Meet the team

Our passionate and dedicated team is made up of former members who understand the transformative power of theatre. Meet the people behind Central Youth Theatre, who bring creativity and leadership to everything we do.

Meet the team driving our mission to inspire and empower young people through theatre.

Our passionate and dedicated team is made up of former members who understand the transformative power of theatre. Meet the people behind Central Youth Theatre, who bring creativity and leadership to everything we do.

  • As a former member, her journey at CYT started when she was 9 years old taking part in a summer school and bagging the main part of ‘James’ in James and the Giant Peach (little did she know this was the beginning of being type cast in roles including boys, grannies and oddballs at the youth theatre) She became a fully fledged member aged 13 and as the old saying goes … ‘never really left’. She attended Birmingham School of Acting and studied community and applied Theatre, working as a freelancer for CYT and other local theatre companies including Bigfoot Arts Education, Gazebo TIE, Birmingham Rep, The Playhouse and Zip Theatre. In 2015 she joined CYT’s founding director Jane as Assistant Director of the company and Co-Director in 2018. Some of her key highlights of steering the CYT ship include coordinating and hosting two international residential trips in jolly old Wolverhampton, taking CYT to perform at the National Theatre as part of NT Connections 2025, of course getting those all important ‘you’ve been successful’ grant funding applications and seeing generation after generation of young people flourish - through building friendships, developing skills and spilling all the tea with us CYT staff in the office. She honestly can’t imagine a more perfect job.

Holly Parry
– CEO

  • She is a leader in youth participation and community engagement and has worked with global companies such as Google, Disney, YouTube, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre and Rambert. Alongside CYT, Mathilde is Young People & Community Manager at Birmingham Hippodrome.
    She joined CYT at 8 years old and been working with the company for a decade. In 2025, she stepped in to lead the company whilst Holly went on maternity leave. Mathilde has taken CYT members to Italy, Lithuania and Thailand and has directed shows with all of our groups. Her biggest joy in her work is watching the world become a bit bigger and brighter when young people achieve incredible things.
    As a member, Mathilde was often found paying more attention to what the directors and set/costume designers were doing rather than focusing on her own acting... she also spent a lot of time gossiping (and still does)!

Mathilde Petford
– Interim CEO

Anthony Allen MBE
– Company Secretary & Finance Manager

  • I went on to perform in Oh! What a lovely war and Camelot. little did I know 30 years later I would become involved with CYT when my son joined in 2008. Within a matter of weeks I was tapped on the shoulder by Director Jane Ward to become the Chair of Trustees and I've been here ever since. My current role Company Secretary & Finance Manager began in 2023. I supporting the Board and CEO in the company's strategy and decision making, how it achieves its aims, and ensuring that all activities undertaken comply with legal, ethical and regulatory requirements. As finance manager I am responsible for taking care of all the essential financial functions of our organisation. This includes managing the day to day requirements of the online accounts.

Darcy Biddulph-smith
– Tutor/Director

  • Whether we’re improvising, devising, or diving into script work, I’m all about making drama exciting, expressive, and full of fun!

Ellie Dobie
– Tutor/Director

  • Since then, she has combined her love of acting with her passion for supporting young people with special needs. Ellie has worked in a special school, toured the UK with Performance in Education, and created sensory theatre with Embracing Arts. Alongside her acting and care work, she joined Central Youth Theatre as Project Manager for Tell Your Story – Heal Your Mind and now also teaches as a sessional tutor for the Acting Up and Wednesday Juniors groups.

  • I’m passionate about storytelling and creative collaboration, both on stage and behind the scenes. Alongside my training, I have a strong interest in youth theatre facilitation and aspire to establish my own theatre company in the future. Outside of acting, I love to travel all over the world, discover new cuisines as a self-confessed foodie, and have a strong passion for everything to do with film and can’t watch one without analysing it!

Emily Wraxton
– Tutor/Director

Megan Parker
– Tutor/Director

  • When I’m not making theatre you’ll find me planning my next creative project or out exploring with my dog Eddie!

Zak Douglas
– Tutor/Director

  • When he’s not wrangling cast lists or inventing drama games, Zak works as a professional actor, appearing in The Good Ship Murder (Channel 5), G’wed (ITV), and Lockerbie: Flight 103 with Colin Firth. He’s all about helping young performers shine, making sure rehearsals are never, ever boring and maybe teaching them the odd bit of industry gossip along the way.
    Once a CYT kid, always a CYT kid — just with more responsibility and even more rehearsal snacks.