The Leonora Carrington Series was our most ambitious project to date – a week of events in honour of the late Leonora Carrington. This event would not have been possible without the support of our amazing: artists, actors and theatre makers. The team below took part in this year’s Brighton Fringe Festival in May 2025, at The Regency Town House.

The Banquet (Surreal Exhibition) was greatly influenced by the surrealist movement and paid homage to artist and writer – Leonora Carrington. All nine artists created work especially for our exhibition – please see information below for all our artists involved. As part of the weeks events we honoured Leonora Carrington by performing three of her short stories in an immersive promenade piece – across the whole building – The House of Fear, A Man in Love and The Oval Lady. Thank you to everyone involved – this truly was a magical week.

Natasha Higdon @thewritersmark natasha.thewritersmark@outlook.com Producer and Artistic Director

Natasha Higdon is the Founder and Artistic Director of ‘The Writer’s Mark’, forming the Company in July 2023. Natasha is a Director, Lecturer, Theatre Reviewer and Practitioner in Performing Arts. Her more recent work – Salome by Oscar Wilde was directed at The New Venture theatre, described as a ‘Must See Show’ – praised for blurring lines between theatre and experience, ‘Higdon tackles this play’s sacramental language head-on, with Brook-like ‘holy theatre.’
Natasha has written publications on: Antonin Artaud and Steven Berkoff, writing for ‘We Teach Drama and Go Live Theatre. She has continued her on-going research on Antonin Artaud, attending an international conference on Artaud in July 2024.

Natasha specialises in physical theatre; her approach is experimental – focusing on music and movement to communicate her narrative. Her passional for surrealism and expressionistic theatre began from her childhood when she watched Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with her father, ‘Metropolis is the spring board to many of my ideas, the visceral experience and the heightened physicality – blending different worlds.’ Natasha now works for Fringe Review UK, where she specialises in reviewing physicalised works. Natasha also teaches as both a Lecturer at Chichester University and Kingston, and as a theatre practitioner for Third Space in Brighton.

Molly O’Neill
@m.o.art | molly.thewritersmark@outlook.com
Researcher and Artist (Project Manager)

Molly is a Brighton based Artist and researcher who has worked with The Writer’s Mark since 2023. She has a degree in Illustration Animation from Kingston School of Art as well as a Master’s Degree in Fine Art from the University of Brighton. Molly’s focus within her practice is around environment and art as a tool to engage with empathy for the nature. She also uses literature as a pool of inspiration within her work. She has worked freelance for the past five years within illustration and animation working with organisations such as Future Youth Records and the New Malden Council. She has also spent her time exhibiting and screening work in various places like The Regency Town House and above the Fish
and chip shop RYBKA.

Claudia Ezraeelian
@mynameis_cloud_e
Production Manager

Dr Claudia Ezraeelian is an experimental writer, senior psychologist and
existential psychotherapist. Theatre-making is a natural extension of Claudia’s interest in human experience & dilemma. This is her first production for The Writers’ Mark, alongside broader theatre making &
review work for Fringe, LondonTheatre1 and her founding role in developing POC-led experimental arts collective, The Avenues.

El Locksmith
@heymynameisntel
Illustrator

El Locksmith is a Suffolk based illustrator and graphic designer who has
an A-Level Graphic Communication qualification as well as a Diploma in
Level 4 Foundation Art and Design. She is starting a BA(Hons) Graphic
Design for Illustration course at the University of Suffolk 2025. El’s work is rooted in storytelling and narrative, and her inspiration comes from Album cover artwork, Comic Books and Graphic Novels.

Jo Gabrielle Sheppard
@jogsheppard Artist

Jo Gabriele Sheppard is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work has featured in shows across the UK. In 2021 she graduated from Camberwell College of Arts, UAL, with a Master’s Degree
in Fine Art, having previously trained in art and design at Worthing College, and Kensington and Chelsea College. Sheppard pulls on the significance of connecting the environment with individual and collective concerns. Making work from terrestrial and mythological
viewpoints, using a dreamlike logic. Engaging with surrealist methods to make connections between the familiar and the unknown. Layered processes and the consciousness of sourcing
materials such as willow, linen, clay, and metal.

Sheppard’s work is recognisable by her gesture and the contrasting materials she sources. ‘Cocoon’ sculpture was selected for the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Award Show during 2021 in Dorking. In 2024 her painting was selected for ‘Miniatures’ at Canal Boat Contemporary in London, and was given a special commendation by the judges. Her work has also been featured in Newhaven Art Space during 2024, The Lido Stores, Margate, in 2025, and two Empower Her exhibitions at Casild Art in London. This is her second show with The Writer’s
Mark.

