Lara Parmiani – Artistic Director
Lara is an Italian-born director, actor, dramaturg, and facilitator. She studied Dramaturgy at University of Sacro Cuore, Milan, and acting at Accademia de’ Filodrammatici in Milan, Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, further developing her knowledge of performing arts with Ludwik Flaszen (Grotowski) and Jean-Paul Denison (Peter Brook).
She has been a pivotal force in advocating for migrant theatre in the UK, where she dedicated over two decades to help create a theatre landscape that fosters cross-cultural narratives and practices. In 2012, Lara founded LegalAliens, and has been instrumental in shaping the company’s creative approach. As a director she loves creating visual and engaging performances especially with big ensembles. She has directed and created the dramaturgy of The Box We Tick, Insomnia, Ali in Wonder(Eng)land, Tugging at the Sea. She has also devised and performed the monologue Shapeshifting about her experience of navigating languages and cultures, and directed The Flowers of Srebrenica.
Outside LegalAliens, she has acted in classical and modern plays, musicals, devised and physical theatre performances in Italy and the UK, working – amongst others – for Laboratorio Teatro Settimo, Teatro i, Battersea Arts Centre, Greenwich Playhouse, St James’ Theatre, National Theatre. Lara’s dedication to fostering resilient creative networks is demonstrated through her involvement in projects like “The Show Must Go ON/OFFLINE”, “Refugee Arts Networks: Extending the Frame,” and “Performing journeys”, a series of workshops on how to create original dramaturgies inspired by personal experience of displacement.
Amy Sze – Executive Producer
Amy is a theatremaker and arts producer born and raised in Hong Kong, currently based in London.
Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and MA Advanced Theatre Practice at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she endeavours to present stories of immigration, forgotten histories, forgotten histories, and explore the cultural identity of Hong Kong through multidisciplinary art forms.
She also focuses on international and cross-cultural collaborations. Amy has previously worked with Pants Theatre Production (HK), French May Arts Festival (HK), Papergang Theatre (London), and Max Percy + Friends (London).
Nada Sabet – Tottenham Project manager
Nada is a theatre director, facilitator, and cultural practitioner born in Egypt, specializing in devised and community-led theatre.
She has worked extensively across the Arab region and Europe and is now based in the UK, where she brings her skills and passion for boundary-crossing theatre that builds communities, bridges cultures, and reshapes the way stories are told on stage. As a director, Nada specializes in collaborative storytelling, using theatre as a tool for empowerment, expression, and social change.
Her work explores migration, identity, and belonging, drawing from lived experiences to craft authentic and powerful narratives. She is a core member of LegalAliens Theatre, where she directs and facilitates devised theatre projects centering migrant, refugee experiences and the larger haringey community. Nada works with professional actors, amateurs, youth, and children, ensuring that theatre remains an accessible and inclusive space for all. She has collaborated with The Royal Court, The Bush Theatre, Women for Refugee Women, Clean Break, The British Museum, Amici Dance, and The Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, among others, in various capacities, engaging in projects that explore movement, multilingual storytelling, and participatory theatre
Angela Poulima – Workshop Leader
Angela is a Greek Theatre Director with a background in directing communities.
She worked as an Assistant Director in Greece with Euripides Laskaridis ( Biennale Athens 2017) and the Patari Project (Epidaurus Festival 2019). In 2024 she worked as a Residency Artist at the Jana Sanskriti Centre in India , where she shaped her community theatre practices. Previously she presented her work as a Theatre Director at the Empros Theatre – the only independent venue in Athens run by a political assembly. In 2017 she directed The Bacchae at the International Messine Festival and at the archaeological space of Mycenes. She moved to London in 2021, working as a Theatre Maker in London with Vertebra theatre, Women for Refugee Women, Sujata Banjee.
Recently she worked as a Director with the Harem of No one, a SWANA queer collective where they got funded from the UK government to develop a cabaret theatre show called “Dolmus Mini bus” ( Camden’s People Theatre 2025). Angela’s creative practice is about amplifying community voices, exploring the musicality of the body, embracing failure within ensemble work. Angela is been facilitating with LegalAliens since 2023, supporting the productions Ali in Wonder(Eng)land and Tugging at the Sea. She is Assistant Director/ Stage Manager for The flowers of Srebrenica
Francesca Hsieh – Education Outreach
Francesca Hsieh is an Asian-American theatre director, maker and facilitator.
She has her MA in Theatre Directing from Royal Holloway, University of London and a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Utah. Francesca’s work as an assistant director and director has been seen at the Barbican Centre, Camden People’s Theatre, and on the West End. She is on the Higher Education faculty at Shakespeare’s Globe and strives to make work that centers the voices of minoritized communities in joyful ways.
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