Geese Theatre Company

What Geese Theatre Company does

Geese Theatre Company is a Birmingham-headquartered registered charity and private company limited by guarantee (Company number 2182104; Charity number 327563), founded in June 1987 as a sister organisation to Geese Theatre USA (itself founded by John Bergman in 1980). The organisation operates in the niche of applied theatre for criminal justice and social welfare settings, designing and delivering interactive performances, multi-day groupwork projects, and staff training programmes using a proprietary drama-based methodology centred on its distinctive Fragment Masks and the 'mask as metaphor' framework for exploring coping and self-protection strategies. Customers span UK prisons (HMP Oakwood, Pentonville, Gartree, Drake Hall, Featherstone, Garth), probation services, police, NHS trusts (Oxford Health, Birmingham Community Healthcare), local authorities, universities, and arts venues, with international delivery in Germany (aufBruch), South Africa (University of Cape Town, Second Chance Theatre Group), Australia (Corrective Services New South Wales), and Norway (Oslo).

The business model is a hybrid of fee-based commissioned delivery and grant-funded programming. Approximately 50-60% of annual income is generated through public sector commissions (bespoke, project-based pricing with multi-year framework arrangements), with the remainder from grant funding — chiefly Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation core funding secured through March 2027, plus British Council, Cultural Bridge, BBC Children in Need, City Bridge, Baring, Calouste Gulbenkian, Paul Hamlyn, Backstage Trust, Foyle, and National Lottery Community Fund — supplemented by individual donations and Handbook sales. The customer base is fundamentally public sector and grant-funded rather than commercial.

The product surface is organised into four service lines: (1) interactive performances and structured groupwork programmes (Reconnect, Used, Fear of Flying, Broke, Home Advantage, Inside Out, Conflict Zone, Journey Woman, Insult to Injury, Look Beyond); (2) training programmes including the three-day Other Side of the Wall course and Behind the Mask; (3) performances with keynotes co-delivered with subject-matter experts such as Dr Clark Baim, Dr Ciaran Murphy, Kate Iwi, and Michael Sheath; and (4) creative projects, films, and ensembles including Staging Recovery, Reach-In, Creative Licence, and Unmasked Exchange. Delivery is on-site at client premises (prisons, hospitals, approved premises, schools, conference venues), online via video platforms with breakout-room interactivity, or at the Birmingham offices. Operational expertise sits with a small in-house team of practitioner-actors (each trained for 6 months before deployment and employed permanently) under CEO/Artistic Director Andy Watson and Director of Programmes Louise Heywood.

Name

Geese Theatre Company

Legal name

Geese Theatre Company

Website

https://geese.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Geese Theatre Company is a Birmingham-based UK charity using applied theatre and a proprietary Fragment Masks methodology to deliver performances, groupwork, and staff training for prisons, probation, NHS, and social welfare settings across the UK and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Applied Theatre Services

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Arts & Performance (Film, Stagecraft, Lighting, Sound) (EDAMAAAJ)

Keywords

• Applied theatre services
• Criminal justice drama
• Theatre-based training
• Forensic drama programmes
• Rehabilitation groupwork

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Sector Commissions: 50-60% of income generated through commissions from public sector organisations including prisons, probation services, healthcare NHS trusts, and local authorities.
2. Grants and Donations: Remaining income from grants and individual donors. Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation funding until March 2027. Also receives funding from charitable foundations.
3. Handbook Sales: Sale of The Geese Theatre Handbook - a key resource for anyone working in criminal justice or studying applied theatre.
4. Training Courses: Fee-based training courses including 'The Other Side of the Wall' three-day training course and 'The Art of Facilitation' one-day training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Geese Theatre Company devises and delivers applied theatre performances, groupwork projects, and staff training programmes for people in criminal justice and social welfare settings. They create bespoke and off-the-peg interactive theatre pieces using a distinctive mask-as-metaphor methodology to enable behavioural change, skill development, and professional training across UK and international markets.

Product overview

Geese Theatre Company is an applied theatre organisation specialising in using drama and theatre to enable positive changes for people in criminal justice and social welfare settings. The company's product portfolio comprises four interconnected service areas: (1) Interactive Performances and Groupwork Programmes including named offerings such as Reconnect, Used, Fear of Flying, Broke, Home Advantage, Inside Out, Conflict Zone, Journey Woman, and Insult to Injury; (2) Training and Development Programmes including The Other Side of the Wall (3-day course), Information Sessions, The Art of Facilitation, and Behind the Mask; (3) Performances with Keynote Speakers for social work professionals in partnership with experts such as Dr Clark Baim, Dr Ciaran Murphy, and Kate Iwi; and (4) Creative Projects and Films including Staging Recovery ensemble, Reach-In, Creative Licence, Unmasked Exchange, and Oxford Health Film Project. The Geese Theatre Handbook serves as the foundational reference publication documenting the company's methodology. Services are delivered in-person, online, or in hybrid formats across prisons, probation services, schools, social care settings, healthcare environments, and community venues throughout the UK and internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Geese Theatre Handbook

