Company Background

Biographies

Judith Doherty

Judith is the Producer, Chief Executive and Co-Artistic Director of Edinburgh-based Grid Iron. Since their incorporation in 1995 the company has amassed 27 awards and a further 19 nominations for the site-specific and touring work they create nationally and internationally. Since 2000 Jude has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and, from 2004 to 2010, the Board of the Independent Theatre Council. She also served as a Specialist Advisor to the Scottish Arts Council. Jude was one of the first recipients of the TIF New Producers Bursary and in 2003 she was given the Daily Mail Spirit of the Fringe Award for her contributions to the Edinburgh festival. Previous freelance work includes Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Scotland and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Judith has an MA (Hons) in History of Art and English Literature from Edinburgh University.

Ben Harrison

Ben is the Co-Artistic Director of Grid Iron. He joined the company in 1996, since when the company has won 27 awards for its work. Since 2004 he has been a Director of the Dutch theatre company MUZtheater. Recent work includes Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens for PW Productions and The Tailor of Inverness for Dogstar. For Grid Iron: Tryst, Yarn, Once Upon A Dragon; Roam (Grid Iron/NTS/BAA Edinburgh International Airport; The Story of the Death of Najib Brax (Grid Iron/ British Council in Beirut); The Devil’s Larder; Naw Nader Men Al Houb (Grid Iron/British Council in Amman); Those Eyes, That Mouth; Variety; Fermentation; Decky Does A Bronco; Monumental; Gargantua; The Bloody Chamber and Clearance.

In 2001 he was made a Fellow of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), which supported his research, travel and development work for three years. From 2000-2002 he was an Associate Director of the Almeida Theatre in London, where he created the acclaimed Participatory Projects programme. He is currently writing a book, Intimate Spectacle, which documents twelve years of experiments in creating site-based theatre.

Further information at www.benharrison.info