The RABBLE

After raising a family,  Ania returned to the accountancy profession (formerly she was a Chartered Accountant at Grant Thornton) and when offered the opportunity to join RABBLE as their bookkeeper in late 2019, Ania was delighted to join the team.

Ania is an avid theatre-goer and has attended all of RABBLE’s productions since moving to Reading and has enjoyed learning about Reading’s rich history in such an entertaining way, with the performances taking place in some of Reading’s amazing spaces.

Over the years, Ania has held a number of voluntary positions, often accountancy related. Currently, she is involved with Friends of Caversham Court Gardens and Reading Amateur Regatta as well as some of the local environmental groups.

Ania feels it is very important to support such groups who do so much valuable work in our community.

Ania’s other great loves are playing tennis and travelling.

Dani was painfully shy as a child and spent her school life masking ADHD. She struggled at school, falling into the ‘good-at-art-and-not-much-else’ category. Girls with ADHD in the 80s were basically classed as ditsy-unorganised-dreamers, and Dani more than lived up to expectations, drifting through GCSEs in a daydream of late homework assignments and last-minute revision cramming. But teenage Dani was passionate about two things: Romeo and Juliet and Grease the Musical.

Born in Spain to a Mexican father and Irish mother, Dani grew up in Woodley, where her Mum worked in the local supermarket to make enough money to pay for her to ‘get some confidence’ by attending a local am-dram company. Little did Mum know that the decision to plunge her daughter into the world of theatre would irreparably alter the direction of her life. After starring in Annie as Orphan Number 23 alongside Kate Winslet (Miss Hannigan), Dani well and truly had the theatre bug.

Upon leaving school, she went to the prestigious Arts Educational School of Musical Theatre, then toured the UK with numerous Number 1 musicals until finally, she began to consider whether Musical Theatre was where her real passion lay. Her parents thought she was going to see sense and get a real job… but instead, she went back into education to study her other love, Shakespeare, at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After touring the UK playing lots of lovely Shakespeare roles and starring in some pretty dubious pub theatre, Dani conceded that she was too old to play Juliet. It was then that she began to ponder the question, ‘Why does Reading not have a large-scale professional theatre company?’… Fast forward ten years or so, and RABBLE Theatre is now a gem in the cultural life of Reading.

As RABBLE’s Artistic Director, Dani is passionate about giving creative opportunities to underrepresented communities, particularly neurodivergent young people who struggle to engage with the school system. She is particularly proud of RABBLE’s paid internship scheme that offers a pipeline into the creative industries for neurodivergent young people.

Dani has produced, directed, written and acted in over a hundred productions for RABBLE, is a qualified fight and intimacy director and has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University. She has taught thousands of young people, worked with hundreds of community partners, and given birth twice to three children (work it out).

Dani wants her little ninjas to grow up in a world where everyone is treated with respect and equality, where we can all experience the thrill of live theatre and where it’s not weird for a forty-something-year-old woman to play Juliet.

Photo © One Life Studio 2023

Emma trained as an actor at The academy of Live & Recorded Arts, London (ALRA) and later at H.B. Studios New York.

Emma’s theatre credits have included playing ‘Allegra’ in Key Largo with Show of
Strength Theatre Company in Bristol, ‘Iris’ in Anthony & Cleopatra with Revelation Theatre and more recently ‘Eileen’ in Half Light and ‘Maureen’ in The Common People with Greenham Theatre Co.

Emma has worked extensively leading drama workshops in both Primary and Secondary settings and since qualifying in 2010 has also taught English as a foreign language.

Emma has worked both as an actor and professional storyteller at multiple venues
across West Berkshire including the award-winning Watermill Theatre at Bangor.

Prior to working with RABBLE Theatre, Emma ran ‘Tiny Creatives’, an arts-based group for pre-schoolers with Really Rural Productions.

Emma was thrilled to join RABBLE Theatre in 2023, working at first as a freelance
facilitator but then later joining the core team.

Emma’s role at RABBLE is a varied one. Most days she will be teaching LAMDA classes. She runs Young Performers Afterschool Clubs, heads up the Young Company (for 8-18-year-olds), Mini Performers (for 4-7-year-olds) and helps lead Get Up On Stage, our adult
acting school.

Emma is a passionate believer in theatre being an inclusive space for all, which is why she was particularly drawn to the work and ethos of RABBLE Theatre and is proud to be part of the RABBLE crew!

Georgina joined the team back in 2018 when looking for a job that worked around her new young family and came with administration experience from the private pensions sector.

She feels passionately about ‘Community’ and is trained as a Doula, supporting new families in their fourth trimester after birth. She finds the outreach and access work that RABBLE is all about hugely rewarding and the best part of the job.

Outside of RABBLE’ing you’ll likely find her at the playpark, allotment or enjoying delicious dinners (and drinks!) with friends.

Born and bred in Reading, Hannah attended Maiden Erlegh School, going on to study English and Drama at Royal Holloway before embarking on her Broadcasting journey at the University of Leeds where she honed her skills and passion for the industry.

Hannah enjoyed a fulfilling career in Television production for many years predominantly at the BBC. She gained a wealth of experience working across a range of programming including French and Saunders, CBBC and Panorama.

After taking a few years out to be a full time child tamer to her two amazing daughters, Hannah’s deep rooted love for the theatre meant she couldn’t resist joining the RABBLE back in 2022. Her pride in her home town and dedicated commitment to ensuring equal access to the arts for all has allowed her to thrive in her role as Head of Education.

After studying Joint Honours Bachelor Degree Musical Theatre & Technical Theatre many moons ago, Rebecca has worked in a range of theatres across the North West, Edinburgh Fringe, Midlands, South East and London.

A strong North-Eastern lass, Rebecca joined the RABBLE team in 2021 and continues to lead our production teams to deliver some exceptional and outstanding performances, including our 2023 OffComm awarded production of Henry I which was also named in the Top 5 Best Theatre of 2023 by The Telegraph. Rebecca’s passion for fostering a collaborative and supportive atmosphere within the company has made her a respected figure among our freelancers and acting companies.

Rebecca’s impact extends beyond the stage, as she actively engages with our educational programme and holiday courses, as well as leading our Sustainability Sub-Committee, recognising the need and importance of our environmental impact of our production programme in Reading. Beyond her professional achievements, Rebecca is committed to nurturing emerging local talent, extending her time to aspiring professionals, sharing her knowledge and experiences, offering mentorship and guidance to inspire the next generation of theatre professionals.

Outside of the theatre realm, Rebecca possesses a hidden love for mixology. Her love for crafting tantalizing cocktails serves as a refreshing counterbalance to the intensity of her professional life. Nature serves as another source of respite for Rebecca as she can often be found walking her Border Terrier Cross exploring scenic trails.