Anna Whealing

Anna is a Highlands-born writer, theatre-maker and producer. She has worked with community groups, volunteers, children, artists and industry members. Anna has produced award-winning short films and documentaries, run workshops for emerging writers, created several new-writing audio series, organised scratch nights for performance artists in Glasgow and dabbled in stage management. Basically, she’ll say yes to everything and loves a challenge!

Anna is currently a creative trainee on textLAB, a writers programme run by Scottish Youth Theatre and Playwrights Studio Scotland. She has acted as Assistant Director for A Play, A Pie and A Pint and Mull Theatre and is now an Assistant Director with Strange Town.

Assistant Directors

Meet more of the Team

Rebecca Forsyth

Assistant - Monday 8-18s

Rebecca is a graduate of Edinburgh Napier University where she studied Acting and English Literature. She since joined Strange Town youth agency and has toured extensively around Scotland with performances for high schools, in the premiere of STORM LANTERN in 2022, and BALISONG (Strange Town in partnership with Fast Forward productions).

She has also toured the UK with various shows including ANTIGONE NA hEIREANN (Aulos Productions) and THE SHAKESPEARES; SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (Storyboard Theatre), which was also taken to high school pupils.

She has enjoyed working with young people in various theatrical settings: post-show discussions/workshops, script development and short film work for BFI/Screen Education Edinburgh. She has a great passion for music in performance and has assisted in teaching songs in a children’s theatre group.

She cares about allowing young people to create and play in a way that lets them learn and express themselves, and she enjoys learning just as much from them.

Lori Cook

Lori graduated from Performing Arts Studio Scotland in 2023 with a BA Hons degree in Dance and Drama with Kingston University.

She has been involved in theatre her whole life from performing to assistant-directing and choreographing for amateur theatre groups. She wants to encourage children get into drama and to make it a fun enjoyable way for them to express themselves.

Ellie Duncan

Ellie is a Scottish theatre-maker, facilitator and performer, who graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) in Drama and Dance with Kingston University and Edinburgh College in 2023.

Ellie has been involved in the industry from a very young age and has experience and training in both Film and Stage. Ellie is fascinated about moments of history and implementing that into her work. In 2023, she wrote and co-directed her own show ‘The Fool’ which was set in the regency era and performed in The Voodoo Rooms.

Ellie enjoys exploring theatre through improvisation and play and strives to create work that activates the voice of young people, whilst having a lot of fun in the process.

Thomas Mugglestone

Thomas is an actor and writer based in Edinburgh since 2016 where he graduated from the MGA Academy of Performing Arts with a BA Hons for Acting. During this time he co-wrote, performed and directed a play for schools in the East Lothian area called “Raising Sheep” tackling themes of prejudice in its various forms.

Since graduating in 2019, Thomas has gone on to perform in plays at the Fringe Festival, Voice Over roles for audio dramas and animations, and a TV spot in Outlander.

Prior to his time in Edinburgh Thomas was a part of musical theatre youth company “Phoenix Youth Theatre” in Aberdeen, and before that two different comedy improv troupes “Creatures of Impulse” and “Improv the Nation” in California where Thomas got his start into the world of performing arts.

James Beagon

Youth Theatre Manager

James is a director, playwright and creative learning facilitator who has lived and worked in Edinburgh for over a decade.

He has worked with Strange Town since 2015 and has written and directed a number of Strange Town productions including Stolen Futures (Traverse Theatre, June 2019) Beneath the Surface (Traverse Theatre, June 2022), Heart of the Storm & Something Special (Scottish Storytelling Centre, Dec 2021) and Over the Waves (Traverse Theatre, June 2023). In addition to his role as Youth Theatre Manager, he leads the Monday and Wednesday youth theatre groups.

Previous credits with his own group Aulos Productions include the award-winning Fringe productions First Class (2014) and Gobland for the Goblins (2017) and the award-nominated Women of the Mourning Fields (2015) and Antigone na hEireann (2018).

James has worked extensively as a freelance drama practitioner with companies including East Lothian Youth Theatre, Lyceum Youth Theatre, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, Theatre Sans Accents and Acting Out Drama School.

He holds an MFA in Directing from Edinburgh Napier and an M.A. (Hons) in Ancient and Medieval History from Edinburgh University and has run workshops and guest-lectured at both institutions.

Daniel Orejon

Daniel Orejon is a theatremaker and performer. He has been commissioned by the Edinburgh Multilingual Stories Festival and collaborated with Scottish Youth Theatre and the Edinburgh International Science Festival. He is the artistic director of the Crested Fools, with whom he has created ‘Becquer’s Legends’ and his first solo show ‘The Rotting Hart’. He specialises in projects that focus on multiculturalism, queerness and mental health, with a special fondness for all things Hispanic.

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Anna Whealing

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Supported by

The Caram Trust, Dr Guthrie's Association, The Backstage Trust, The Foyle Foundation, The Nancie Massey Charitable Trust, Ponton House Trust, Souter Charitable Trust, The Stevenston Charitable Trust, The Tillyloss Trust, The William Syson Foundation

Patrons: Julia Brown, Tallulah Greive and Lewis Gribben

Anna Whealing

Meet more of the Team

Rebecca Forsyth

Assistant - Monday 8-18s

Lori Cook

Ellie Duncan

Thomas Mugglestone

James Beagon

Youth Theatre Manager

Daniel Orejon

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Supported by

The Caram Trust, Dr Guthrie's Association, The Backstage Trust, The Foyle Foundation, The Nancie Massey Charitable Trust, Ponton House Trust, Souter Charitable Trust, The Stevenston Charitable Trust, The Tillyloss Trust, The William Syson Foundation

Patrons: Julia Brown, Tallulah Greive and Lewis Gribben