A bit about us…
Our Core Team
We’re lucky to have an incredible team of people on board at Chain Reaction. From our dedicated core team to our amazing pool of skilled freelance actors, workshop facilitators, videographers, photographers, street dance professionals, musicians and more, every single person at Chain Reaction is completely committed to the work we do.
With an explosion of energy and enthusiasm, our talented team help us deliver success after success.
Sarah Smit
Artistic Director | Founder
Fun and feisty, Sarah has extensive experience of working with young people, many of whom have emotional and behavioural problems, as a youth worker, workshop facilitator and music studio technician.
Since 1994, she has produced and directed the majority of the company’s theatre performances and video projects, acted in Chain Reaction shows and facilitated hundreds of workshops, whilst also managing to find time to fundraise and run the company!
Sarah is also a qualified yoga teacher, undertakes professional acting jobs on stage and screen, is a self-confessed nutrition nerd, and is a fabulous mum to her three young children.
Fliss Loxley
Senior Strategy & Project Manager
The ever-sunny Fliss first joined Chain Reaction in 2008, having graduated from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance. In those early years Fliss performed in, directed and tour managed several of our shows, before finding her passion for project development and strategic management. She worked as a key member of our delivery team, before taking the reins, as our General Manager in 2011.
Her passion and energy for engaging young people is infectious. With over 10 years’ experience of project design, copywriting, marketing, financial management, delivery and evaluation; she’s one to watch. She’s even written some of Chain Reaction’s infamous show anthems! If you ask nicely; she might even give you a rendition!
Rachel Salisbury-Leach
Arts Administrator
Brimming with positivity, Rachel trained as an actress at East 15 Acting School and is a lover of all things theatre and the arts. She has worked as an actress, writer, children’s entertainer and workshop leader, amongst many other jobs (phew!). She even created her own cake business at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown so occasionally her colleagues get some yummy treats!
Rachel performed a sell out one woman show at the Camden Fringe that went down an absolute storm, and she loved the creative challenge.
Rachel has joined the team as our Arts Administrator and is loving helping to change more young peoples’ lives. She is super organised and continues to put her knowledge and skills to good use- label maker at the ready!
Natalie Murphy
Company Assistant & Facilitator
Playful and positive, Natalie is a trained theatre-maker, puppeteer and facilitator. She believes everybody has creativity in them and she's passionate about ensuring everyone has a chance to express it!
During her training at Rose Bruford she was lucky enough to explore her fascination with puppetry at the prestigious AST puppetry school in Poland. Since graduating, Natalie has facilitated a whole range of drama and puppetry workshops with diverse groups of young people.
Always ready to get stuck in, Natalie is so excited to be working with Chain Reaction as company assistant and workshop facilitator. She's passionate about using theatre to educate and loves anything that can make her laugh and look at things with a new perspective!
Our Board of Trustees
We couldn’t do it without the support of our amazing trustees
Nikki Leach | Chair of the Board
After 12 years being a member of the board, the wonderful Nikki has been appointed as our Chair and we couldn’t be happier! Nikki worked for Chain Reaction for 5 years, firstly as an actress and specialist facilitator then as a Project Manager. She's always been hugely inspired by the work that the company does and was thrilled to be appointed to head the Board of Trustees. A real people person, Nikki now runs her own company, working with corporate organisations delivering personal development training and coaching. Her experience with Chain Reaction and within the corporate world means that she brings expertise in fundraising, proposal writing, managing a business and networking. Nikki is using her knowledge and connections to develop Chain Reactions relationships with corporate sponsors, to further diversify our funding streams. Thank you for your expert leadership Nikki!
Simon Kenwright | Treasurer
Originally a Scouser and a lifelong Red turned East London local, Simon comes to us with a fantastic creative mind, the love of a good brew and exciting new approaches for organisational development. Once an actor and director he took these skills and moved into the realms of personal development. Working as a Creative Director for the last 15 years he’s helped a huge variety of clients, from major media organisations and banks to third sector and SMEs. Most recently Simon co-founded Agents Of Change to help organisations develop their culture and capability. His wealth of knowledge and experience within the creative industries and his expertise in copywriting, design, strategy, and brand engagement make him a real catch for Chain Reaction! Simon brings a passion for the arts, culture and change to the forefront of our work, he’s an all-round top guy and we’re lucky to have him.
Simone Watson-Brown | Secretary
Simone has 15 years’ experience working as a performer and a theatre director as well as designing and delivering creative Education programmes for arts and education organisations across London including TCW, Southwark Playhouse, The Old Vic Theatre, Lewisham Youth Theatre, Haringey Council and Freshwater Theatre. She currently works part-time as the Head of Partnerships at Theatre Peckham. In her remaining time, Simone works as a freelance Executive Impact Coach, Associate Consultant and as Creative & Corporate Facilitator for a number of award-winning companies. She is dedicated to organisational development and inclusion and demonstrates this by having co-designed 'Five Pillars; An Introduction to anti-racism' training which is currently being delivered to cultural, public and private sector organisations across London and the UK. She sits on the board of trustees for two other arts education organisations: Purple Moon Drama and Diverse Voices.
Mike Dyer MBE | Member
Mike was previously our Chair and we can’t thank him enough for his 21 years of service. Now a member of the Board in his 24th year (yes you read that correctly!), self-confessed ‘true Cockney’ Mike left school at 15 to support his family and eventually embarked on a career in the civil service. Mike has always had a passion for helping others and alongside his professional career he’s spent the last 35 years supporting young people. From fundraising and building facilities for a local football club to re-starting the popular Stubbers Adventure Centre for young people in Upminster (after the local authority had closed it) which now has an annual turnover of 1.5 million! Mike offers Chain Reaction his expertise in management, fundraising and directorship, built up over a vast amount of years working with registered charities. Mike was (finally!) awarded his MBE for Services to Young People in 2012. Well deserved!
Lisa Stewart | Member
We first met Lisa when we performed various shows at her school in Barking, and she liked us so much that we had the pleasure of her company for her Year 10 work experience. Even aged 15, she was so committed and passionate about what we do that she soon took on the role of Young Person’s Representative on our Board of Trustees, and Lisa became a fully fledged member of the board in 2010 when she grew too old to be considered a ‘young person’ any more! Having graduated after 3 years at Masters Performing Arts College in Essex, Lisa is now a professional actor who has worked on a wealth of shows for young people. Lisa’s local knowledge of our target boroughs paired with her experience of young people’s theatre, both educational and commercial allow her to offer invaluable advice and guidance on our artistic programme.
Simon Eves | Member
Simon first came to Chain Reaction as maternity cover for their office administrator over a decade ago. Since then, he’s brought his design and filmmaking skills to several Chain Reaction projects - helping to deliver music videos, posters, viral video campaigns and more! These days, Simon has a commercial graphic and motion design practice working with global brands, and a fine art practice exploring the themes of legacy and memory. These evolved from his former theatre-making and filmmaking practices, and he still works with a lot of theatre and charitable organisations today. His recent works have been exhibited in a combination of group and solo shows, including the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, the Deptford X Festival fringe, and the London Art Biennale. He’s delighted to be able to support the fantastic work that Chain Reaction do - as well as lending a keen designer’s eye where needed!
Get in touch.
If you’re interested in working with us or supporting our work please get in touch. Pop your details in here and we’ll get back to you.