Our Team
Richard Barber, Director
Richard is Free Theatre's producer, scriptwriter, actor, and director. He has been working in music, theatre, conflict transformation, human rights and community development for three decades in Australia and South East Asia, including 15 years with Makhampom in Thailand. In Australia, he worked with Gonghouse and completed his doctorate in Theatre and Drama Studies at Monash University in 2007. He has also regularly presented in conferences, taught in several universities, and been published in several books and journals.
Pongjit Saphakhun, Artistic Director
Pongjit (Jon) is Free Theatre's artistic director, a role she also held with the Makhampom Theatre Group in Thailand. She is an actress, playwright, director, and facilitator. She worked as Makhampom’s Community Program Director for 15 years and Artistic Director for 6 years. She is also a graduate of the John Bolton Theatre School (1997) in Melbourne and King Prajadhipok Institute Peace and Governance Diploma in Thailand, where she has played an active role with several peace and conflict initiatives.
Janita Barber, Media Director
Janita is responsible for most of the design work and is a regular actor and screen director in Free Theatre projects. She grew up as an artist, performing and learning with Makhampom since she was 3 years old. She is now a stage and screen actor, dancer, and designer/maker, currently based in Sydney, having graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) and recently undertaken her first lead role in a feature film role.
Our Artist Collective
Deng Deng
Gabriela Georges
Ria Soemardjo
Adongwot Manyoul
Adam Forbes
Malual Deng
Juan Camilo Riano
Ajak Kwai
Lara Week
