The Writer’s Mark launched 7th and 8th February 2024 at Fabrica Arts Centre Brighton, United Kingdom. A team of twenty creatives exhibited and performed – celebrating the life of our first writer in the series – Franz Kafka. The event ran for a duration of three hours; to include a total of nine art installations and three live theatre performances. See our feature posts for audience response and pictures.
Thank you to the 2024 Kafka Team and for all your rigor and innovation.
Natasha Higdon
Founder and Artistic Director
Natasha Higdon is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Writer’s Mark. Natasha is currently working as a Director, Lecturer and Drama freelancer and is based in Brighton, United Kingdom. Natasha has always been passionate about community based theatre, which stems from her BSc Hons Degree in Psychology with Performing Arts in the Community, where she studied at Oxford Brooke’s University. Natasha has continued to teach Drama, Theatre Studies and Performing Arts in Suffolk, London and Brighton. Currently, Natasha is a tutor/director for Third Space based in Brighton and is a Lecturer at Chichester University; teaching psychological realism. Natasha specialises in physical theatre, berkoffian theatre and theatre of the absurd. Her approach is experimental, focusing on music and movement to communicate her narrative. Natasha has published materials on: Antonin Artaud and Steven Berkoff, writing for ‘We Teach Drama.’ She has also worked for ‘Go Live Theatre’ as a writer and is presently a Reviewer for Fringe Review where she specialises in reviewing physicalised works, recently for Edinburgh Fringe Review. Natasha directed her own adaptation of ‘Blood Wedding’ this year for Brighton Fringe Review, which received ‘Outstanding Youth Theatre.’ This was an amalgamation of: physical theatre, puppetry and poetic form.
Artists
Jo Gabrielle Shepherd
Artist
Jo graduated from Camberwell College of Arts in 2021 with an MA degree in Fine Art sculpture. She has participated in shows mainly in London and was recently a contributor for Arty magazine. In 2021 her sculpture was selected for the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Award Show. She has a background working as a botanical artist for natural skin care ranges.
Amanda Rosenstein Davidson
Artist and Prop maker
Amanda Rosenstein Davidson BA (hons) is Brighton trained, an internationally published illustrator/author (Harper Collins 1982-1996) and craft designer (David & Charles and national magazines 1995-1998). Currently Amanda is a paint effects and mural artist (Liberty’s window, Pushkin House, Holburn, London) and commissioning portrait painter. Amanda’s Art residencies include: Hove Museum and Art Gallery 2017 (puppetry collaboration), The Regency Town House 2019 and Sussex Prairie Gardens, Henfield 2022. She is an active member of The Society of Sussex Painters (est:1924) upcoming residency Worthing Museum& Gallery 2024. Amanda runs a life drawing group in Rottingdean, where she lives and describes her work as Narrative Realism working in pen and ink, watercolour, acrylic and oils.
Molly O’Neill
Artist
Molly O’Neill, I studied Illustration Animation at Kingston School of Art and then a Master’s in Fine Art at the University of Brighton. I have worked freelance for the last few years in both illustration and animation jobs, working with companies such as Be the Fox and Unilever. After working freelance for a while I decided I wanted to have more focus on the concept of my work and since studying for my Master’s I have realised that the focus of my work is usually around nature.
Due to the current climate crisis, I have been driven to focus my work around empathy for nature and how this can bring us closer to understanding the importance of looking after the environment. I have focused my research on “Deep ecology”. This is a term brought to us by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess, in 1972 and I’m working with the Moving Image as a tool to understand our connection to nature.
Phil Whiting
Artist
Phil is a landscape painter whose work is informed by issues around conflict, memory and human rights. In April 1995 at the height of the Bosnian Civil War he embarked upon a project which became known as ‘Places of Mourning in the Western World’. TSolo exhibitions of his projects – often with residencies – have been staged at many diverse venues including: The Yehudi Menuhin Space in The European Parliament Building Brussels, The Royal Cornwall Museum, Oxford University, The BayArt Gallery Cardiff, Leigh Day Human Rights Law Firm London, Monmouth School, Kings School Worcester, Truro Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral and most recently at The Sewell Centre Gallery Radley College Oxfordshire. He has received commissions from organisations such as Amnesty International, The Guardian, English Heritage, The Survivors of Srebrenica, the NHS, the European Parliament, Truro Cathedral and the project has raised tens of thousands of pounds for good causes.
Catherine Whiteoak
Artist
Catherine Whiteoak makes assemblage sculpture artworks, created in her studio in Shoreham-by-Sea. Influenced by modernist sculpture and design aesthetic, informed by inherent shape and texture, she creates compelling, often surreal, abstract-figurative ‘creatures’. Created using a combination of locally sourced, collected, and discarded materials the figures evolve through a process of continuous morphing of their form exploring themes of identity, displacement, and absurdity, which are distinctly Kafkaesque.