Caroline Beavon
@carolinebeavon_art | @carolinebeavon carolinebeavon.com Artist

Caroline Beavon is a Brighton-based digital artist and storyteller, working across animation, illustration, and interactive formats. With a background in journalism and visual communication, she combines narrative structure with expressive design to create visually
engaging, emotionally resonant work. Rooted in the space between the analogue and the digital, her process often begins with sketchbook drawings, found textures, or handmade marks, which are then layered and reworked into animated sequences or interactive
compositions—including websites, digital essays, and projection-based installations.

Caroline’s evolving practice draws on surreal and speculative themes while maintaining a person-centred approach. She gravitates toward projects that invite interpretation – where story and form evolve together rather than follow a set path. Her work often invites audiences into non-linear, story-driven spaces where control is shared and meaning remains fluid. She collaborates with cultural and commercial organisations on a range of outputs, from scrollytelling websites and animated explainers to immersive storytelling environments. Whether working independently or as a freelance creative, she brings a thoughtful eye for pacing, tone, and visual rhythm – developing work that is both imaginative and grounded.

Amanda Rosenstein Davidson
@amanda_rosenstein_davidson Artist/Theatre Maker

Amanda Rosenstein Davidson is a multi-disciplined artist. With a B.A Hons Degree in Art , Design and Illustration, an internationally published children’s book illustrator/author with Harper Collins and craft and interior designer for various publications. Amanda has run two art galleries, been involved with community wellbeing workshops and self-published two books on mental health and bereavement in childhood.

Art residencies include ‘The Wonderful World of Puppetry’ at Hove Museum and Art Gallery in 2017 and ‘Hyman Davidson, the tropical plantsman’ at Sussex Prairie Gardens in 2023 a traveling exhibition exploring her German-Jewish heritage. A regular exhibitor of Brighton Artists Open Houses since 1995, Amanda headed a group of performance artists in The Regency Town House in Amanda is currently Chairperson of The Society of Sussex Painters (est 1924) and shares ‘Sugg and Davidson, miniature theatres’ studio on Brighton seafront Fishing Quarter.

May Qaddoura
@maiqaddoura Artist

May is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artist based in the UK, currently pursuing an MA in Fine Art at the University of Brighton. Her work explores themes of memory, resilience, and humanitarian struggle, with a strong emphasis on feminism and the experiences of women in conflict. Using installation, handmade paper, textiles, and found materials, she creates emotive works that respond to displacement, identity, and cultural heritage. Through her practice, she seeks to
honour untold narratives and challenge dominant discourses, weaving personal and collective histories into powerful visual storytelling.

Amanda Thompson
@creatively_curious_brighton | @a.thompson.artist Artist

Amanda, a queer, sober artist based in Brighton, experienced a pivotal shift in their creative journey in 2019. Choosing sobriety became a catalyst, profoundly altering both their life and artistic expression. Over the past five 1/2 years, their multifaceted work has evolved into a raw, honest exploration of navigating complex emotions without alcohol’s numbing influence. Primarily working in mixed media and drawing, Amanda has recently expanded into 3D work, seeking
to validate all emotional experiences. This artistic process is a deeply personal journey through challenging emotional landscapes.

Employing psychological realism and surrealism, she delves into the complexities of their inner world, transforming past obstacles into conduits for healing, connection, and growth. Amanda openly addresses living with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), using their art as a powerful medium for self expression and advocacy. They are preparing for their MA Fine Arts exhibition in July, titled “Emotional Emporium.” This exhibition, a culmination of their studies at the University of Brighton, will showcase the breadth of their artistic exploration and emotional depth. It stands as a testament to their dedication to using art as a vehicle for personal and collective understanding.

Jenny Fear
@pandora_pumpkinhead Artist

Jenny lives and works in Brighton. She mostly works in painting and drawing and also tries to use recycled and resourced materials when she can, as she enjoys the idea of creating something from nothing. She likes using colour, imagination and humour in her work, and her Art is often influenced and inspired by stories, nature and being a person. She is especially drawn to fairytales as she feels they
hold up a mirror to our human experience-in a beautiful way.

The magic and mythical creatures, spirituality, morals and courage- and overcoming darkness are themes that explore our connections and our psyche and can delight us with a childlike sense of wonder.
Jenny has always been fascinated by Surrealism -with its curiosity of our hidden worlds and finding ways to communicate without words.
Jenny advocates for inclusive and accessible art, both for artists and the viewers.

