“If theatre didn’t exist, this would be a good place to start.” - Keith Johnstone

Led by Phelim McDermott, Lee Simpson, and Matlida Leyser, Improbable is a theatre company that defies categorisation. We create work on every scale from spectacular productions in the great opera houses to tiny improvisation gigs in small venues; we are world-leaders in Open Space Technology, and create meaningful participation work. At the heart of our work is the practice and philosophy of improvisation, and all our work draws on improvisatory processes. This is true even for the large-scale opera and music theatre pieces that form the bulk of Improbable’s upcoming programme. We are a company that follows our intuition. 

There are four strands to our work:

• Making shows - from studio productions to outdoor spectacle, new operas to classic texts, touring the UK and internationally – all celebrating the vitality of theatre and communicating the power of improvisation.  

• Nurturing skills - engaging with communities, businesses and individuals through workshops and mentoring to offer skills, techniques and tools that enable and empower. Supporting our associate artists to develop their creative practice, develop their own work and find artistic autonomy. 

• Research and applied practice - our ongoing research exploring improvisatory processes as tools for creative practice; and connecting our work with global improvisational practice in science, business, medicine and education through the Impro Research Labs. 

• Holding space - including Open Space events such as Devoted and Disgruntled and Worldwork events: creating spaces with local, national and international communities, bringing people together in deep democracy to work on urgent issues within the arts sector and beyond it.  

Each strand of work underpins Improbable’s journey towards The Gathering and our new home in Kent. The breadth of Improbable’s knowledge of improvisation and its application is unrivalled and means we occupy a vital space in the landscape of international theatre. Since 2008 Improbable has been the only improvisation company in Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. 

2026 will be a busy year for Improbable as it’s our 30th anniversary. This year will see us produce and develop a variety of projects including:  

• My Neighbour Totoro at the Gillian Lynne Theatre (current run until August 2026).

• Devoted and Disgruntled 21 at Shoreditch Town Hall (May 2026).

• Perfect Show For Rachel Tour (until June 2026). 

• Tao of Glass at Sohoplace (July to September 2026)

• Research and Development across the year for a variety of projects on Improbable’s slate.  

• Programme of Devoted & Disgruntled satellites and Open Space for Hire activity. 

• Local and community activity in the Sevenoaks area including movement and improv classes.

• And much, much more….. 

As a registered charity, Improbable is led by a group of dedicated and passionate ambassadors – our Board of Trustees, chaired by Erica Whyman – all dedicated to steering us towards a future in which we can achieve our mission in a sustainable and responsible way.  The Board is a group of passionate and skillful people from all walks of life who care deeply about the spirit, the reach and the sustainability of Improbable.

The Board of Trustees ensures that we have adequate resources to advance Improbable’s mission to make theatre, share and teach improvisation, hold space for authentic conversations, connect individuals to their sense of agency, grow communities and empower everyone to imagine and create a healthier and more equitable society. 

Our Board are our friends, our advisors, our confidantes, and they hold us accountable. (You can see them here) We are looking for new people to join this group, and below is a specification outlining some of the skills and experiences we feel are crucial additions. 

However, we are also looking for people who feel deeply about the work and ethos of Improbable. People who enjoy the unknown, relish risk and who want to push us to make a difference. We are looking for people who bring experience we couldn’t possibly get ourselves, who have the entrepreneurial spirit to challenge us, to excite us and to push us to do better and be better.

What the spec doesn’t tell you about is the spirit of the company, so we have also written a Spirit Ad. Not to list the spirit needed by the people who join us - because the specific thing about spirit is that it does not belong to anyone. It exists between people. An understanding of this is at the heart of the company’s practice, that the brilliance of the work, be that an Opera, an Impro, an Open Space event, or building a new home, does not lie in any one person’s singular stellar performance, but in the atmosphere between the players, amongst the audience – between all the participants, it emerges. Much like a poem, the meaning unfolds from the combination of the words and their particular clustering, their constellation. 

We care as much about finding people who are excited about the company, the work, and the spirit as we do about the experience and skills you bring.

People from diverse backgrounds, in every sense of the word, are encouraged to approach us. Unlikely, implausible, and improbable applicants are, by definition, extremely welcome.

You can find out more about our work and our current team  at www.improbable.co.uk

We are looking for collaborators to join the Board of Improbable – to become Trustees. Below you will find some specifics about the role and the skills we feel would be useful. Just as important is finding someone who is excited about the work and spirt of the company, so read our Spirit Ad too.

