Spinning Wheel Theatre launched in 2011, and has always been committed to touring across East Anglia visiting village and town halls, arts centres and theatres with our professional productions.

In the last year, we…

  • generated 7835 hours of activity

  • welcomed 3300 participants

  • performed to 2170 audience members

  • offered 76% of children in the audience their first experience of live theatre

  • provided 70% of our activity for free

  • worked with 19 volunteers

  • employed 35 freelance creatives (94% of whom were based in East Anglia)

  • found that 92% of audiences and participants left with an improved mood

  • learnt that 87% of parents and carers felt more connected to their litte one during one of our performances

Mr Tumnus is holding an umbrella and parcel. He is smiling at a little girl with pigtails (Lucy) and she laughs back.

What we do:

  • is where is all began and we still love brining vibrant, high-quality theatre to communities across the East. We’ve toured everything from thriller and Shakespeare to Dickens and family favourites, delighting audiences on their doorstep.

  • we run all kinds of creative projects - from writing workshops and town celebrations to holiday activities and performance opportunities. We usually work in local spots like libraries, job centres and village halls so people feel at home and happy to get involved.

  • we create shows with young children and their grown ups, making sure they get fun, high-quality theatre that feels made for them. It’s all about sparking a love of theatre early, bot for future audiences and future makers.

  • we collaborate to make projects that fit the curriculum and tackle schools’ specific needs. That might mean touring shows, tailored classroom workshops, CPD for teachers or co-creating interactive creative experiences.

  • is at the heart of all we do. We embed our work in communities, offer free tickets through job centres, use accessible venues and tools to remove barriers and make our shows welcoming for everyone. Through practical research we explore how early years theatre can be even more inclusive of all needs

  • is a crucial element of our work, allowing us to play a part in nurturing emerging and established talent in the east. Through CPD workshops we help creatives at all levels navigate things like funding, R&D and authentic co-creation. We mentor the next generation of artists by creating opportunities and supporting them to make their own work.

Our values

  • A woman dressed in a brown coat is kneeling and holding a puppet moth over the head of a young girl. The girl is wearing red and smiling as she looks at the moth. A woman sits next to her and is also smiling.

    Connection

    By building meaningful relationships with our audiences, collaborators, and communities at every stage of the process we ensure our work is responsive, rooted, and shared.

  • A child's legs and feet wearing white sandals and white leggings, standing on a floor decorated with colorful feathers and leaves, in a room with cardboard boxes in the background.

    Authenticity

    By creating work that reflects real voices, lived experiences, and the communities we collaborate with, we honour their stories with honesty, care, and integrity.

  • Two women in a cluttered room with moving boxes, looking distressed. One woman has a mop and is crouching, the other is holding a mop head, both with exaggerated facial expressions.

    Playfulness

    By embracing curiosity, imagination, and joy throughout our creative process, we invite experimentation, delight and surprise into every stage of the work.

  • A woman is sitting at a desk explaining a presentation to a man, with a model and diagrams on the desk.

    Generosity

    By sharing time, space, and ideas openly; with our collaborators, participants, audiences and peers, we create a culture of care, respect, and mutual support in everything we do.

  • A woman hugging a stuffed animal in a colorful setting, with green, yellow, blue, and red background elements.

    Kindness

    By leading with empathy, patience, and respect; we foster environments where everyone feels safe, valued, and able to contribute fully.

From 2017-2018 we were an associate company of the Mercury Theatre in Colchester. From 2024 we became associate artists of the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.

A picture of Becca Gibbs, a woman smiling with dark hair and pink jumper.

Becca Gibbs, Co-Artistic Director

After training in Technical Theatre at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Becca worked as a stage manager at the Donmar Warehouse, Hampstead Theatre, The Old Vic, the Royal Shakespeare Company and in the West End including shows for Stephen Poliakoff and Trevor Nunn.

Since moving to Suffolk, Becca has worked as a freelance stage manager, set designer and drama practitioner.

You can find out more about Becca’s work by viewing her portfolio.

A picture of Amy Wyllie, a women with glasses, wavy blonde hair and a slight smile

Amy Wyllie, Co-Artistic Director

Amy trained at Drama Studio London after completing her degree in Drama at The University of Hull. She has worked as a director, writer, actress, drama facilitator and lecturer.

