Andy
Andy Hickson
Andy’s work has grown from theatre, anthropology, education and action methods into a distinctive approach to Social Theatre. Across more than three decades he has worked with children, young people and adults in schools, universities, theatres, communities, prisons and projects around the world, using theatre, film, participation and creative action to explore bullying, violence, discrimination, empowerment and social change. His work has moved between performance, research, education, anthropology and practical intervention, with a continuing emphasis on involving people in the process rather than simply doing work for them.
Andy's work
Explore
Social Theatre & Action Methods
Social Theatre has been at the centre of Andy’s work for over 30 years. Drawing on Theatre of the Oppressed, ritual theatre, dramatherapy, groupwork and theatre for change, he developed an approach in which people are active participants rather than simply an audience. Stories, experiences and questions brought by the people in the room become material for theatre, discussion, experimentation and action. Over time this developed into Andy’s own Social Theatre practice, used in schools, universities, communities, training programmes and international projects. The same ideas also shaped his early writing on creative action methods and groupwork and continue to influence his approach to teaching, facilitation and experiential learning.
Bullying, Violence & Empowerment
Bullying, violence and the ways people respond to them have formed a major part of Andy’s work for many years. Rather than treating young people simply as recipients of anti bullying messages, much of his work has focused on participation, creativity and giving people opportunities to examine situations, test responses and develop their own strategies. This approach shaped his doctoral research into whether young people could develop and deliver effective creative anti bullying strategies, as well as his book How to Stop Bullying: 101 Strategies That Really Work. It also developed through national and international roadshows, theatre projects, films, workshops and events. In 2003 he produced the UK’s first national anti bullying conference for young people, followed by the international anti bullying festival in 2006 and the Glastonbury Festival Creative Anti Bullying Village, which Andy co-ordinated from 2006 to 2019. Across this work, empowerment has remained central: helping people recognise choices, find ways to act and take an active role in creating safer and more respectful communities.
A contemporary account from Japan, 1999
In September–October 1999, Avenues magazine reported on Andy’s anti-bullying Social Theatre seminar in Nagoya, organised by the British Council. Kate Yamada described audience participation, forum theatre approaches and Andy’s interest in developing collaborative theatre between Japan and the United Kingdom. This was part of the history of Two Becomes One, the cross-cultural theatre project.
Theatre, Performance & Film
Theatre came before many of Andy’s later projects and has remained one of the foundations of his work. His early experience included stage management and directing training at Rose Bruford College, the Young Directors Programme with Max Stafford Clark at the Royal Court and Theatre of the Oppressed work with Augusto Boal. From the early 1990s onward he wrote, devised and directed performances through Hey! Hey! Theatre Company, TIE Tours and later Actionwork, often using theatre to explore oppression, racism, bullying, identity and social relationships. Productions included Jumping Oppression, Jacques & His Master, Silent Scream, Race, 33 Skins, Two Becomes One and TeePee, which was presented at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Sadler’s Wells. Later work continued through national and international touring, including performances and roadshows in the UK, Japan and Mongolia.
Film became another way for Andy to take this work beyond the live performance space. From the late 1990s onward he directed films and filmed projects exploring violence, bullying, relationships, social cohesion, online behaviour and creative practice. These included Violence in Camden, 1000 Voices, Tackling Bullying, What We Want, Making the Difference, The Hideout, Anti Bullying Spies, Social Cohesion, Bullying Perspectives, Cyber Tears and the Frontline series. His film work also extended into university education through projects such as Dean Meets, Get in to FAC and Data Driven Communication. Across theatre and film, the recurring idea has been to use story, participation and creative action to bring people into difficult questions, while allowing the work and the ideas behind it to travel beyond the people who were there at the time.
Education, Leadership & Learning
Education has run alongside Andy’s theatre and Social Theatre work throughout his career, from workshops in schools and colleges to university teaching, course development and academic leadership. He completed a PhD at the University of Exeter in 2010, researching whether young people could develop and deliver effective creative anti bullying strategies. His leadership roles have included Manager of OnStage Theatre Camden, Manager of the Action Arts Centre in Somerset, Artistic Director of Actionwork, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Communication at HELP University in Malaysia, where he also worked as Professor.
That interest in making learning creative, practical and accessible continues through the College for Creative Change, where Andy is Head of College. The College brings together many of the ideas that have travelled through his earlier work: learning through experience, questioning conventional routes into education, Social Theatre, creativity and giving people opportunities to develop through doing rather than simply being told.
Andy’s work has also received wider recognition, including the Princess Diana Anti Bullying Award in 2006 for innovative creative anti bullying workshops and the International Flame Award in 2013 for delivering international creative empowerment programmes.
