Who are we and what do we do?
We make learning fun through song.
Ensonglopedia create musical shows and videos, and run workshops, to inspire the next generation of artists, scientists and historians. Most of our work is aimed at upper primary and lower secondary ages, though we pride ourselves on making work which will appeal equally to young people and adults. We are based in Lewes, East Sussex, and tour our shows all over the UK and internationally.
The first Ensonglopedia show was created in 2016, and we officially incorporated as a limited company in 2019. Here are some of the people who do stuff with us, either regularly or just from time to time:
JOHN HINTON
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
John writes and performs our songs and shows. He set the company up in the first place.
John trained at the Jacques Lecoq school in Paris, and has a degree in Drama from Hull. Before founding Ensonglopedia, he wrote and starred in all three parts of Tangram Theatre Company’s award-winning ‘Scientrilogy’ of musical comedies about Darwin, Einstein and Curie. He is originally from Sweden, and now lives in Sussex.
LAURA MUGRIDGE
WORKSHOP LEADER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Laura works with John to deliver workshops to children and their families, and also helps him out creatively with various pieces, including Assistant Directing the newest show “Puddle…“.
Laura is a theatremaker and performer. She makes shows about tiny details to be performed in unusual spaces. She once performed a show at the top of a hill and once in a tiny campervan. She also runs workshops with children to create stories and adventures.
MICHAEL HINTON
COMPOSER
Michael writes the orchestral backing to a lot of our music, and acts as a musical advisor on all our work.
Michael studied music at Oxford University. He is a professional pianist and composer. In the late-70s he programmed pioneering electronic music software at EMS in Stockholm.
HELEN VINE
PERFORMER
Helen performs in our latest show The Puddle at the End of the World.
Helen is a UK-based actress & writer working on stage, screen and radio. She studied English and Drama at the University of East Anglia before moving to London to train at the London School of Dramatic Art. She then went on to train with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at Pinewood Studios. She also narrates audiobooks.
RUCHIKA JAIN
PERFORMER
Ruchika performs in our latest show The Puddle at the End of the World.
Ruchika is a UK-based theatre and film actress. She has performed across the UK and India, and has appeared extensively on film and TV including most recently: “The Nan Movie” (dir. Josie Rourke), and Warner Brothers’ “The Sandman”. Ruchika is skilled in Bollywood and Latin American dance styles and speaks English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu.
TAMZIN AITKEN
PRODUCER
She handles fundraising, budgets, company strategy, contracts and other really important-sounding things like that.
Tamzin is an award-winning producer with over 18 years’ experience in opera, music and theatre. She has worked with Royal Opera House, London Philharmonic Orchestra and English National Opera, before becoming a freelance consultant. She has since worked with organisations including BBC Young Composer, Wilton’s Music Hall, Glyndebourne, Southbank Centre, NSDF, Handpicked Productions, and St. Endellion’s Summer Festival and VOPERA.
JO EAGLE
COMPANY MANAGER
Jo makes sure the company ticks over nicely, and occasionally writes and performs some of the music.
Jo has a degree in music from Leeds Uni, and has taken courses in arts management and teacher training. She is an accomplished accordionist, pianist and saxophonist. She lives in Sussex with John (because they’re married!).
SARAH WALPOLE
COSTUMIER & PROP-MAKER
Sarah makes all the costumes and props for our live shows.
Sarah is an artist, costume maker, wedding reception beautifier and apple-lover. www.sarahwalpole.co.uk
VLAD SOKOLOV
MUSIC PRODUCER
Vlad records and mixes all our audio, and makes sure the music we use as backing tracks in live shows and in videos sounds great.
Vlad is a music producer, composer, DJ and chef, originally from Serbia and now based in the UK.
CAROLINA ORTEGA
DIRECTOR / DRAMATURG
Carolina directed, and helped to write, our Ensonglopedias of British History and The Human.
Carolina is a Venezuelan director, dramaturg and performer. She studied at RADA and the University of London. She trained as a performer at City Lit, LISPA and SMASH (Berlin), as well as with John Mowat, Lee Delong, Lorna Marshall and Philippe Gaulier, and is currently studying Documentary and Biographic Theatre at UdK Berlin.
She has directed and acted as dramaturg for shows with Blauhauch, Alex Carrillo, Tangram Theatre Company, Spalien Acecraft, Scandimaniacs, Idreman, Enrico D. Wey, Jesper Pedersen and Nassim Soleimanpour .
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
We have an active Board of Directors who meet at least four times a year. They are:
CAROLINE ATKINS
Science teacher at St Andrew’s CE School, Worthing
DANIEL GOLDMAN
Artistic Director of Tangram Theatre Company
DR DARREN BASKILL
Outreach Officer & Teaching Fellow at Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex
DR JENNY MANDER
Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge
JO EAGLE
See above
JOHN HINTON
See above
JOLIE BOOTH
Artistic Director of Kriya Arts & Museum of Ordinary People
DR INÊS VARELA-SILVA
Senior Lecturer in Human Biology at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Loughborough