She works across East Anglia, creating a wide variety of projects and productions including for Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Sheringham Little Theatre, Shakespeare Schools Festival, Marina Theatre, Cambridge Junction, Ink Festival and Play Nicely Theatre.

Visit Amy’s portfolio to find out more about her work.

Bekkie Morgan-Nickerson, Associate Artist

A picture of Bekkie Morgan-Nickerson, a women with red wavy hair and a yellow top grinning broadly

Bekkie trained as an actor at Central School of Speech & Drama, specialising in Collaborative and Devised theatre. She later went on to obtain an MA in Applied Theatre.

Bekkie is a deviser and theatre maker and has worked extensively as a theatre practitioner with young people and community groups in Suffolk.

Our board

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Our board *

  • Andy Stubbs is a highly skilled production manager and scenic carpenter based in Suffolk, with extensive experience in constructing theatrical sets and overseeing productions for venues in East Anglia, across the UK and worldwide.

    His expertise encompasses building intricate stage scenery and large-scale props, contributing significantly to theatre productions and corporate events.

    Andy is chairman of the Spinning Wheel Theatre board of trustees.

  • Polly has dedicated her work to making a difference to people through connection be that through art, beauty, nature, and education.

    Polly is currently the Domus Bursar (COO) for King's College, Cambridge, where she leads the operation across the internationally iconic institution as well as the Visitor Business associated with it's Gothic Chapel. Polly is currently working on the masterplan for the College as well as leading their drive to net-zero.

    Prior to this Polly worked for the National Trust for nearly a decade, leading some of the charity's busiest and most complex sites. Most recently this included the 3000-acre Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire with its listed mansion and gardens, and organic arable, and livestock farms. 

    Polly started her career as a Theatre Producer working across many disciplines including new writing, musical theatre, and opera. Her companies worked across the UK and America.

    She continues to be passionate about the transformative power of theatre and is proud to be part of the impact that Spinning Wheel makes to lives across East Anglia.

  • Harriet is an Assistant Principal at Ipswich Academy and has worked in education for 11 years.

    She’s been connected to Spinning Wheel Theatre for many years, having participated in their Youth Takeover project as a young person herself!

    She’s always loved being a part of the Spinning Wheel family and is proud to continue to be part of their journey as a trustee.

  • After training in Technical Theatre at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Becca worked as a stage manager at the Donmar Warehouse, Hampstead Theatre, The Old Vic, the Royal Shakespeare Company and in the West End including shows for Stephen Poliakoff and Trevor Nunn.

    Since moving to Suffolk, Becca has worked as a freelance stage manager, set designer and drama practitioner.

    Becca is Spinning Wheel Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director

  • Liz is a Producer working in the cultural sector in East Anglia.  She is a passionate believer in the transformative power of the arts for people and places and that the opportunity to take part in creative activities must be available to everyone.   

    She is the founder of registered charity, The ERD Connection, through which she runs Stowmarket Youth Theatre. 

    Previously Liz worked in television production in London, firstly for the BBC then ITN, and spent many years in various roles with Lewisham Youth Theatre. 

    In 2018 & 2019, having moved back to Suffolk, she acted as Aldeburgh Festival Producer & Engagement Officer for High Tide Theatre company. 

    More recently Liz has produced community projects for the Food Museum in Stowmarket.  She is also a member of the Stowmarket Culture Group.    

  • Brian retired in 2009 after working for 44 years in the advertising industry.

    He worked for a number of London advertising agencies, but for a large part of his career worked for the international agency group Leo Burnett as Creative Services and Operations Director of the London office. He was also Managing Director and founder of the companies digital imaging company Stars Digital.

    He also sat on the board as a Trustee of the Leo Burnett Pension Fund for over 20 years.

    After the company was taken over by the Publicis Groupe he was appointed CEO of the companies digital imaging and creative studio Mundocom.

    He has been a Trustee of Spinning Wheel Theatre since 2016 and has held the position of

    Treasurer for his local Church and for The Bacton Community Workshop of which he was a founder member.

  • Amy Potter (nee Wyllie) is a multi-disciplinary theatre maker based in Suffolk.

    Amy originally trained as an actress, then worked in publishing and later in creative learning at the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

    Since becoming a freelance theatre maker in 2015, Amy has worked with a huge range of arts organisations across East Anglia, creating professional productions, facilitating community arts and education projects, teaching acting and R&Ding new work.

    Amy is Spinning Wheel Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director.