Amber

Amber is a creative director, movement director and storyteller.

Her brother passed in 2020. She created BOUND, an immersive theatre piece, which premiered in August 2024.

““I’ve always been interested in human behaviour. I always wonder why people respond to things in the way they do. It really gets me thinking.

I also look into people’s physical reactions to what’s going on around them; to being told something or given bad news. How does the body feel or respond?

I suppose that’s part of the reason I’m fascinated by immersive theatre. I’m always thinking, ‘How can I embody that? How can I create a world or story that will reflect the things we feel?’

It was my life’s ambition to create something immersive. But I’d never thought about creating a work about grief until I needed something to support my own loss.

That’s where BOUND came from. Stories of grief and loss shared through movement, live music, theatre and art. A place to explore, reflect, feel, interpret.

As a creator, it’s exciting to be able to break down the fourth wall. And I think it’s even more exciting as an audience member.

You’re invited to enter a space and explore the unknown. There’s a sense of freedom and play. You become part of the story.

It can scare people, though. People often think ‘What am I going to be picked to do…?’ And on top of that, BOUND was about grief, which people find scary, too.

I didn’t want to scare people, though. I gave openings and offerings for the audience to interact, but it was very much up to the individual.

It’s their journey as much as mine.

BOUND kept me so occupied that I think it numbed out my feelings. I don’t think I realised that until halfway through the process.

Every day, I was creating movement, developing storylines, doing interviews, marketing, knowing it had all stemmed from the loss of my brother. There were moments I thought would be triggering, but actually I found it stopped me thinking too much.

There were definitely benefits to being so busy. It’s nice to sit grief somewhere and escape for a while.

Afterwards, I was worried that all the busyness would stop and I’d have too much time on my hands. But actually, I’ve had some down time and it’s been lovely. I’m filling it with nurturing things and being more mindful. This is what life should be like.

And in the back of my mind, I’ve got the security blanket of other creative things happening.

I was never going to reach out afterwards with a blind email asking for feedback. If people want to share their thoughts and feelings, that’s lovely. But I’m not going to force it.

When I offered the space with BOUND, that’s exactly what it was: a space to be. Like with grief itself, you can never say, “This is how you’re going to react. This is how you can make yourself feel better.” There’s no right way to feel or be or experience it.

I just wanted it to be a seed for thought and conversation.

And anyway, that feedback you’re looking for - it might come months down the line. Some of the people from the first showing are just starting to email me paragraphs about how they feel. People have said they couldn’t initially process how they felt about it because there was so much to take in.

They wanted to sit with their thoughts. And now they’re starting to talk.”