About Peripeteia Theatre
Dedicated to Showcasing Collaborative Theatre
Our name comes from the Greek literature term and means a sudden reversal or change in circumstance. That is exactly what we want to do - change the way in which theatre approaches you, our audience.
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Based in Manchester, Peripeteia Theatre is an independent theatre company dedicated to showcasing a collaborative approach to theatre. As an independent theatre company, we receive no regular public funding of any kind.
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We prioritise a holistic and collaborative approach, striving to involve creatives from diverse backgrounds in the development of art that delves into various aspects of our world.
Our goal is to produce work that reflects the current social and political climate. As a company, we are committed to both structural and performance inclusivity.
Meet the Team
Adam Cachia (they/them)
Artistic Director
Adam graduated Staffordshire University in 2019 with a BA First Class Honours in Acting and Theatre Arts.
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In 2020 they graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London with a MA in Theatre Directing - course founded and conveyed by Katie Mitchell OBE. Under the guidance of Katie, Adam has been able to observe international high scale productions and study a range of European Theatre practitioners - methodology they use in their own rehearsal room.
And in 2024 received training from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Theatre Directing: Creative Practice, a 10-week course.
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Adam has successfully led Peripeteia Theatre Company since its founding in 2020. Amongst that time, they have overseen the growth of the company, this includes tours of shows such as Sandy (2021), The creation of our Digital Hub (2022), and the launch of our community outreach programme The Boiler Room (2023).
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Outside Peripeteia Theatre, their work has been seen across theatres in the North West and Greater London.
Adam is also the Production Director of JB Shorts. A role which they have held since 2023.
Jessica Rose Renshall (she/her)
Associate Director & Producer
Jess graduated from Staffordshire University in 2020 with a First-Class degree in Acting & Theatre Arts and followed on with her MA at the same institution in Collaborative Theatre Practice.
After training as an actor during her BA, she discovered a preference for being off-stage and has continued as a director, stage manager and occasional playwright since.
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Her assistant director credits include 13 by Mike Barlett and Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, and RED by John Logan and Orca by Matt Grinter as sole director.
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In 2022, she worked with Peripeteia for this first time on Family Tree, written by Adam Cachia. This has then led to Jess being involved with the company as Associate Director and Producer and supporting on productions including Mirror Mirror (2022), My Gay Best Friend (2023 - 2025).
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Melissa Boyle (she/her)
Associate Producer
Melissa is a producer, writer, and director based in Manchester, originally from Teesside.
She works across film, TV, Theatre and Live events, with a particular interest in narrative work that challenges norms, builds new worlds, or reimagines old ones.
Her practice is rooted in collaboration and care, whether that's on set, in the writer's room or behind the scenes making things happen. Her work explores untold stories, underrepresented voices and bold, imaginative narratives rooted in community, identity and transformation.
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Melissa is also the co-founder of Alora’s Labyrinth, an independent production company championing ambitious storytelling and creating opportunities for emerging and diverse creatives. Melissa co-founded HellCat Creative Collective, a networking and events platform creating safer, joyful spaces for women, trans and non-binary creatives to connect, collaborate and thrive.
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Melissa joined Peripeteia Theatre in 2025 and is excited to work on upcoming productions.
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Bernadett Szabo (she/her)
Head of New Writing
Bernadett, a Glasgow-based Hungarian playwright, completed her BA in English Literature at the University of Greenwich (London), where she was drawn to the 'Theatre of the Absurd'. Her dissertation focused on the use of silence in Harold Pinter’s plays, incorporating Wittgenstein's theory of language.
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She furthered her interests by completing an MA in Playwriting at Royal Holloway, where she began developing her practice, breaking traditional forms and structures of plays to foster intimacy and empathy in the audience. Her work continues to revolve around post-modernist writing, the representation of the unconscious, and the use of multiple voices and audio space.
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For Peripeteia, Bernadett wrote maybe it's life (2021), our debut stage production at the King's Arms. She is also the co-writer and collaborator on online projects, including The Dreams (2020) and WMN (2021).
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Bernadett is currently a teacher of English, Drama, and Media in Glasgow, as well as serving as our Head of New Writing. In this role, she supports the development and selection of new scripts for both The Boiler Room and our productions.
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Joseph Harding (he/him)
The Boiler Room Co-Ordinator
Joseph is an actor based in the North West. He graduated from his MA in Collaborative Theatre Practice at Staffordshire University where he also completed a BA in Acting and Theatre Performance. ​
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His work has ranged from touring Shakespeare in outdoor venues to small performances tackling hard-hitting themes.
For Peripeteia, Joe has worked on Civilised Worms which was an extended monologue as part of our End of Year Festival (2020), our online production of Listen (2021), he played Pete Clapton in the production of Twenty Today (2022) and performed another extended monologue Faith which was part of the online series of Mirror Mirror (2022).
Joe was also one of the readers in My Gay Best Friend (2023). And one of the actors for our revival of The Dreams as part of our 5th Birthday celebration (2025).
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Joe currently serves as the The Boiler Room Co-Ordinator. Helping select the scripts for readthroughs, planning the workshops and masterclasses as well as the day to day running of the programme.
Áron Gyenge (he/him)
Resident Sound Designer/ Composer
Áron graduated King's College London in 2019 with a BA First Class Honours in Philosophy and completed a MA in Big Data in Culture and Society at King's College London. He completed his musical studies in Hungary between 2002 and 2014 including music theory as well as playing the piano, organ and harpsichord; and attended a course on music production at Garnish Music Production School London in 2016.
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Áron was the co-composer and collaborator on The Dreams (2020) and also the lead composer on WMN (2021) and Pandæmonium (2024). He also was the sound designer on The Human Voice (2024), and LOVE (2025).
His interest is to explore the aesthetic boundaries and connections between music, audio, performance and theatre which he pursues with Peripeteia.
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Sebastian Gardiner (he/him)
Development Officer
Seb is a recent graduate for a BA in English at Royal Holloway, University of London, with a focus on English Medieval and Renaissance drama.
He has been writing short pieces for the stage since he was sixteen, and Twenty Today (2022) is Seb's first full length piece that Peripeteia Theatre worked on. Most recently he was a collaborator on the immersive audio anthology series Pandæmonium (2024).
Influenced by the work of contemporary playwrights such as Ella Hickson, Lucy Kirkwood and Jez Butterworth, Seb’s work so far, focuses on family and belonging, though he is also interested in impossible and surrealist theatre.
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His next full-length play is in development for performance in August 2026.
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Seb currently serves as the development officer of Peripeteia, often supporting Bernadette with the New Writing aspect of the company and Joe with The Boiler Room.
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