Bridget Muir (Anderson)
@andersonfilmandsound Artist

Anderson (Bridget Muir) is a British writer, photographer, film maker and sound artist investigating the power of self emancipation through magical realism, hyper sensuality, otherworldly messengers and transformation. Anderson tells stories through photographic sequences, film, audio narrative and electronic soundscape, like Carrington, often using herself as subject, taking on personas that navigate between reality and fantasy. Vengeful, film noir heroine, abandoned astronaut wife, anti-pop star, ghosts trapped in hotel rooms; creating studies in female desire, sacrifice, betrayal, theft, grief and ultimately love, self-love, death and rebirth.

Born to a teenage runaway in the early 1970s and raised in an artistic, socio political commune in East London, Anderson’s journey spans multiple disciplines. After training at the Old Vic School of Music & Drama and years as a pioneering female DJ, musician and voice artist, she shifted focus to visual arts, studying photography at LCCA and filmmaking at Raindance (2019-2024). Her work has gained recognition with her audio immersive work ‘Lost in Space’ (2014) being put into installation as part of the Late at Tate series – Tate Britain. In 2023 Anderson was awarded Best Director Debut at the Marseille International Film Festival and Best Music Video at the Pure Magic International Film Festival. The first instalment of her film triptych ‘A Woman Trapped in a Room’ was released in 2024. She is currently in pre production with her next film and lives and works in Kings Cross, London, continuing to explore themes of rebellion and transformation that echo Carrington’s artistic legacy.

Lexi Quintana
@cormione
Performing in ‘The Leonora Banquet.’

Lexi is a physical performer, dancer, and actor based in London. They received training in Mountview. Their past theatre experience includes “To Mars” with Mini Moon Theatre, and “From Here On” with Gecko Theatre.
They have also been involved in various short films, music videos, and voice overs. Lexi has a particular interest in telling stories of immigration and displacement. They are actively involved in advocacy for refugee rights. Lexi
enjoys cooking, travelling, and the sea.

Tahsina Rijwana Choudhury
@tahsinarjchoudhury
Performing in ‘The Leonora Banquet.’

Tahsina (Ta-See-na) is a actor and artist, based in Brighton, with a background in improv, devising and performance. She studied Performing Arts at Varndean College. While studying, she has devised, written and performed in plays and strives to challenge herself as an artist. She has also
been training with Brighton based The Actors Craft of Method and Meisner taught by Sebastien Blanc. She has previously had roles in production of Tartuffe and in a BLT and BOAT co-production of Kemble’s Riot. And has been involved in various short films, and is always looking to learn more and develop and grow as a performer. Tahsina also enjoys writing, poetry, painting and is an avid reader.

Beatrice Cupido
@beatrice_freelancemodel
Performing in ‘The Leonora Banquet.’

Beatrice is a trained contemporary dancer and actress with a dance
background that began at the age of 7. Beatrice works as a professional art model. She possesses extensive experience in various roles across theatre, art, music, and both commercial and artistic video productions.

She devoted several years to studying the Feldenkrais Method, Butoh dance, 5Rhythms, Contact Improvisation, Ecstatic Dance and many more free-form dance styles.

Stephanie Prieto Trincado
@stephiprieto
Performing in ‘The Leonora Banquet.’

Stephanie is a Chilean actress and theatre maker with over 15 years of experience around different countries, now based in the UK. As director of the Chilean NGO Hilanderas, she advocates for the creative rights of women, children and the LGBTQI+ community through artivism, often employing a strong gender perspective in her work. Her work focuses primarily on documentary theatre, biodrama, physical theatre and intimate theatrical
forms such as Lambe-Lambe, Kamishibai and shadow theatre (Chinese Shadows).

Recent UK work includes: ‘Blue and the Smile’ (Hilanderas/Latin American House), ‘Cwen’ (Alice Albinia/Archola Theatre), ‘The Voice of the Earth’ (British Library), ‘Wanglen’ (British Museum, Indigenous Resistance Day), ‘Heresy of Love’ at the NVT and is part of The Leonora Carrington Series –
Brighton Fringe project.

Victoria Barrell – Photographer
@victoriabarrell_ Photographer

Victoria Barrell is a Brighton-based photographer whose work sits at the intersection of fine art and documentary. Her earlier practice focused on carefully styled, fashion imagery, while her current direction is more intuitive, observing people and the subtle ways they hold and express energy. This shift hasn’t left her previous sensibilities behind. Instead, it brings a
heightened sensitivity to mood, symbolism and atmosphere into her
documentary work. Victoria is particularly interested in how individuals connect to something greater than themselves, tapping into shared emotional patterns and archetypes.

This exhibition has been a powerful space for shared creativity. The energy exchanged between contributors, through conversation, process, and presence, has deeply influenced Victoria’s approach. Her photographs respond to this collective spirit, tracing how personal energy flows into something larger, echoing Carrington’s exploration of the subconscious and the universal.