovering new possibilities together.

Our approach is active, inclusive and playful — but it is also rigorous. Through talk, performance and close encounters with language and literature, young people develop knowledge, literacy and critical thinking alongside the confidence to express what they think.

We want every young person to know that there is a place for them at the table: that their ideas matter, their contribution has value, and they have a part to play.

Meet the Team

Bright Torches brings together artists, educators and creative practitioners united by a belief in the power of stories. Drawing on experience across education, theatre, storytelling, music and the arts, we work alongside children, young people and teachers to create spaces where ideas can be explored, voices heard and everyone can take part.

Leadership and Creative Team

Tom Davey

Founder, CEO & Artistic Director

  • Tom founded Bright Torches in 2021, bringing together his experience as an actor, theatre practitioner and educator and a longstanding belief in the power of stories to bring people together.

    Trained at RADA, Tom has worked extensively as an actor, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has spent many years working with children, young people and teachers. Bright Torches grew from his experience of taking rehearsal-room practice into classrooms and seeing what can happen when young people are invited not simply to study a story, but to step inside it — speaking, questioning, imagining and contributing ideas of their own.

    Today, Tom leads Bright Torches’ artistic and educational work in the UK and internationally, developing partnerships with schools, universities, teachers and artists.

    -Tom

“Stories remind us that we are part of — and contributors to — the human experience. They give us somewhere to meet, imagine, argue and understand other lives. They help us find our voice, take part and feel less alone.”

Fiona Drummond

Actor, Theatre Practitioner, Storyteller & Director

  • Fiona is an actor, theatre practitioner, storyteller and director with nearly twenty years’ experience. She trained in Classical Acting at Drama Centre London, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Vakhtangov Institute in Moscow.

    Alongside her acting career, Fiona has worked extensively with children, young people, teachers and communities in the UK and internationally. Her practice spans all ages, from Early Years to drama students and older community performers, and includes work with young people with SEND, international students and teachers, and youth theatres.

    With Bright Torches, Fiona works as a writer, storyteller and facilitator across our literacy, storytelling and transition work, including Epic Stages, Pandora’s Box and Merry Wanderers. She brings the spirit of the rehearsal room into her work: creating spaces where people can experiment, contribute, take risks and discover things together.

    — Fiona

“I love rehearsal rooms. They’re places where we can play, discover, try things on and throw things out; where we can be surprised, be daring, make mistakes, laugh, listen and change. This spirit of liveness and togetherness is at the heart of all the work I do with Bright Torches.”

Actor, Director & Storyteller

Conor Short

  • Conor is an actor, director and storyteller with more than twenty years’ experience in theatre in London and Paris. He studied Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway before training as an actor at Drama Centre London.

    Alongside his acting career in theatre, film and television, Conor has spent many years working with children, young people, teachers and theatre practitioners. His work has included performance, student directing, teacher professional development, practitioner training and literacy projects, with audiences ranging from Early Years to adults.

    Now based in France, where he grew up, Conor brings together storytelling, performance and collaborative exploration to help young people and teachers discover fresh ways into stories and texts.

    — Conor

“I love the moment when a young person suddenly says, ‘That’s like me.’ A Shakespeare character written four hundred years ago can feel completely immediate because someone in the room has just brought it to life. Those connections — between people, between stories and our own lives — are what keep the work fresh for me.”

Hal Chambers

Director, Dramaturg & Theatre Practitioner

  • Hal is an award-winning director, dramaturg and facilitator with a particular passion for new writing, theatre for young audiences and finding fresh ways into novels and classical texts.

    His directing career has taken him across the UK, creating work in theatres, drama schools and communities. He spent two years as an Assistant Director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and his production of The Last Five Years was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award in 2026. Alongside directing, Hal is Literary Associate at Theatre Royal Stratford East and serves on the boards of the Equity Charitable Trust and Roustabout Theatre.

    Central to Hal’s practice is a belief that theatre belongs to everyone. He loves working collaboratively with young people and teachers, using creativity to open up curiosity, confidence, communication and literacy.

    With Bright Torches, Hal brings his experience of professional theatre-making into the room while giving young people genuine ownership of the creative process.

    — Hal

“Most of all, I love working with the next generation. Creativity, on any level, is key to opening up curiosity, people skills, confidence and literacy. My work with Bright Torches gives me the chance to collaborate with future adults and their teachers — and to help make a creative life possible for as many people as we can.”

Olivia Mace

Actor, Writer, Composer & Storyteller

  • Olivia is an actor, writer, composer and storyteller who works with Bright Torches to create imaginative ways for children and young people to encounter stories. She has devised and performed original storytelling work for Bright Torches, using performance and play to bring stories vividly to life. Alongside her work with young people, Olivia particularly enjoys working with teachers, sharing rehearsal-room and storytelling approaches that build confidence and open up new ways of exploring literature together.

    Olivia has extensive experience as a performer, director and educator, working with children, teachers, actors and trainee performers of all ages. Her work spans Shakespeare and classical texts, contemporary theatre, storytelling, voice and actor training.