Leah Georgiades
Artist
Leah Georgiades, a digital artworker based in Brighton, navigates the intersection of visual and kinetic art. Inspired by Symbolist art and poetry, Leah transforms static works into dynamic motion graphics and experimental film. Leah continues to craft her unique visual language that resonates with both timeless inspiration and the limitless possibilities of the digital realm. Leah hosts the site ‘heketrocera.co.uk’, where one can explore their portfolio, affectionately nicknamed ‘Heketroceran Songs’. ‘My Heketroceran Songs are nicknamed from mythology and insect names. Nature has a good way of connecting us to both the present and the past and that’s where I explore that imagery.’
John Reddin
Artist
John Reddin is a multimedia artist who utilises everything from programming & electronics to atmospheric soundscapes. He’s invested in Web Mazes and ARGs. Using interactive code to create puzzles and experiences which entice users to engage with content with ‘outside the box’ thinking. John is also experienced in music and video editing and developing new ways to fuse sound and visuals. John hosts the interactive site ‘geekbiscuit.com’ which uses creative web code to simulate a command prompt. ‘If you want to find anything on there you’re going to have to work for it’.
Madina Orazbekova
Artist
Madina is a recent graduate from Arts University Bournemouth. She is an Artist who is currently trying to find her bearings after recently moving to London. Madina is originally from Kazakhstan and moved to the UK at a young age. Madina is delighted to be part of this project and will be presenting works that celebrate the ‘joy’ captured in Franz Kafka’s life.
Mona Ellie
Mona is an artist working through the mediums of sound, writing and imagery. Mona has an Ma in Contemporary Art Theory where she studied at Goldsmiths. She is also one of the singing duo –Robbie and Mona, a surrealist dream pop duo. . As a contemporary artist Mona is excited by the stories that emerge in the “instant-now” and from “feeling-thoughts” when in an embodied and charged bond with takes place with your material, guided by sensation more than comprehension. Mona is interested by spontaneous storytelling, unmotivated by pre-established narrative rules and expectations.
Zoë Padley
Artist
Zoë is an Artist who currently works mainly in performance, playing with satire, the absurd & the surreal, she explores in the realm of the ridiculous. After gaining a BAHons Theatre:Design for Performance degree at CSM (UAL), she went on to train at LISPA, a school based in LeCoq physical theatre & clown. Coming from a sculptural background, she is very interested in how space & environment can affect the senses & how objects can embody personality. She is also particularly fascinated with character, & the multi dimensional power of ‘the fool’. Her recent work involves surreal & ridiculous persona; The Wrong Numba, who hosts The WRöNG Channel..?! – a surreal ridiculous character show about the ‘Apocalypse of Now’, and The WRöNG Planet..!? – a lo-fi sci-fi cabaret adventure to a different planet that Zoë has created, produced & performed at venues including The Spiegeltent at Brighton Fringe, The Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone, The Blundabus at Edinburgh Fringe.
Actors
Jevon Antoni-Ray
Actor
Jevon first trained as a visual artist, later becoming a dancer at The Royal Ballet School United Kingdom and The Balettakademien Stockholm. He started performing in Sweden – joined the Norwegian Ballet and later The National Ballet of Canada. When he returned to the UK, he continued to perform as actor/singer in film and theatre productions – amongst which was the rock-musical ‘Hair’. His credits embrace a First Prize in Baden Baden for the Dutch TV production of ‘Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ‘ on which he choreographed-directed, designed costumes and the makeup. Further credits would be a BAFTA nomination for ‘Stanley Baxter on Television’ and a Hollywood Music Award for his work on ‘Venus’ for the pop group Bananarama. Subsequently he took a scholarship extending his training as singer-soloist with the internationally renowned opera coach, Nina Walker; this was while he continuing to sustain a career as a singer, performer and choreographer on stage and film productions. In later years, Jevon has devoted his time to community work, specifically working with young people – this encouraged his passion for psychology and behavioural evolution. This now motivates a great deal of his personal work – recording of poetic prose music, sound design, video and non-linear text.
Nicole Živolić
Actor
Nicole Živolić is a versatile actress, singer and songwriter with a well rounded musical and performance education. Alongside finishing a music middle school and highschool in her homeland Croatia, she has a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts, which she obtained at The Institute For Contemporary Theatre. Some of her latest performances include playing Freiberg in the play “Landmines” and Henriette in the musical “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow”. Some other roles she has worked on are: Jenna from the musical “Waitress”, Rizzo from the musical “Grease”, Elphaba from the musical “Wicked”, Grizabella feom the musical “Cats”, Frau Blucher from “Young Frankenstein” and Cathy from the musical “The Last Five Years”. She graduated from University in 2022 and she continues her education in London by regularly attending masterclasses and workshops to work on her craft.