Quantifiable outcome

• Reconnect programme shown to contribute towards key areas for desistance from crime - increased agency, hope, motivation to change, resilience, trust and well-being and decreased impulsivity
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• aufBruch (Berlin-based theatre company)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ongoing collaboration with Berlin-based prison theatre company aufBruch. Collaboration includes exchange visits, observing each other's practice, and co-delivery of theatre projects in prisons. Most recently collaborated on adapted versions of Waiting for Godot performed in UK and German prisons. Funded by Cultural Bridge (Arts Council England, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London, Wales Arts International).
• University of Cape TowncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration with University of Cape Town and Second Chance Theatre Project through British Council's International Collaboration Grants. Practitioners exchanged visits between UK and South Africa to explore how different cultural and social contexts influence social justice arts practices. Project ran from July 2022 to March 2023.
• Second Chance Theatre Group (Cape Town)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022South African partner in Unmasked Exchange project exploring theatre and drama in criminal justice settings. Practitioners trained together, observed each other's work in prisons, and co-created culturally diverse masks and scenarios.
• Clean Break Theatre CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative day-long training event 'Introduction to Theatre in Criminal Justice Settings' delivered by both companies' Artistic Directors. Also collaborated on Staging Rehabilitation masterclass for theatre artists and criminal justice professionals.
• SIFA FiresidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership delivering ACT NOW project - creative project for people experiencing homelessness. Project has been running for three years thanks to funding from National Lottery Community Fund.
• UnlockcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking in partnership with Unlock and HMP Oakwood on Creative Licence project - matching men on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) with arts organisations for work experience placements.
• Birmingham REPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts venue partner in Creative Licence project providing placement opportunity for person on ROTL.
• Belgrade TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts venue partner in Creative Licence project providing placement opportunity.
• Birmingham Children's TrustcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommissioned Conflict Zone performance on Reducing Parental Conflict, funded by DWP.
• University of Wolverhampton (Institute for Community Research and Development)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed learning and evaluation of Creative Licence project, culminating in a report.
• Royal Ballet CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Safe Stages safeguarding training performance for arts venues.
• Dr Ciaran MurphyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Lecturer in Social Work at Edge Hill University. Collaboration on Growing with Substance day-long training event exploring parental substance misuse.
• Michael SheathminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly of Lucy Faithfull Foundation, 37 years in sexual abuse prevention. Collaboration on Caught in the Net training event.
• Kate IwiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational trainer with 32 years experience in domestic abuse work. Partnership on Safety Net training event.
• Ingeus Justice ServicescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommissioned ten Behind the Mask training events across UK for staff development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal Shakespeare Company (Learning and Participation): Major UK repertory theatre whose Learning and Participation arm runs prison and young-offender education programmes; broader portfolio organisation but overlapping commissioning audience (prisons, schools, local authorities) and applied-theatre practice.

Direct peers

• Synergy Theatre Project: UK applied theatre company working with prisoners, ex-offenders and young people at risk of offending; delivers drama-based interventions in criminal justice settings using a similar in-house practitioner model.
• Clean Break Theatre Company: UK charity using theatre to work with women affected by the criminal justice system; runs groupwork, performances and training on parallel lines to Geese and is a named Geese partner for joint training events.

Regional players

• Second Chance Theatre Group: Cape Town-based theatre organisation working with people in the criminal justice system; named project partner with the University of Cape Town on the Unmasked Exchange programme and runs an operationally similar model in South Africa.
• aufBruch: Berlin-based theatre company operating inside German prisons; named partner on Cultural Bridge and Unmasked Exchange collaborations with Geese and offers a directly comparable prison-theatre model in another geography.
• Geese Theatre USA: Founding sister organisation (established 1980) that spawned the UK company; uses the same mask-based applied theatre methodology in US criminal justice settings and remains the upstream origin of Geese's IP.

Emerging players

• Prison Phoenix Trust: UK charity supporting prisoners and prison staff through yoga, meditation and creative arts; operates in the same criminal-justice charity segment with a different intervention modality but overlapping beneficiary and commissioner base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=5yHKFALJwag
• Xx.com/GeeseTheatre
• Facebookfacebook.com/GeeseTheatre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Geese Theatre Company