“The best thing about storytelling as an educational tool, is there’s no linear route. We have to go on a journey together. And the skills we harness on the journey aren’t just artistic, they are life skills.  Communication, curiosity and confidence.  If you can tell a story, you can do anything.”

Actor, Director, Teacher & Theatre Practitioner

Margo Gunn

  • Margo brings together decades of experience in professional theatre and education. After working as an actor and director on stage and screen, she moved into teaching, becoming a Head of Drama before combining these strands of her career as a theatre education practitioner.

    She has worked with teachers and young people in the UK and internationally, sharing creative approaches to Shakespeare, drama and learning. Having worked in schools herself, Margo understands first-hand the demands teachers face and is passionate about developing practical approaches that enrich classroom learning without adding to teachers’ workload.

    With Bright Torches, she helps teachers and young people bring texts, characters and ideas off the page: creating opportunities for critical thinking, confident talk, debate and discovery.

    — Margo

“Having been a teacher myself, I understand the pressures of the job. I love sharing practical strategies that bring texts, characters and ideas to life — without adding hours to the working day — and that bring some of the fun back into learning for teachers and students alike.”

Debs Newbold

Performer, Storyteller & Facilitator

  • Debs Newbold is an award-winning performer, storyteller and facilitator who creates inventive, playful work that gets under the skin.

    One of the world’s most acclaimed performance storytellers, Debs has created work for the BBC, the RSC, the United Nations and Shakespeare’s Globe, and has performed in theatres and at festivals around the world. Her work spans myth, history and new writing, with a particular love of Shakespeare. She is also experienced in mask and clown, and has more than 20 years’ experience as a director and facilitator.

    At the heart of Debs’ work is playfulness: creating safe, brave spaces where curiosity and imagination can flourish.

“I LOVE stories because anything can happen in them. Deep down I am a clown. I like to play. But I am also a human who is curious. Working with stories is perfect for me.”

Trustees

Our trustees bring experience from across education, the arts, finance, leadership and charitable organisations. Together, they provide the governance, expertise and challenge that will help Bright Torches grow sustainably while remaining true to its charitable purpose.

  • Tas is an actor and theatre practitioner with over twenty years’ experience creating and leading dynamic workshops across the UK and internationally.

    His own work and study with Shakespeare’s texts illuminated so much of who he is, igniting a lifelong passion for sharing that sense of discovery with others. Having collaborated with Bright Torches from the very beginning, Tas uses experiential play and drama to spark curiosity in young people, teachers and adults alike — giving them the confidence and tools to explore, question and grow.

    For Tas, helping young people find their voice is about genuine empowerment: developing the confidence and critical thinking to decide who they are, understand what they value and make informed choices about the relationships and society they want to help shape.

Actor, Theatre Practitioner & Bright Torches Trustee

Tas Emiabata

“Helping young people find their voice is about true empowerment. It’s about giving them the confidence to decide who they are, understand their values and make informed choices about the world they want to shape.”

Georghia Ellinas

  • Georghia’s professional life has been dedicated to helping teachers create stimulating, dynamic and valuable learning experiences for children and young people.

    She has worked with teachers in the UK and around the world to promote active approaches to teaching and learning, and has written books for teachers as well as retelling Shakespeare’s plays as stories for younger readers.

    As an experienced teacher and educator, Georghia knows the vital role stories can play in engaging minds, developing empathy and encouraging critical thinking. She believes Bright Torches brings together something particularly powerful: the techniques and creative energy of theatre with a deep understanding of how children learn.

Trustee/ Safeguarding Lead

“Bright Torches embraces theatre techniques with a comprehensive understanding of teaching and learning. It makes learning fun and teaching exciting.”

Chair of Trustees

Patrick Spottiswoode

  • Patrick was the Founder Director of Globe Education at Shakespeare’s Globe. He joined the Globe project in 1984, working alongside its founder Sam Wanamaker, and went on to establish and lead its Education Department for over 35 years. Under his leadership, Globe Education developed an international reputation for exploring the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries through performance, working with schools, teachers, universities, actors and scholars. In 2001 Patrick co-founded the current MA in Shakespeare Studies with King’s College London. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Warwick and the University of Sussex and is a Fellow of King’s College.  In 2020 he received a Citation in recognition for his work with US High School students and teachers from the then Senate Majority Leader,  Senator Chuck Schumer.

“Following Shakespeare’s lead, Bright Torches excites students, teachers, parents and carers to “look with our ears”, “see the world feelingly” and “speak right on.”

Phil Bennett

  • Phil has over 20 years’ experience in the financial sector, working with organisations ranging from start-ups to FTSE 100 companies. He has helped global technology businesses navigate rapid growth, multi-million-pound exits and the financial challenges that come with change and expansion.

    As a former Treasurer of the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, Phil also understands the particular opportunities and challenges of the charity and creative sectors.

Trustee/ Treasurer

“Meticulous financial stewardship lays sustainable foundations for the delivery of inspiring, impactful, creative educational projects.”

Working Together

Collaboration is at the heart of Bright Torches. We work with schools, universities, teachers, artists and organisations who share our belief in the power of story, talk and creative learning.

Together, we create opportunities for young people to find their voice, share their ideas and take their place in the story.