We are particularly looking for people who have a background in Development/Fundraising and Producing (ideally commercial or large scale). You might have sat on a Board before, you might have no idea what sitting on a Board means or needs, you might work in the arts, you might just be an avid fan. You might live in Kent and have never heard of Improbable before. All are welcome and encouraged to get in touch.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Trustees are collectively responsible for:

1. Overseeing effective organisational planning and use of resource

• Oversee the delivery of Improbable’s strategic plan.

• Ensure Improbable’s SLT are making best use of resources to deliver the strategic plan to best serve the organisation’s mission.

2. Financial oversight

• Approve the annual budget and oversee the ongoing management of company financial resources throughout the year.

• Adhere to Charity Commission governance guidance.

3. Advocacy and Championing

• Represent Improbable and its values to the wider community and the world.

• Attend Improbable and relevant events as requested to represent Improbable and develop our network and awareness of our mission and work.

4. Accountability to funders

• For major funder Arts Council England, monitor progress against agreed plans for each Investment Principle. Hold Improbable SLT accountable for achieving the goals set out against each Investment Principle throughout the funding period.

• Monitor any funding requirements of major gifts, holding SLT accountable for achieving goals set out in those applications/asks for support.

Improbable is led and managed by Co-Artistic Directors and Chief Executives, Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson. The Senior Leadership Team also comprises Co-Artistic Director Matilda Leyser, Executive Director (maternity cover) Anneliese Davidsen, and Executive Producer Kathryn Bilyard who are responsible for the day-to-day management and running of the organisation and delivery of its strategy.

• Attend four Board meetings per year of on average 2 hours - two online, two in person to coincide with an Improbable event or performance (travel costs may be covered by Improbable.)

• Adequately prepare for each Board meeting by reading the provided papers in advance of each meeting and if unable to attend a meeting to provide feedback on papers directly to the Executive Director.

• Attend Improbable productions and work (one complimentary ticket will be provided to each Board member for each production where available.)

• Support the Improbable team ad hoc on issues or matters that arise that particularly speak to the expertise of each individual Board member.

To apply please submit a short covering letter outlining your suitability for the role of Trustee and your interest in joining the Improbable Board to Executive Director Anneliese Davidsen anneliese@improbable.co.uk by 5 June 2026. Please also send an anonymised equal opportunities form which can be found here. 

Successful applicants will be invited to an initial conversation with our Executive Director before meeting our Chair Erica Whyman and the CEOs. 

After this point we will invite those we’d like to progress  to observe our next Board meeting in September 2026.

We are Improvisers. Performers. Directors. Writers. Artists. Facilitators. Parents. Partners. Friends.

We are leaders. We are listeners.

We are tricksters.

We have spent our lives following our curiosity, trusting the unlikely, believing in the quirky, the subtle, and the irritating, giving time and space to all the improper things that are usually dismissed or discarded in a creative process. We are also all these things ourselves: improper, quirky, irritating. We are not always easy to live with.

We are often… Sad. Overwhelmed. Furious. Funny. In despair. In hope. Determined. Devoted. Disgruntled.

We believe that Improvisation can save the world.

We are wildly ambitious and not attached to the results.

We believe in the power of vulnerability.

We are committed to celebrating and holding space for the marginal. We mean those marginalised by race, sexuality, gender, class, (dis)ability - all of these things - and we also mean the marginalised in ourselves: the dreams, dilemmas, accidents, odd impulses, uncanny images.

We are Improbable, seeking a home, and, right now, seeking a collaborator, otherwise known as a Trustee, to help us make it all happen.

If the spirit of this speaks to you...

If you care, not only about theatre but the way in which theatre is made...

If you believe grief has as much value as gold...

If you believe poetry is as hard as nails...

If you believe spirit has as much leverage as a plan...

If you believe leaders are followers...

If you believe silence is as eloquent as words, and that listening is as important as speaking…

If you believe that dreams are as real as the real...

If you’re happy to step out before the ground has appeared...

If there’s one thing that you know and it is that you ain’t learned nothing yet...

And in a time of despair, if you believe the story of the artists is not over just yet...

Then, maybe, you should apply for this job.

And, as we say when we are Opening Space - after that moment of silence when we are waiting to see whether everyone is done calling their sessions - if you are thinking maybe you should, maybe you shouldn’t, maybe you should......

Lee, Phelim and Matilda