A woman with curly red hair and glasses stands in front of a white bus. The bus says IOU theatre on the front in a brown font.

Katie English

Katie is IOU’s Finance Manager, making sure that everyone gets paid on time.  She keeps the team updated on budgets and covers the day-to-day fun stuff like VAT returns and payroll. 

She is also a highly creative individual who has worked with us on a few projects, the latest being The Story Telling bus. Her musical composition featured in our production. 

How long have you been with IOU and what has been your highlight?

‘I have been at IOU since 2018 and was immediately made to feel welcome.  The best bit about my job is that I get a really good overview of what we’re doing on a day to day level as well as the larger projects.  As much as I love that side of things, a personal highlight was writing the soundtrack for the Storytelling Bus.  Listening to all the stories we had gathered, just everyday tales of life in all its forms, and being able to provide a soundtrack that helped to lift them to something more than a passing anecdote was a real privilege.’  

How did you come to work with IOU?

‘After studying electronic music at uni I fell into bookkeeping while working in a music shop back in 2006, and have been working in that capacity ever since.  I started out with basic invoicing and over the years have progressed to running payroll, management accounts and the like. 

I’ve been lucky to have always worked in fairly creative environments, from publishers to arts companies, which has always kept things interesting and makes every day different to the next. 

After leaving publishing I have been freelance, so as well as IOU I work for Northern Broadsides and Heart of London BID, and creative activities keep me busy at the weekend!’ 

Tell us about your own creative output and any stand out productions or exhibits you’ve experienced that left their mark on you.

‘I enjoy printmaking, and in my musical guise Isnaj Dui I have released several albums and produced various site-specific soundtracks using flutes, electronics and home made instruments.  

A couple of years ago a friend took me to a Takis exhibition at Tate Modern.  I’d never heard of him before so had no idea what to expect but I really fell in love with his work.  The structures are incredible, some of them are held in place purely by the power of electromagnets so I was cautious not to stand underneath anything heavy in case of a power cut!  When I got home I found out that Takis had died that day, I wouldn’t look into it too deeply but it certainly added a fair amount of poignancy to having found his work.  

Although I haven’t created any Takis-like structures (yet!), it did spark an idea that I turned into a little film, ‘The Dance of the Iron Filings’.  

You can find more about Katie’s creative work, here: Katie English

Connect with her on Twitter, here: @isnajdui