
Meet Third Angel’s Trustees
The Third Angel Board

Adrian Friedli - Chair
“Having been present at the inception of Third Angel with ‘Testcard’ at The Workstation in Sheffield in 1995, I have been continually struck by their innovative and eclectic approach to both making work and choice of locations to engage with audiences. I particularly value their ability to start with apparently insignificant or marginal details to draw you into surprising journeys and compelling stories. Their passion for places and the people who inhabit and make them is only more urgent and important at a time of upheaval and uncertainty.”
Adrian came to Yorkshire in 1981 to study fine art in Leeds, and has subsequently lived, and worked in the cultural sector in Yorkshire for over twenty-five years, as an artist, in academia, as an independent producer, and as a Director in regional and national arts development agencies. As a creative consultant, Adrian was Programme Lead in the team that bid successfully for Hull to be UK City of Culture in 2017. He is currently Programme Director at Yorkshire & Humber Visual Arts Network Ltd and is also a Non-Executive Director at both Forced Entertainment and Bloc Projects.

Jessica O’Neill
“I am a passionate advocate for access to art in all its forms and am delighted to be working with Third Angel. Their work inspires and surprises me with every new production and project and it’s a privilege to understand more about their creative processes and contribute in the best way I can.”
As a resident Sheffielder for the last 12 years, Jessica is keen to see the creative output that the city delivers opened up to new audiences so it can continue to flourish. She is passionate about arts education and working in partnership with similarly minded organisations and individuals to embed the importance of the arts across the region.
Jessica is currently the proud General Manager of Sheffield Music Academy, an organisation at the heart of classical music education in the city, working with 120 of our region’s most promising future talent aged 6-19 and funded (as one of only 15 Centres for Advanced Training in the UK) by the Department of Education’s Music and Dance Scheme. Prior to this she worked for 8 years at Sheffield Theatres, creating and developing the theatres’ corporate sponsorship strategy, events packages and business membership scheme during Daniel Evans’ tenure as Artistic Director and through its capital project in 2008/9.
Sarah Sharp
“Third Angel are a company who not only produce excellent pieces of work, such as their recent stellar show ‘Partus’ which was a particular favourite of mine, but who continually support the theatre making ecology of Sheffield. It is a pleasure to hear the energy and excitement that they have when discussing a new project or supporting a new early career artist. Their passion for making and the work that they create has often left me in awe of them as a company, I’m very grateful to have a place on their board and to be able to work alongside them on continuing to deliver such amazing projects and performances.”
Sarah is Director of The Montgomery Theatre and Arts Centre in Sheffield, having coming from a talent development role at Sheffield Theatres, and before that Theatre Deli Sheffield. She has seen the creation of two temporary theatres whilst with Theatre Delicatessen; one was in an ex-Woolworths building which ran from September 2014 - July 2017. Since graduating in 2014 Sarah has also worked on Flare International Festival in 2015 as their Artist Liaison producer. Sarah is the co-founder of Migration Matters festival, an annual festival that runs as part of Refugee Week in Sheffield city centre each June, since 2015.

Rachel Perry
“I am passionate about the power of the arts to make a difference to people’s lives and am delighted to be a part of the board of Third Angel, a dynamic company with an incredibly rich portfolio of work. I am excited to learn more about the company’s creative processes and to work alongside my fellow trustees to support the team in their continued development.”
Rachel is a lecturer in arts management and has over twenty years of experience researching and working in the performing arts. Her academic specialism is management within the creative industries and her particular areas of research interest are arts participation, arts marketing and models of leadership in the arts. Prior to becoming an academic she worked as a casting director, sourcing performers in the film, television, theatre and music industries.

Naomi Cosgrove
“From a young age I have loved theatre and I grew up as a member of the Crucible Youth Theatre which I remember as some of the happiest days of my childhood. I believe taking theatre out to the audience is so important in connecting with those who might not realise how much being creative can change their lives and Third Angel does that beautifully.
As a HR professional I feel grateful to help support Third Angel in its mission to diversify as an organisation and to be a guiding voice in recruitment and organisational development.”

Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin
Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin (also known as Namiuki) is an artist and Executive Director of multiple leading initiatives focused on design and implementation of sustainable approaches to supporting artists, entrepreneurs and leaders through The Break Dance Manchester, Young Creative Leaders and Elevate Young Minds.
Edenamiuki is Nigerian born, he grew up within the UK’S Hip Hop Dance scene as a performer and presenter and is a creative practitioner with a Master’s degree in Choreography from Leeds Beckett University. Edenamiuki is also a Lead Dance researcher at Manchester Hip Hop Archive, making him the first Hip Hop dance archiver in Greater Manchester and beyond.
“Over the last 5 years I have had the opportunity to be commissioned to develop and perform works such as ‘Reformation’ and ‘Exploring the Man’, which were performed at a variety of local and international platforms such as The Civic Theatre in Dublin, York Theatre Royal, Ludus Dance, Stadler’s Well in London and Temple in Lisbon in Portugal.”
Edenamiuki has received recognition from the United Nations (winning multiple awards at Plural+ 2018), the Commonwealth, Future Team Russia, the Sri Lankan, Cameroon Government and more. Edenamiuki is also part of the first cohort of the Arts Council England’s Area Council Development Programme.

Sophie Hunter
“I’m really delighted to have a place on Third Angel’s board, to be able to support them in any way I can to keep being the brilliant, eclectic, thoughtful company that they are. I am particularly inspired by their commitment to creativity in everything and to the next generation of artists and creatives.”
Sophie is a freelance creative producer, facilitator and evaluator, working to encourage change through reflective practice and the development of learning communities, often but not exclusively working within the field of arts education. She brings together her experience in holding space for people’s learning with her ability to co-create large-scale strategic projects. She grows people, places and projects.
Sophie came to the city in 1997 to work for the Crucible Youth Theatre. She stayed at Sheffield Theatres until 2004, worked for Creative Partnerships for 8 years, and then co-founded Growtheatre in 2012. Most recently she has spent 6 years at the helm of Create Sheffield, the Cultural Education Partnership for the city, developing learning networks, and supporting artists and educators to improve arts access for children and young people.
Tommi Bryson
Tommi is a Sheffield-based writer, performer, and Talent Development at Sheffield Theatres.
[full bio incoming]
Previous Board Members
Particular thanks go to our previous Board Members:
Jim McDonnell
Julie Mitchell
Daragh O’Reilly (Chair)
Kamal Birdi
Ruth Carney
Tom Draper
Stella McCabe (Chair)
Alison Moore
Hannah Nicklin
Michael Pinchbeck
Niall Shamma
Noel Witts