Liz Arday | General Manager | she/her
[email protected]

Liz is the General Manager for VAULT Creative Arts. She first joined the VAULT team in 2019 leading front of house operations for VAULT Festival as Customer Experience Manager. Her current role is to oversee the daily running of the wider organisation as well as hiring, operations and project management.

Originally from Australia, Liz has previously worked for organisations including Wilton’s Music Hall, Young Vic, Sydney Theatre Company, Bush Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company and Regent’s Park Open Air. She is also a freelance theatre director and was the 2018 recipient of the Sandra Bates Directors Award, spending a year as resident assistant director at the Ensemble Theatre, Sydney.

Liz is passionate about building inclusive and welcoming spaces, championing audacious new writing, and exploring the intersections of live performance and technology.

Mat Burtcher | Co-Founder | he/him

Mat is a co-founder of VAULT Festival, and has worked across a variety of positions since its first edition in 2012.

He has been a writer, director and producer with the Heritage Arts Company since 2008, creating live performances, events and experiential activities.

He is as passionate about programming computers as programming wonderful shows, and spends most of his free time creating and tinkering with systems that make organising big events easier.

He lives with his wife in West Sussex.

Laura Evans | Marketing Manager | she/her/they
[email protected]

Laura is the Marketing Manager for VAULT Creative Arts, working on campaigns across a range of projects as well as VAULT Festival.

Laura joined the VAULT team in October 2022, having previously worked at UK New Artists; Attenborough Arts Centre; Cultural eXchanges Festival and The Spark Arts for Children. Laura has also worked as an Associate Lecturer at De Montfort University where she taught on BA Performing Arts, MA Performance Practices, and BA Arts and Festivals Management degrees. Alongside VAULT, Laura has her own sustainable clothing business: peachy.

Laura’s loves seeing work that centers queer/LGBTQ+ stories, as well as innovative multidisciplinary work with interactive technologies.

Andy George | Director & Co-Founder | he/him
[email protected]

Andy is Director & Co-Founder of VAULT Creative Arts & VAULT Festival which involves setting the direction for the company, creating new projects and developing existing ones, and keeping an eye on the organisation’s day-to-day business & operations.

Andy’s background is in producing and managing immersive & site-specific productions, National & International Touring shows, and a wide-range of performance festivals including the Olivier Award nominated Alice’s Adventures Underground and You Me Bum Bum Train, Belarus Free Theatre’s international hit, Burning Doors, and seven editions of VAULT Festival.

Outside of work, Andy is a Director, Devisor, & Collaborator on shows, and loves running, walking, and being outdoors. He builds furniture for his tiny flat and loves taking things apart failing to fix them. He’s passionate about creativity and social change and is driven by wanting to create a more accessible, more inclusive, & more sustainable world for everyone to live in, and enjoy.

Adam Gray | Executive Director | they/them/he/his
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Adam joined the VAULT Team in March 2021 as the Executive Director where they are responsible for the overall foundations of the organisation. To ensure the organisation delivers upon its mission, they are responsible for governance, finances, business objectives, human resources and strategic planning.

Adam joins VAULT with over 15 years’ experience managing arts venues, producing dance and community collaborations. Adam was the Executive Director at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, an organisation that champions innovative new work by black artists. Previously Adam worked for Discover Children’s Story Centre, Canada Water Theatre and The Albany Theatre.

With a background in contemporary dance and arts management, Adam remains passionate about the accessibility of the arts, and the health benefits of arts engagement. Outside of work Adam can be found behind a sewing machine, in the garden, or in a dimly lit venue watching cabaret and drag shows.

Eimear Griffin | Marketing and Sales Assistant | she/her
[email protected]

Eimear is the Marketing and Sales Assistant at VAULT Creative Arts, having joined the team in October 2022. Originally from Dublin, she moved to London in September 2021 to further pursue her career in performing arts.

She holds a BA in Art History and Spanish from University College Dublin, where she also trained on a performing arts scholarship with the Ad Astra Academy. Eimear recently completed a year’s training at Identity School of Acting. While training, she worked at the Young Vic Theatre, as part of the Welcome Team, and at Good Chance Theatre, as the Marketing and Admin Assistant.

Theatre is Eimear’s biggest love; both as a performer and a creator. Outside of theatre, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and buying more candles and plants than her flat can accommodate.

