Created in 2005, Nimble Fish is led by Greg Klerkx and Samantha Holdsworth. Passionate about the potential for the arts as a catalyst for social change, Sam and Greg have evolved a unique method of working that focuses on the creation of high-quality artistic events via deep and meaningful community engagement.
As well, Nimble Fish draws on a vast network of performers, designers, and makers to bring bespoke creative diversity to every project.
Samantha Holdsworth
Sam completed an MA in Directing at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and then studied for a further year in Clowning at L'ecole Philippe Gaulier. She went on to devise and produce her own work (Dimaa, BAC 2000; One Night Only Edinburgh Fringe 2001; You Are...? Lion & Unicorn Theatre 2001; Hotel on the Hill, MYT 2002). She also obtained experience with companies such as London Bubble, Manchester Youth Theatre, Peta Lily and the site-specific company Corridor.
More recently, Sam has specialised in working creatively with young people and disenfranchised groups. She was Course Director and acting Project Manager for Blue Sky, a community arts programme for 'at risk' young people and also spent over a year working with excluded teenage boys on a film and arts based project. Sam spent three years helping to establish the Arcola Youth Theatre, devising over 10 performances with young people including directing a Turkish/Kurdish Refugee project. Sam continues to work as a freelance facilitator with Epic Arts and EastSide Educational Trust.
Sam is also interested in the impact of community arts in unusual and international settings. So far her research has taken her to the Channel Islands, Brazil, India....and Glastonbury Music Festival (!)
Greg Klerkx
As a writer, Greg has earned journalism awards in Los Angeles, and Arts Council support for a stage play based on the life of Nazi-turned-NASA rocketeer Wernher von Braun. His first book, Lost in Space, about the travails of NASA, was named among the best books of 2004 in both the Independent and San Francisco Chronicle. His writing has also appeared in the Evening Standard, Sunday Telegraph, New Scientist, and the New York Times.
As a facilitator, Greg has delivered sessions on writing and creativity to schools and community groups in the US and UK. He also works with The MAP Consortium to develop and deliver arts-based training in government and corporate settings.
As a producer, Greg has staged events in a hilltop mansion, a cycling velodrome and, memorably, in a decommissioned aircraft hangar. And don’t get him started about his brief stint working with SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence…