Meet the Pentabus Board

Nuala lives in Shropshire and was a Non-Executive Director and then Chair of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust from 2015 until 2023

She was the CEO of the Donna Louise Trust Children’s Hospice in Stoke on Trent from 2007 until 2014. Prior to that she was the Director of Fundraising at Hope House Children’s Hospice from 1994 until 2007. Nuala worked in the voluntary sector for over 30 years for a number of different organisations.

She is a Trustee of the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton, and has a lifelong enthusiasm for the performing arts.

Nuala was a Councillor on Telford and Wrekin Council for 12 years until 2003. She held a number of leading roles during this time and was the first person to be elected to the position of Speaker of the Council in 2002.

Izzy graduated from the University of Cardiff in 2004 with a BA (hons) in Music, piano being her main instrument, but also a singer, guitarist, flutist, drummer and harpist at times! After travelling the world for four months, she then spent the best part of the next ten years working for Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (SCCG), latterly as the Commissioning & Redesign Lead for Planned Care. She joined Marysville Medical Practice in September 2015 as Practice Manager, and then subsequently taking on the role of Managing Partner in April 2021; this role leads on strategic and business decisions for the practice, as well as finance, HR, governance and quality. In addition, Izzy is Executive Manager for Pontesbury & Worthen Medical Practice, a large dispensing practice in south Shrewsbury, and Finance Manager for the Shrewsbury Primary Care Network which looks after 126,000 patients across the 15 GP practices that make up the network. 

Born and bred in Shropshire, Izzy has had a lot of involvement with local amateur theatre groups, in her early years by taking on various roles in musicals, including Oliver (Oliver), Jenny Lind (Barnum) and one of the kit kat girls in Cabaret, and then in later years working with Shrewsbury Amateur Operatic Society (SAOS, now SMTC), Tadlop, Shropshire Drama Company, Get Your Wigle On and Curtain Call Theatre Company, taking on rehearsal pianist, composing and Musical Director roles in various shows and productions. Musical Director credits include; Rent (Curtain Call/Theatre Severn), Into The Woods (Curtain Call/Theatre Severn), Shrek Jnr (Curtain Call/Theatre Severn), West Side Story (GYWO/Theatre Severn), Legally Blonde (GYWO/Theatre Severn), Phantom of the Opera (schools edition/GYWO/Theatre Severn), Les Miserables (schools edition/GYWO/Theatre Severn), Cats (schools ediction/GYWO/Theatre Severn), Witches of Eastwick (GYWO/Theatre Severn), Beauty & The Beast (GYWO/Theatre Severn).  

Emma Dennis-Edwards is a Writer/Performer of Jamaican and Trinidadian heritage.

Emma’s play BRICKS which she wrote as part of the Old Vic 12 was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2020. In 2018 Emma’s play Funeral Flowers (which Emma wrote and stars in) was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 and won the Scotsman’s Fringe First Award and the Filipa Bragança award for best female solo performance. It has since enjoyed sold-out London transfers to The Bunker, Free Word Centre, Bernie Grant Arts Centre, The Roundhouse and Hackney Empire.

In addition to her writing for Theatre, Emma also writes for Television; she was selected for the BBC Studios Writers Academy 2019 and has written Episodes of  EastEnders and Holby City.  Emma is working on original television ideas for independent production companies Balloon, The Forge Red Planet Pictures and Moonage.

Emma recently wrapped filming on BBC3 series Jerk (series 2)Previous Television and Film credits includes: Madly Involved (BBC/Dazed), Sparks: Big Juice (Merman/Ch4), Trap for Cinderella (Forthcoming Productions) BBC Ident Over the Rainbow (Red Bee Media), The Naked Poet (Triple Threat Media). Previous stage credits include venues such as The Traverse, Southwark Playhouse, Arcola Theatre, The Belgrade, Hull Tack and The Finborough.  

Kieran O'Flaherty is a freelance Human Resources professional and playwright from Bury, Lancashire.

Kieran's HR career began in the NHS where he worked for over ten years in Acute and Mental Health Trusts across Manchester, Liverpool, and London before moving into the Arts & Heritage sector, including several years at the British Film Institute (BFI). Across his career he has held a range of senior positions working closely with operational and Executive teams. As a freelancer clients have included the Southbank Centre, the National Film and Television School and Staffordshire Moorlands Council, where he has provided strategic and operational advice on a range of employee matters alongside team development initiatives, coaching and mentoring.

Alongside his HR career, Kieran began writing for theatre in 2019. His interest in theatre began at an early age with school trips to the pantomime at Oldham Coliseum and he has recently completed his first and second full length plays. His work has been performed at Theatre503, Southwark Playhouse, Arcola Theatre and SOHO House, Amsterdam.

Michelle is a Writer / Performer and has been the Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe since 2018. 

Michelle trained at RADA and has since worked for stage, screen and radio. She has worked both on classical and new writing with theatres that include: Shakespeare’s Globe, The RSC, The National Theatre, The Almeida, The Royal Court and The Donmar, on screen with ITV and BBC and as an actor / writer for Sky 1.