We are thrilled to announce the members of our Incubate Makers Network. These 11 theatre makers will be supported by Tinderbox over the next year  to make their own theatre productions.

Name: Ashton 
Ashton is a multi-disciplinary queer artist.  They accidentally fell in love with trapeze whilst trying to navigate a very serious career as an actor, and now work across movement, theatre and circus.  Ashton creates pieces which explore authentic communication and connection, and works to combine text with physical expression.

Name: Richard McFerran
Richard McFerran is a Belfast based actor and theatre maker. He trained at Queens University Belfast and Mountview Academy in London in the early 2000’s and has over 20 years experience in the performing arts.

Louise Parker
Louise is an actor and writer based in Belfast. Acting credits include Blue Lights (BBC One), Wreck (BBC Three) and Silent Trade (Kabosh Theatre Company). As a writer her short film work includes Weird Sister (BBC iPlayer), Wavelengths (East Side Arts Festival) and as a writer-performer she has made work for Threes Theatre Company, Pintsized Productions and NI Mental Health Arts Festival.

Mary O’Loan

Mary is an Alchemy of Breath Facilitator, Moon Medicine Alumni, Equity Chair of the NI Belfast, Branch and practicing Theatre maker committed to trauma informed approaches and the creation of safe artistic spaces inclusive but not limited to neurodivergent artists and practices that sustain transpersonal wellbeing. Mary understands art as medicine and theatre as a catalyst for revolutionary change. Mary graduated with a BA(Hons) in American Theatre Arts from her study and practice at Rose Bruford College, Sidcup and Columbia College, Chicago 2015

Matthew Sharpe
Matthew has appeared in TV, Film and theatre shows across the UK. He now turns his attention toward his own experiences and wants to explore theatre-making.

Aoibh Johnson
Aoibh Johnson is a theatre maker from Co. Tyrone. After completing an MA in Contemporary Performance Practice, Aoibh co-founded Wee Yarn Productions and works extensively as a writer and performer. For the last three years Aoibh has performed and produced her own one woman show, The Daughters of Róisín across Australia and Ireland.

Francis Mezza
Francis is an actor and theatre-maker from Belfast with extensive experience working on stage, radio and screen. As a Gaeilgeoir (Irish speaker), Francis is exploring the history of the Irish language revival in Belfast as part of Incubate.

Janey Mac
Janey Mac is a writer/comedian who has trained in and performed improv comedy in London and Chicago. She recently moved back to Belfast to pursue her love of writing/performing and dreams of one day being successful enough to move out of her sister’s attic.

Colm McCready
Colm is a writer and theatre maker based in Belfast who trained at Mountview, Lyric Drama Studio and Mountview. Recently he was an Artist at Work with Dublin Fringe, a MAKE Artist, and a Project Arts Centre Intensive Artist. His play “Scaredy Fat” produced by SkelpieLimmer won the Les Enfants Terribles’ LET Award and will be performed at Scene+Heard, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival later this year.

Carley Magee
Carley is an emerging theatre-maker, and screenwriter, who is passionate about creating accessible, diverse art that is wildly creative and inspiring. A recent graduate of the Bristol Old Vic’s Drama Writing MA, she has worked in both writing, and script editing roles; majorly with community youth groups around Belfast in Good Relations Short Film Projects. As a recipient of the George B. Miller Award (Scripts Ireland Playwriting Festival), her play for youth theatre was showcased in Youth Theatre Ireland’s Playshare Symposium in Cork (Nov. 2022). As well as being selected for Prime Cut’s VERGE Season 3 of new writing with her play “Stuff & Junk & Things & Belonging” (April 2022). An Arts Council NI SIAP Award has allowed her to continue the development of this play.

Fergus Wachala Kelly
Fergus is an animator and performer whose recent design credits include “Birds of Passage in the Half-Light” with Tinderbox Theatre Company at Edinburgh Fringe and Duncairn Arts Centre, “Bird About Town” at Reykjavik Fringe Festival, and “HEAVE” for DUETS at Dublin Fringe. He is currently working on ‘Expecting’ with C21 Theatre Co. and ‘Sleeping Beauty’ with Cre8 Theatre Co. Both will feature in the first Deaf Theatre Festival at the MAC in May. Fergus is also working on ‘Scaredy Fat’ by Colm McCready which recently won the LET Award at Greenwich Theatre. He has been a Play Machine ensemble member and a participant of Dublin Fringe’s MAKE Programme.