What We Do
Highly Sprung create inspiring performances and experiences using physical theatre.
We tell compelling and relevant stories using physical theatre where text moves and movement speaks. Our work with and for children and young people produces bold, spectacular performances and unforgettable experiences, in unexpected ways, spaces, and places to inspire change.
Every year Highly Sprung transform the lives of thousands of children and young people. We deliver workshops to more than 5000 children and young people and reach an audience of nearly 40,000 with our touring performances across the UK and the world.
Our work inspires children and young people to discover their talents and grow their voice, laying the foundations for better futures through powerful physical theatre.
“Highly Sprung has made the arts accessible to my family. They bring learning to life, and have enabled my children to gain a deep level of understanding about themselves and the world through the process of storytelling, movement, expression, and performance.Â
Highly Sprung is a place where my children have felt a great sense of belonging, free to express themselves. When you talk about inclusion, Highly Sprung live and breathe this. When you talk about community, Highly Sprung brings everybody together.”Â
Sarah Worth, Co-Founder and Executive DirectorÂ
“Our work is changing how people view work produced with and for children and young people. It’s about giving young people the chance to develop their voice through physical theatre, and then making sure there’s a place for them to be heard and seen in a way which is respected and valued as part of today’s arts ecology.”
Mark Worth, Co-Founder and Artistic Director Â
Our Methodology
Highly Sprung’s work creates community, encourages learning and understanding through doing, and creates safe spaces where children and young people feel seen and celebrated. Our approach relies on the use of physical engagement that goes beyond spoken language. Spoken text is limited, to enable the body to tell the story and our audience’s to listen.Â
We celebrate and make space for the physicality of each person, knowing they bring with them their own thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. We are not afraid to work with young people to explore important questions. Working together to make the complicated accessible, through story-telling and movement.Â
Our Values
Playful
We are serious about play. We know that learning happens through play and that play provides the possibility of new ideas. We ensure our way of working creates safe spaces to imagine, explore, and discover.Â
Welcoming
To us inclusivity means we see the individual in everything we do. We are always open to new ideas and new ways. Our way of working is accessible, meeting you where you are. We care.Â
Pioneering
We disrupt the everyday to facilitate and provoke positive change. We embrace challenging questions and problems. We know that sometimes it won’t work but that its still worth the effort. How children and young people are affected by the world’s biggest issues drives us to know more, to find different and new perspectives. We seek out potential and invest in its growth.Â
Bold
We are always ambitious about what can be achieved with and for children and young people. Our work extends beyond perceived limitations, implementing new approaches and challenging convention. We see the power of children and young people and this inspires us and motivates us to work with them to harness it. We bring about positive change that can be big or small but is always lasting.Â
Our Youth Advisory Board
Our Youth Advisory Board is a brilliant group of young people aged 14-25. We meet with the Youth Advisory Board 4 times a year, to hear their opinions, insights and expertise, and to help shape our work. Young people’s voice is crucial to our work, and so having that right at the centre is essential.
Youth Advisory Board 2023 – 2024
Kian Brown
Lottie Isted
Nell Nisbet
Lucy Stephens
Sam Stacey
Wan Yu Chan
Poppy Neelands
What does the Youth Advisory Board mean to you?Â
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“I found myself being able to speak in meetings. The leaders make it
that type of room every time.”Â
SEBBIE, Former Chair of the YABÂ
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“You’re not just told ‘you’re just a teenager, it doesn’t matter’.”
LUCY, Former YAB MemberÂ
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“Being able to make decisions, then seeing them being actioned and
having an impact.”
PAUL, Former YAB MemberÂ
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“Seeing Highly Sprung’s work from a different perspective what it entails, taking you behind the scenes of all the work that goes on.”
NELL, YAB MemberÂ
Our Team
Executive Director
Artistic Director
Governance & Charity Administrator
Associate Artist and Schools Development Co-Ordinator
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
General Administrator
Our Board
Chair: Amanda Campbell
Amanda runs her own business as an executive coach, communications and sustainability advisor. An experienced business leader, she has spent over 25 years in corporate affairs, sustainability and marketing and has deep expertise in driving transformational change and influencing a more sustainable approach to business. Early career in consumer marketing before corporate affairs and sustainability roles in listed real estate companies most recently as Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director. Amanda is a founding trustee of Highly Sprung.
Dav KaurÂ
Dav is a Coventry based activist, passionate about social causes relating to young people & women, especially South Asian women. Professionally, she has carved a career as a mentor, business consultant , web designer and in social media management. She is also a creative writer and poet. As a South Asian Ambassador for Artspace, she is looking to work more closely with the arts sector and to support South Asian artists. Dav is keen to share her expertise in organising events such as TEDXCoventry and International Womens Day and to give local artists an opportunity to take part in these events.
Claire Singleton
Claire Singleton is a retired solicitor who specialised in employment law. She has a long-standing interest in young people and education having been a school governor and more recently a Multi Academy Trust trustee for over 20 years. Claire is a founding trustee of Highly Sprung.
Ros AdamsÂ
Ros is currently the Director of Funding and Partnerships for Geese Theatre Company, after finding her niche in arts fundraising back in 2008. Passionate about co-creation and the power of the arts to change lives, Ros is also the proud mum of a Sprungster.
Emma Gibbons
Emma is an arts project manager who has worked in Dance and Theatre for over 15 years leading engagement programmes with schools and communities. Currently Placemaking Projects Manager for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Emma has a proven track record of leading complex, multi-stakeholder cultural projects with a current focus on developing place-based infrastructure to enable better access to cultural experiences for all. Emma has spent 3 years as a school governor and is driven by developing systems and solutions that create positive change.
Jo Trowsdale
An associate Professor in Education at the University of Suffolk, Jo is an educator and researcher. Her particular focus is on the culture of art-making, as emotive, physical and cognitive practices. She has extensive experience as a former regional director of a government initiative to enhance the role of the arts and creativity in UK education (Creative Partnerships). A former drama and English teacher and teacher educator, Jo’s practice still involves working directly with schools, teachers, pupils and artists. Her current research includes interest in the role of the arts in STEAM (science, technology, arts, mathematics and engineering) education. Jo is a founding trustee of Highly Sprung.
Join Us
Highly Sprung Performance is a registered charity
Registered Charity number: 1178239
Registered office: Highly Sprung Performance, Daimler Powerhouse, Sandy Lane Business Park, Sandy Lane, Coventry, CV1 4DQ