Bec Martin | Head of Progamming | she/her
[email protected]

Bec is the Head of Programming for VAULT Creative Arts. She and the programming team are responsible for programming and curating VAULT Festival along with all the other amazing opportunities the team delivers across the year. She also looks after all the artists that work with VAULT, including courses, opportunities such as the New Writers’ and New Directors’ Programmes, Digital Programming and artist development. Bec is also a director and producer.

Previously Bec headed up Creative Engagement and Participation departments for organisations such as the Orange Tree Theatre, Arcola Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Before moving to the UK, she was a director and actor, co-founding award-winning Australian theatre company pantsguys Productions.

Bec is passionate about representation, inclusion, accessibility and the value of community in the arts. She really likes weird shit in her performances, anything that plays with form or structure, or abandons narrative entirely. Bec spends her weekends watching AFL at strange hours, baking and hanging out with her very naughty dog, Luna.

Josh Morrall | Head of Communications | he/him
[email protected]

Josh is the Head of Communications for VAULT Creative Arts & VAULT Festival and leads on all marketing and press activities for the organisation, planning and delivering bespoke campaigns across a range of projects.

Josh joined the VAULT Festival team in 2016 as Deputy Director of Communications, having previously worked as Communications Officer for the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies, planning and delivering large-scale conferences in cities across the globe. Prior to that Josh worked in theatre as an actor, writer, director & producer.

Josh loves that his role within VAULT enables him to embrace his passion for the arts, and work every day with people who bring entertainment and inspiration to others in a positive and life-affirming way.

Adèle Reeves | Programming Manager | she/her
[email protected]

Adèle joined the VAULT Team in July 2021 as the Artist Development Coordinator, transitioned to Programming Coordinator in March 2022, before becoming Programming Manager in November 2022. Her role is to support the curation, planning and delivery of creative outputs for VAULT Creative Arts. She also manages the programme of Artist Development Opportunities offered by VCA.

Adèle is a producer with a background in theatre administration and box office management. Originally from Scotland, she studied an MA in Theatre & Performance Studies at King’s College London. Following this, Adèle spent 3 years working for the Pleasance Theatre core management team in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe. Alongside this work, she developed her career as a producer. Adèle is the Creative Producer for international company, Out of the Blue, and has also worked freelance on many fringe theatre, live music and mixed-medium festival projects.

Adèle is inspired by performance that breaks outside the traditional theatre space, and focuses on projects that address narratives of refugeehood, national identity and political commentary.

Damien Stanton | Graphic Designer | he/him
[email protected]

Damien joined the VAULT Festival team in September 2022 and is responsible for the visual identity of the 2023 festival.

Damien Graduated in 2013 from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts with a BA Hons in Design for Performance, He then went on to work in Stage Management at some of the biggest theatre companies in the UK as well as touring around the globe – these included the National Theatre and the RSC. During the Pandemic Damien made the decision to move back into the world of Performance Design alongside continuing freelance Graphic Design work.

In 2021 Damien was awarded the Stage Award for Innovation in Theatre alongside a place on the Stage 100 for his work during the pandemic in supporting those in the industry facing financial hardship by setting up the Theatre Support Fund+ and creating and designing the ‘The Show Must Go On!’ campaign which went on to raise over £1 Million.

Damien is passionate about raising awareness for Neurodiverse artists and creatives working and living with Neurodisabilities in our industry and the brilliant work they create.

Johanna Taylor | Senior Producer | she/her
[email protected]

Johanna is Senior Producer at VAULT Creative Arts with a focus on producing VAULT Festival as well as the organisation’s other cultural and creative activities leading on fundraising, planning and project management.

Born in Swaziland (now Eswatini), brought up in Derby and now based in London, Johanna has worked with organisations including Dance4, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Arts Council England, Barbican, Museum of London, City of London Corporation and Improbable Theatre. As a freelancer she has produced the development of new live and digital works by artists including Debris Stevenson, Abena Essah, Emilia Robinson, Sidonie Carey-Green and Selina Thompson. She is co-founder of No Stone Theatre company for which she has produced theatre and audio drama. Johanna was a Stage One bursary and Arts Council DYCP recipient.

Johanna cares about work that is vibrant, representative and contemporary. Work that pushes the boundaries of form, blends artforms and provides something new. Work that makes audiences think deeply about important issues, and maybe goes a way to helping them better understand the world around them. Outside of work, you’ll probably find her watching theatre, reading a book, practicing yoga or hanging out with family and friends.