Melanie is a performer, director and theatre maker based in Ayrshire who makes performance in theatres, on screens, on streets and in landscapes which is visually driven, physically dynamic and exposes our shared humanity with curiosity and humour. Playful anarchy, joyful disruption and profound silliness is at the heart of Melanie's work, which seeks to subvert and satirise the world around us. Melanie is Physical Theatre Practitioner with Surge and co-Artistic Director of multi-award winning feminist theatre company Jordan & Skinner.
Melanie creates devised small-mid scale touring productions indoors and outdoors, and works with both professionals and communities. She specialises in Physical Theatre, Circus, Street Performance and Clown, and teaches across Scotland and internationally.
*CURRENTLY WORKING ON*
DO NOT PASS GO by Jordan & Skinner.
The Lizzie Magie fanclub are coming to a local theatre near you with this true story of the woman who invented Monopoly. We hit the road in search of justice for Lizzie and all who find the game is rigged against them.
The show integrates British Sign Language, physical theatre, dance and clown in the usual Jordan & Skinner irreverant style.
*Touring Scotland Autumn 2026*
THE REST WAGON by Liz Strange.
Rest Wagon is a playful roaming performance that gently interrupts the rush of the festival. Blending softness, curiosity and subtle interaction, it invites audiences to slow down and rest together in public places.
By placing care, access and connection at its centre, it highlights how public spaces discourage rest and reinforce constant productivity. It offers a rare moment to pause, reset, reconsider our relationship with rest, and imagine a different pace of living.
Informed by lived experience of chronic illness, Rest Wagon asks what happens when rest becomes visible, shared and unapologetic.
Melanie creates devised small-mid scale touring productions indoors and outdoors, and works with both professionals and communities. She specialises in Physical Theatre, Circus, Street Performance and Clown, and teaches across Scotland and internationally.
*CURRENTLY WORKING ON*
DO NOT PASS GO by Jordan & Skinner.
The Lizzie Magie fanclub are coming to a local theatre near you with this true story of the woman who invented Monopoly. We hit the road in search of justice for Lizzie and all who find the game is rigged against them.
The show integrates British Sign Language, physical theatre, dance and clown in the usual Jordan & Skinner irreverant style.
*Touring Scotland Autumn 2026*
THE REST WAGON by Liz Strange.
Rest Wagon is a playful roaming performance that gently interrupts the rush of the festival. Blending softness, curiosity and subtle interaction, it invites audiences to slow down and rest together in public places.
By placing care, access and connection at its centre, it highlights how public spaces discourage rest and reinforce constant productivity. It offers a rare moment to pause, reset, reconsider our relationship with rest, and imagine a different pace of living.
Informed by lived experience of chronic illness, Rest Wagon asks what happens when rest becomes visible, shared and unapologetic.
THE REST WAGON premieres at Surge Festival 2026