What we do:
Faced with an uncertain future, where do we even start?
We start with the story.
Vesper Hill develops interactive workshops, performances and engagement strategies, grounded in the lived experiences of those we work with.
By gathering and sharing personal narratives and perspectives, we can humanise difficult problems, and think about how to address them in practical ways. That’s how, together, we can build personal and collective resilience that extends our capacity to make change.
Why we do it:
Vesper Hill exists to help the helpers. As a social enterprise, any profit we make goes back into the work of providing creative and therapeutic support for people who spend their lives trying to do the right thing.
The people who show up, and try to make a difference – from community workers to sustainability officers – can often feel isolated in their work, and overwhelmed at the scale of the challenges they face.
Ultimately, these everyday heroes need systemic change to make things better. But in the meantime, they might also need opportunities for reflection, connection, and creative nourishment. Vesper Hill seeks to provide such opportunities.
Who we are:
Vesper Hill was founded as a social enterprise in 2022, by a theatre-maker (Steve) and a therapist (Angel). Created as a meeting place for our complementary passions and expertise, Vesper Hill is named after the place we first met – at a summer camp – long ago and far away.
We’re pleased to say that other collaborators have now joined us around our campfire. Together, we’re here to talk and laugh and sing. But we’re also mindful that “vespers” is an old term for evening prayers. It’s a word that asks for quiet reflection, in the evening of the world we’ve known until now.
Steve Scott-Bottoms
Storyteller-in-Chief. Steve has three decades of experience as a theatre-maker, workshop facilitator, and researcher. He is currently Professor of Contemporary Theatre and Performance at the University of Manchester. His work with Vesper Hill builds on earlier research for the Multi-Story Water project and the UK Climate Resilience programme, in which he developed interactive performances through direct engagement with communities and professional stakeholders. Steve is an Associate of the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission.
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn
Angel Scott-Bottoms
Managing Partner. Angel brings decades of experience in coaching, education, and community leadership to her work at Vesper Hill. She has worked across sectors and continents — from language teaching in Japan, to founding developmental play programmes in the US and UK, to consulting with women-led businesses and social franchises.
Angel recently completed a Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Transactional Analysis – deepening her commitment to relational and therapeutic practice. She offers ecocentric counselling and psychotherapy services in her private practice in south Manchester.
Connect with Angel on LinkedIn
Si Brewis
Creative Associate. Si has been making social storytelling theatre for audiences in unusual spaces like housing estates, the countryside, historic Churches, festivals, and on canal boats, for almost twenty years. For much of that time they’ve been working with Steve to shape oral histories into thoughtful stories about waterways, flooding, and climate change. At the moment Si is also developing a new body of work about the uncomfortable cultural legacies of Empire.
Sam Fillingham
Creative Associate. Sam is an experienced community organiser and certified Yoga Nidra facilitator. Her classes, sessions and retreats help participants to reduce burnout, stress, and anxiety while improving sleep and enhancing well-being. Sam specialises in using somatic practices to support groups and individuals in expressing creativity and finding fresh perspectives on their world. (Note: yoga nidra does not involve poses and stretches! It’s a guided meditation method that explores mental imagery and semi-dream states.)
Milo Harries
Research Associate. Milo is a researcher and performer who specialises in dialogue as a mode of exploration and communication. Having studied at the University of Cambridge and the Royal College of Music, he is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, studying climate resilience narratives in the catchment of the River Aire. Milo is also an opera singer and singing coach who has worked at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, Waterperry Opera Festival, and Opera North.