Maya Kihara
Actor
Maya’s introduction to theatre is from the original story tellers: East Africans. History was shared by the retelling of myths and legends, through the use of physical theater and narration to the beat of a cowhide drum.Her understanding of theatre was further enriched in high school with the introduction of western theater practitioners, such as Brecht and Stanislavski. As well as western musicals, where she played Marty in her schools rendition of Grease.After High School she moved to Brighton to study Medical Neuroscience and enrolled at the Academy of Creative Training. During her 3 years in Brighton she was part of the ensemble in Sussex university’s production of Sondheim’s ‘Company,’ starred in a student film and played Eva from ‘The Accrington Pals’ at the Lantern Theater. Now she continues to pursue a career as a storyteller by merging disciplines from her Medical Neuroscience degree and acting training to further enrich world she aims to create.
Michael Sterrett
Actor
Michael Sterrett is a Northern Irish actor and musician based in Brighton. Starting out playing in rock bands on the Belfast music scene Michael became involved with the cross-community charity Cinemagic. Their 1999 short film The Goldfish Bowl features voice acting by Michael as well as guitar/vocal contributions to the original soundtrack. After relocating to England in the early 2000s Michael recorded and gigged as a singer songwriter, recording two EPs and performing at gigs and festivals across the UK. He has also appeared as a background artist in film and television including Universal’s Dracula Untold (2014). Michael produced and presented his own radio show Spookerama, a celebration of horror movie soundtracks, on LSR.FM and the Newcastle based Basic.FM. Following study for an MSc in Global Conflict and Peace Processes at the University of Aberdeen Michael relocated to Brighton and began recording music under the name Winter Wife. He is currently recording his newest collection of songs to be released in 2024 and working on the script for a short film project.
Julia Mandler
Actor
Originally from Minneapolis, Julia has had the pleasure of performing in theaters in Wellington, Melbourne, and London, in addition to her hometown. Julia started her acting career as a child and has since trained at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and Whitman College. Alongside her acting work, Julia is also passionate about theater and film directing. She graduated with a Masters of Arts in Film Directing from Met Film School in 2022 and recently completed a directing course at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her debut short film, “Tap Twice,” has been lauded on the film festival circuit, winning Best Experimental Short Film at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in 2023 and was an official selection at several others. Recently, Julia has been seen as Hermia in a feminist adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” produced by the Keyhole Theatre Company, which she co-founded. The production had a successful run at the Latest Music Bar in Kemptown.
Lorraine Yu
Actor
Lorraine Yu is a Brighton-based actor with a movement background in capoeira. Her recent works include BATSU! London (Underbelly Boulevard), Find Your Fire: Scratch Night (Rising Phoenix Artist Collective), Dark Bites (Savage Heart), BUBBLING (BodiesforRent Theatre), THE BOX WE TICK (LegalAliens), and THE HAPPY POOR GUYS (Théâtre de la Feuille). She will make her Brighton Fringe debut this year in The Tower (Wild Elk Productions). Lorraine has been exploring life outside of Hong Kong since 2020.
Louise Watts
Actor
Louise studied an Art and Illustration Foundation Diploma in her first year in Brighton in 2013. Her deep interest in interpersonal relationships led her to study a degree in Theatre Arts specialising in Wigs, Hair and Makeup. Over the last decade she has performed at many historic venues such as KOKO, Electric Ballroom, Hootanannys, Concorde 2, the British Library, Spiegel Tent and the Dome among others and is well known amongst the festival circuit from immersive acting roles at almost 100 festivals. After achieving a 1st in her degree she began a busy arts career starting with extensive work in hair and makeup, including roles such as Head of Wigs and Makeup on ‘CATS – Cyprus’ and ‘Hair’. She assisted the Head of Wardrobe in a private education setting and went on to become Head of Wardrobe, designing, sourcing and fabricating several productions per year, often with over 100 costumes as well as designing and dressing wigs, training students in hair and makeup and painting their sets. She also has over 5 years experience teaching drama, LAMDA and curriculum. She is now training to be a Transactional Analyst Psychotherapist which informs her creative practice by continuing to deepen her understanding of the human experience.
Designers
Apollo Videaux
Lighting and Sound Designer
Apollo Videaux is an experienced freelance Lighting and Sound designer who has worked all over Brighton. He comes from a videogame design background, crafting virtual worlds before having the opportunity to employ those skills in the physical world.
Nick Petrouis
Videographer
Nick Petrouis taught F.E and H.E Media Production and Digital Filmmaking before he decided to pursue freelancing in Brighton. Over the years he has created many videos for the hospitality industry, winning competition video entries. Currently directing and DoP for music videos for emerging talent in the Brighton music scene. Applying his understanding with the practical and theoretical of filmmaking he is now developing short films.
The Writer’s Mark 