Who are we?
Theatre People Ltd was established by Bendy Ashfield and Greg Jauncey in 2021 as a flexible way for arts organisations of any scale to add additional HR capacity to their teams. We have worked with some of the largest and smallest organisations in the theatre industry - including 15 years working together at the Royal Opera House - and we understand the pressures at both ends of the scale.
We’ve found that the best way to learn about what does and doesn’t work in HR is through practical hands-on experience, and we are at our happiest rolling up our sleeves and working in partnership with managers in the HR trenches. We enjoy being innovative and we want to continue to find new ways to help the creative sector to thrive.
The arts need to draw on and nurture the widest possible talent pool in order to survive. Fairness, equality, diversity and inclusion are central to Theatre People’s day-to-day practice. We want to help organisations provide everyone with equal access to starting and sustaining fulfilling careers in the arts, by opening their doors from the inside. We are particularly interested in working with organisations that share our commitment to proactive anti-racism, anti-ableism, and social mobility.
We are theatre people but work across the arts sector.
Bendy Ashfield
Bendy trained at LAMDA on the Technical Theatre and Stage Management course. Following a very brief dalliance with scenic carpentry, Bendy moved to Manchester to work at the Royal Exchange Theatre in the stage management team. This led to varied stage management roles in theatre and with touring theatre companies. Bendy moved into production management in 1999 and worked with Clean Break Theatre Company, who use theatre to help effect profound and positive change in the lives of women with experience of the criminal justice system.
This role led to an interest in training and increasing access to backstage careers. In 2006 Bendy started at the Royal Opera House where she set up and ran the sector-leading ROH Apprenticeship Scheme. This scheme now has 80+ graduates working across the industry and the world! Key to the success of the apprenticeship scheme was Bendy’s guidance and support to line managers and her pastoral care of the young people participating, many of whom had complex needs.
In 2019 Bendy was absolutely thrilled to be awarded a Special Recognition Olivier in acknowledgement of her work opening up and diversifying the talent pipeline for backstage theatre.
Bendy is co-chair of Skillscene, the backstage careers development forum. Skillscene exists to nurture, support and highlight the pathways and opportunities for people to gain and increase competence at all stages of their career. She is also an elected member of the Third Royal Eltham Scout Group Executive Committee.
Greg Jauncey
Greg has been working in Human Resources for 20 years and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) and an accredited Relational Dynamics coach.
After several years working in the public sector, Greg was the Human Resources and Training Manager for the Royal Opera House from 2006 to 2021. Greg was responsible for the strategic management of learning and development for the ROH’s 1,100 staff, from health and safety compliance to management development, induction and diversity and inclusion. This included designing and embedding of a new management development programme for 300+ managers, bespoke to the organisation.
As well as his generalist HR responsibilities, Greg led on the ROH’s workforce development initiatives and created and oversaw the ROH Work Experience programme, which offered 180+ opportunities per year. Greg formed and led the ROH staff diversity and inclusion network and was responsible for the creation and delivery of the equality, diversity and inclusion people strategy.
From 2012 to 2021 Greg was one of the driving forces behind TheatreCraft, the UK’s largest free careers event promoting backstage roles in theatre to 16 to 30 year olds. He is currently a Trustee of the Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund and was formerly the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Metta Theatre.
A proud Midlander, as well as his love of theatre Greg’s interests include dance (watching not doing), genealogy and ancient history.