much about partnerships, fundraising and working on the operations side of it”. However, there was a shift in his role as the participants joined and the project moved to the delivery phase, which included a series of writing workshops where “my role moved to be delivering those workshops, helping the group to bond, leading socials and I ended up editing all of the stories.” Although his participation in Stories of Care came about through his professional connection to founder Sophie, it is not too surprising that he has become a key figure in a writing project like Stories of Care. His early life and early steps in the theatre profession set Oliver on a road where his driving passion was to help others achieve their potential. He says: “I’m one of six kids, raised on a council estate in rural Derbyshire by my single parent dad. He instilled in all six of us this fervent passion for education – the transformative power of education to do better for yourself.” And a large part of that education came through books, according to Oliver who says: “He used to invite us up to his room to read with him, and it was the highlight of my week to be invited up to read a bit of Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe or some other classic book – all very traditional. These were books that had come from the library (and sometimes not returned), or that he’d carried round with him through his life, or purchased for a pittance in charity shops. “It was an amazing time, but I never saw myself represented in those books – until we read Danny the Champion of the World. That was the first time I saw myself in a book and it was a real turning point for me. I remember being blown away by the fact that Danny was this motherless boy being raised by his dad. It was at this time that I realised not only was someone like me represented in a book, but also that Danny was the protagonist. There were six months after that when all I did was write stories. I think my dad still has a couple of them scribbled in notebooks.” And while reading formed the backbone of Oliver’s educational journey, it was his father’s influence that was the real inspiration. “Our dad pushed us towards education,” says Oliver “and I went to Lancaster University and got a first class degree in theatre.”
Despite emerging with top honours Oliver struggled to find an opening in his chosen profession. He reveals: “I wasn’t able to get a job in the arts. There just felt like there was a forcefield around the arts that was preventing me from getting a job. I ended up getting a job in the local brake line factory, and I worked there for about a year. It was mind-numbingly boring, and it wasn’t the heady heights that I’d imagined when I graduated. “About a year into that, there was an opportunity with the Jerwood Creative Bursary Scheme, and I was one of the very, very lucky people to get on. I secured a
10 PEN&INC.
year-long, paid placement at the Contact Theatre in Manchester as a trainee producer. If it wasn’t for that scheme, I wouldn’t be working in the arts at all. It was that moment that underpinned my drive and passion, and my conscious choice to help other artists from backgrounds like mine to build a career in the arts. If it wasn’t for that programme, I wouldn’t be here, and feel like I have a responsibility to pay that back.” Despite helping Oliver to achieve his own professional goals, he points to the wider, lasting success of bursary, saying: “Ninety- five per cent of the people on that bursary were then hired at the companies they were placed at. Most of the people for Jerwood bursary are still in the profession as middle managers, and everyone I know from it has the same ethos – they have been given a leg up and want to pay it back.” For Oliver that means “Producing and working with artists from under-represented backgrounds, helping them to tell their own stories – to thrive in the arts and build their careers. Or through producing large-scale creative projects like Stories of Care, the work I have done in the arts is all connected by one common theme – and that is addressing the challenges and barriers of social class and social mobility that marginalise young people’s experience when accessing the arts
and attempting to build their careers.” So, through his work with Sophie Oliver became involved in Stories for Care when it launched, helping to secure funding and partnerships, but also working with participants directly. He says that it was while he was editing work that he “discovered a natural flair and talent for children’s writing” which led to him studying with the Golden Egg academy where he received mentoring support from Phil Earle. “I was shortlisted for Penguin’s Write Now programme, for Alfie’s First Fight – my debut book. I began to plan for my future through that project and get buy-in from theatres in Manchester as I was aware that Alfie’s First Fight could be a theatre show.”
And with a book of his own on the
shelves, Oliver was invited by Sophie to take over her role as Lead Artist for the second intake of participants in Stories of Care. Oliver drew on his own experiences in the arts, as well as his producing role from the first phase of the project. Oliver says: “During the first project, the participants came back with thoughts and feedback during the evaluation. They said that as care leavers, most creative opportunities are ring-fenced for them, and they picked up on this and realised
Autumn-Winter 2022
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