Anthropology, Temiar & International Work
Anthropology has been an important strand in Andy’s work. He completed an MA in Social Anthropology at the University of London, SOAS, and his research included a substantial study exploring Punan in Malaysia. His relationship with the Temiar began after he spent two years living with them in the jungle as a teenager, helping with his mother’s doctoral research, and later developed through repeated visits, language, research, creative projects and long term work with Orang Asli communities in Malaysia. He speaks both Temiar and Malay, alongside many years of creative outreach work with Orang Asli communities.
That experience also fed into writing, including his work with Sue on the influence of Temiar beliefs and practices in education and therapy. Beyond Malaysia, Andy has taught, facilitated, directed and developed Social Theatre and creative projects in countries including Japan, China, Mongolia, Zambia, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Greece, Romania and Gibraltar. Rather than treating international work as taking a fixed programme somewhere else, much of it has involved adapting to local people, settings and questions, working with communities and allowing those encounters to influence his own practice.
Writing & Publications
Writing has been another way for Andy to develop and share ideas emerging from theatre, groupwork, education, anthropology and anti bullying practice. His publications include Creative Action Methods in Groupwork and The Groupwork Manual, alongside chapters on oppression, Social Theatre and working creatively with young people. Later work includes How to Stop Bullying: 101 Strategies That Really Work and Social Theatre & Empowerment, as well as writing with Sue on the influence of Temiar beliefs and practices in education and therapy.
His academic writing has also moved into wider social, educational and cultural questions. More recent work has included research on teenage pregnancy in Malaysia, access to online education for visually impaired people during COVID 19, data driven communication, and questions of transgender inclusivity within Iranian Shia tradition. Across these different subjects, the recurring interest is in how people communicate, participate, learn and gain greater influence over the circumstances affecting their lives.
For a fuller record of Andy’s writing and publications, see Publications & Media.
Publications & Research
2025 Tajer, L. & Hickson, A. Transgender Inclusivity in Iranian Shia Tradition: Rethinking Sex and Gender Dynamics. Teosofi: Jurnal Tasawuf dan Pemikiran Islam, 15(1), 1–35. DOI.
2025 Hickson, A. I Hate Being Late: Temiars and the Mouse. Novel. Illustrated by Boris Luve. ISBN 13: 979-8280040946.
2025 Hickson, A. Two Becomes One (2B1): Dealing with Bullying in the UK and Japan. Published script, first performed in 2001. Translated by Mari Nakao. ISBN 13: 979-8396812871.
2022 Hickson, A. & Tajer, L. Addressing the Issue of Teenage Pregnancy in Malaysia: Elevating Self-Love. Horizon J. Hum. & Soc. Sci. Res., 4(2), 51–65.
2022 Hickson, A., Tajer, L., Alobaedy, M. & Joo Vin, E. Accessing and Delivering Online Education in the Time of COVID-19: Challenges for Visually Impaired People in Malaysia. Horizon J. Hum. Soc. Sci. Res., 4(1), 63–71.
2020 Hickson, A., Tuck, A. Y., Anuar, A., Razak, A. & Tam, A. Data Driven Communication. HELP University.
2017 Hickson, A. Is Theatre of the Oppressed Relevant in the Digital Age? Actionwork, UK.
2015 Hickson, A. & Jennings, S. Order & Challenges in Education & Therapy: The Influence of Temiar Beliefs & Practices. In K. Endicott (Ed.), Malaysia’s Original People. NUS Press, Malaysia.
2015 Hickson, A. Social Theatre & Empowerment. Actionwork, UK.
2012 Hickson, A. How to Stop Bullying: 101 Strategies That Really Work. Routledge, UK.
2010 Hickson, A. Can Young People Develop & Deliver Effective Creative Anti-Bullying Strategies? PhD thesis, University of Exeter, England. Read online.
2009 Hickson, A. Social Theatre & Action. In S. Jennings (Ed.), Dramatherapy & Social Theatre: Similarities & Differences, Chapter 11. Chopin Press, London.
2002 Hickson, A. Pause for Thought: Action or Stillness with Young People. In A. Bannister & A. Huntington (Eds.), Communicating with Children & Adolescents: Action for Change, Chapter 3. Jessica Kingsley, London.
1997 Hickson, A. Jacques & His Master: Working with Oppression & Marginality. In Dramatherapy Theory & Practice, Volume 3. Routledge.
1997 Hickson, A. The Groupwork Manual. Routledge, Bicester, UK.
1995 Hickson, A. Creative Action Methods in Groupwork. Speechmark, Bicester, UK.
1995 Hickson, A. Excite, Baffle & Aggrieve. In F. Chamberlain (Ed.), “Working Without Boal: Digressions & Developments in the Theatre of the Oppressed,” Contemporary Theatre Review: An International Journal, 3(1), 101–107.