In Conversation with Alix Harris: Celebrating 10 Years of Beyond Face

By Bracken Jelier

This year marks a huge milestone for Beyond Face — the pioneering Plymouth-based theatre company that champions global majority artists across the South West. As the organisation celebrates its tenth birthday, it returns to its home city with We Are Here to Share, a powerful evening of brand-new theatre at Theatre Royal Plymouth.

The event marks the culmination of Beyond Face’s Associate Artist programme, showcasing two bold and deeply personal works by Lau Batty and Rozelle Gemma. Both have spent the past year developing their pieces through a series of “scratch nights” — work-in-progress performances held in Bristol, Ilfracombe, and Southampton — with Plymouth as the final stop. The performance will bring together everything learned along the way, offering audiences the chance to experience these stories in full for the first time.

When I meet Artistic Director and CEO Alix Harris, her passion for the work is instantly clear. As she reflects on a decade of growth, her eyes light up with pride.

“I feel really proud of what we’ve grown and what we’ve achieved,” she says with a smile. “We’re a really small company that does big things. The world feels quite fragile at the moment, but I would never describe Beyond Face as fragile. It feels brilliant to be solid when everything else feels wobbly.”

A Year of Sharing and Growth

We Are Here to Share is part of Beyond Face’s long-term commitment to nurturing artists in the region. Alix describes the event as “a scratch night,” though she’s quick to clarify what that really means.

“A lot of people don’t know what a scratch night is,” she says. “It’s an evening where early-stage work is shown. This is our fourth one of the year, and it’s the culmination of a year’s development for our two Associate Artists.”

Unlike many scratch nights where artists only show ten or fifteen minutes of new material, Beyond Face has designed a model that allows ideas to grow with each performance.

“For Roz’s piece, she started with the first fifteen minutes, then wrote another fifteen, and so on. Now it’s a full hour,” Alix explains. “For Lau, each performance has been completely different. She’s rewritten her script, worked with new actors, and responded to what audiences have said. So the version that Plymouth audiences will see will be entirely new.”

That audience interaction is at the heart of the process. Each performance includes a feedback form or QR code that invites viewers to answer specific questions from the artists — questions about clarity, emotion, and storytelling.

“The artists ask what they want to know — for example, ‘Did you feel like you learned more about this character?’” Alix says. “Then they take that feedback away and use it to develop the work. So audiences have genuinely shaped these pieces from the beginning.”

Both works, Alix explains, share a theme of survival.

“They’re both about women, they’re both set on islands, and they both have a real connection to the sea,” she says. “Roz’s story is about surviving addiction and her time on Bear Grylls: The Island. Lau’s piece explores her Tuvaluan heritage, an island country literally sinking due to climate change. One story is personal, and the other is global — but they’re both about finding ways to survive.”

Why Plymouth Matters

Bringing the project to Plymouth is especially meaningful for Alix and the team.

“Beyond Face started in Plymouth, and we’re ten years old this year,” she says proudly. “We’ve always had such a strong connection to the city. Interestingly, every venue we’ve performed in this year has been by the water, which feels fitting for these two pieces. Our youth company is based here, our communities are here, and we love The Drum. We know the artists’ work is going to look beautiful in that space.”

Alix speaks with warmth and admiration for the artists themselves.

“Roz’s story is incredible. She’s been through so much but approaches everything with joy. You sit with her story, and somehow you end up rooting for yourself too. With Lau, she’s such a beautiful writer. Her piece really asks you to listen. It’s powerful to see a story about the Pacific Islands told from the perspective of a woman from Cornwall — to speak about the world from here.”

That sense of “here” is at the core of Beyond Face’s philosophy. The company’s name, programmes, and ethos all point towards visibility and belonging for global majority artists in the South West.

“We called our development strand We Are Here To... — as in We Are Here To Write, We Are Here To Share — because people often say there aren’t many global majority artists in the South West,” Alix says. “And we’re like, well, we are here. There’s a political charge in that title. We want artists to feel they can stay in the South West and grow their careers here — not feel like they have to go to London.”

She has seen a huge increase in artists stepping forward over the past couple of years.

“There’s been a real surge,” she says. “More people are applying for our programmes, making work that’s ready to tour, and connecting with venues. Two members of our writers’ group have just been shortlisted for the Women’s Playwriting Prize. It feels like a really exciting time.”

The Power of Theatre

When our conversation turns to the role of theatre today, Alix speaks with the conviction of someone who believes deeply in its power.

“Theatre gives people permission to feel,” she says. “It allows you to sit in your emotions and questions. You can’t pause it like TV — you can’t make a cup of tea halfway through. It asks you to be present.”

She continues thoughtfully:

“In a world where AI blurs what’s real, theatre gives you truth. You can’t question what Roz is presenting — she’s lived that. You can’t question what Lau’s presenting — it’s happening. Theatre is entertainment meeting life.”

As for what comes next, Beyond Face will continue to grow — but with a renewed focus on depth over scale.

“Next year is really about going deep,” Alix says. “We’re looking at how to strengthen relationships and connect even more with audiences. Sometimes it’s about doing fewer things, but doing them really, really well.”

And her hope for the Plymouth audience?

“I hope people come away thinking about their own sense of survival — and that they see what we see in these artists. I hope they think, we know who Beyond Face is, and we want to see what they do next.”

We Are Here to Share by Beyond Face takes place at The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth.
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