Sophia Compton writes, directs, produces and runs activist projects. She is Artistic Director of Fringe First Award-winning activist theatre company, Power Play C.I.C and co-founder of mental health initiative Brainstorm. She has written articles for i-D, Arteviste, Gobbledegook SAVAGE Journal and other publications.
Power Play's Award-winning 2018 Edinburgh Fringe season of four plays took over a domestic flat to tell four female-led stories of “rich, unsettling drama” (The Scotsman). As co-Producer and Associate Director, she brought Filipa Bragança Award-winning Funeral Flowers on a London tour. Brainstorm puts on multimedia events, recently at the V&A and Copeland Galleries.
She facilitates workshops and develops wraparound activist projects, recently Funeral Flowers’ ‘Community Conversations’ project. She has spoken as a mental health advocate and activist on The Guilty Feminist, for Him + His, and other platforms.
Projects
- Power Play Edinburgh Showcase 2018Power Play exists to fight for gender equality in the theatre industry. In 2018 we created a platform for self-identifying female artists, taking over a house at the Edinburgh Fringe as a pop-up venue. We presented four new plays, winning two awards (for Funeral Flowers), nominated for Sit Up Awards, and receiving 4 and 5* Reviews from many publications, and features in The Scotsman and Exeunt. We launched the project with an immersive, site-specific showcase of four plays written and directe
- The 2 to 1 Problem CampaignPower Play exists to analyse and expose gender inequality in theatre, using data-activism, immersive theatre and bold stunts. With our first data-driven campaign at the Edinburgh Fringe we used graphic design, theatre and research to highlight gender inequalities at the Edinburgh Fringe. Graphic Design by Adaptive Capacity - Josie Tucker and Richard Ashton. Video by Eloise Knights
- Mary Mary Quite ContraryMary Mary Quite Contrary is a devised performance into the world of the Early Modern witch hunts - steeped in magic, and blending history, music, movement, storytelling and comedy. The show exposes the absurdity and even melodrama of the frenzied legal persecution of women as “witches”, informed by deep historical research. In doing so, it returns agency and a voice to the living, breathing women who these hunts attempted to silence. We opened this piece with two sell-out shows at The Cockpit
- I'M FINE at Copeland GalleryOver 40 artists were sent a brief asking them to think about masculinity, male mental health and breaking down ‘the wall’. This exhibition presents their multifaceted responses, in almost as many media: embroidery, sculpture, performance, knitwear, illustration and beyond... Brainstorm was set up to talk about the failures of communication around male mental illness and try envisage a masculinity that isn’t toxic. Last year, Dulcie’s dad passed away through suicide. His family had no idea of wh
- Brainstorming VulnerabilityBrainstorm was part in the V&A Friday Late on (DE)CONSTRUCTED MASCULINITIES. Within the V&A’s wooden, brain-like bubble, Brainstorm created a space for honest and introspective communication about masculinity and mental health. Through poetry, performance and open conversation we wanted to bust wide open the social expectations of masculine behaviour, and put our shared brainpower to the question: what does a masculinity of the future look and feel like? The idea was to make this space into a c
Work history
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Co-FounderBrainstorm
London, United KingdomFreelance
Brainstorm is a project to investigate masculinity and male mental health. It presented the work of 50+ visual and performing artists in 'I'm Fine' at Copeland Gallery (It's Nice That top 10 things to do, Dec 2017) and 3h curated interactive workshop 'Brainstorming Vulnerability' at the V&A
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Artistic DirectorPower Play Theatre
London, United KingdomFreelance
Power Play is an award-winning activist theatre company. We use guerrilla-style immersive theatre and data activism to combat gender inequality in UK theatre.
We combine new writing programmes with research, using narrative and numbers (the qualitative and quantitative) to challenge the performing arts industry to diversify the stories it tells.
Skills
- Article Writing
- Ceative Writing
- Theatre Directing
- Theatre Production
- Curating
- Artistic Direction
- Project Management
- Producing
- Activism
- Theatre
Education
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Bachelor of Arts (BA) UCL
- London, United Kingdom
English Literature, 1st Class
Joint highest mark in the year
John Oliver Hobbes Memorial Scholarship for Research Essay
Rihannon Jones Memorial Prize for contribution to the life and work of the department.
Awards
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Fringe First AwardEdinburgh Fringe Festival 2018
Award for the best New Writing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Won by Funeral Flowers by Emma Dennis-Edwards which I produced and Associate Directed, 2018.E
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Filipa Braganca AwardEdinburgh Fringe Festival 2018
Award for the best female solo-performance with a social message at its heart. Won by Funeral Flowers by Emma Dennis-Edwards which I produced and Associate Directed, 2018+ Show more