Flock: In Formation

A conference for care-experienced young people, practitioners and policymakers, co-created with young people who have expertise by experience.

Schedule

09:30 – Arrival & Registration

Doors will open from 9:30am for guests to arrive and register.

10:00 – Welcome

Our welcome address will take place in the Student Union Theatre with our Artistic Director and CEO, Jim Pope.

10:15 – Flock

A chance to immersive yourself in the world of Robbie, Cel, Miko and Mrs Bosely. To read more about Flock, click here.

11:30 – Refreshments Break

12:00 - Flock Reflections

The Flock Reflection Workshops will take place in breakout rooms. The room you have been assigned will depend on the colour of the sticker you were given at registration. The colour of the sticker coordinates with the colour of a room on the map.

13:00 - Lunch

14:00 – Keynote Speaker: Chris Wild

Our keynote speech will be delivered by Chris Wild, Best-Selling Author, International Care Reform Adviser and Director of Social Impact at Foster Greatness UK.

15:00 - Refreshments Break

15:30 – Panel Discussion

Join Lucy Sheen, Antoinette Daniel and Jade Barnett on our panel, with provocation by Lucy Sheen.

16:30 – Plenary

Founder of Just Helpers, Antoinette Daniel, wraps up the day with a plenary and a call to action.

17:00 – End of Day

Goldsmiths Map

PlayingON is a theatre company that works in close collaboration with people who have lived experience of mental health services, the care system, the justice system and other marginalised communities. We use drama to create space for honest conversation, empowering participants to shape and share their stories. Through powerful, co-created performances, we challenge stigma, promote empathy, and foster social change—on stage, in services, and in society.
Theatre isn't just something people watch. It's a tool for healing, learning, and transforming society, and we've spent fifteen years proving it.
Flock originally toured nationally, including a four-week run at the Soho Theatre.
Now it's coming home to Lewisham.
Robbie is 17. His sister Cel is 20. They've grown up in and out of the care system, different placements, different addresses, always finding their way back to each other. Cel wants to go to university. Robbie wants them to finally live together in one place. Neither of those things seems too much to ask.
What follows is Robbie’s journey back through every place he's lived, every moment they shared, every argument and tender exchange, trying to understand how they got here, and whether any of it was his fault.
Lin Coghlan's play is a portrait of grief, love and resilience told through the eyes of a young man who sees the world through the behaviour of birds: free, loyal, and pecking the shit out of each other. It is sad, funny, honest and, in the end, full of hope.
Flock is set in Lewisham, rooted in Lewisham, and made with and for the people of Lewisham. There are 461 children in the borough without a family home. This play is not about statistics. It's about what that actually feels like.
We’d love to keep in touch with you and keep you in the loop with everything we’ve got going on.
Follow our social media:
Instagram: @playingon_
Facebook: Playing ON Theatre
LinkedIn: Playing ON CIO
Got a specific question or want to get involved?
Drop us an email at info@playingon.org.uk

Our Flock: In Formation Speakers

Antoinette Daniel

Antoinette Daniel is the founder of Just Helpers, a multi-award-winning ethical cleaning company she built from a kitchen-table side hustle into a team of 40+, now turning over £1 million. The company has paid above the Real Living Wage since day one. A former PE teacher and care leaver herself, she spent over a decade campaigning against human trafficking before starting Just Helpers, and now serves as a Trustee of Flourish Mentors, supporting young women leaving the care system. She's a regular speaker on ethical business, fair pay, and building a life beyond the care system.

Lucy (Chau Lai-Tuen) Sheen

Lucy (Chau Lai-Tuen) Sheen is a Hong Kong foundling. Flown over to the UK two years after the race riots in Nottinghill and six years before Enoch Powell’s now infamous “Rivers of Blood”speech.
Lucy trained as a classical actor graduating from the Rose Bruford College of Speech of Drama in1984. Since graduation she has worked extensively on stage, film, TV, radio, new media,commercials including The RSC, Bristol Old Vic, the BBC, ITV and Netflix.
Lucy is a published playwright, poet, non-fiction and flash-fiction writer as well as a director and dramaturge.

Chris Wild

Chris Wild, Best-Selling Author, International Care Reform Adviser and Director of Social Impact at Foster Greatness UK

Chris Wild is a best-selling author, internationally recognised care reform adviser and Director of Social Impact at Foster Greatness UK. Drawing on both lived and professional experience of the care system, he has become a powerful voice for children, young people and care experienced adults, using his work to challenge inequality, influence policy and improve how support is understood and delivered.

Jade Barnett

Jade Barnett is the Co-Founder, Director & CEO of Power2Prevail Community, and an international public speaker, consultant, and facilitator specialising in cultural competency, youth voice & participation, and supporting young people transitioning from the care system.

Born and raised in South East London, Jade’s lived experience of permanent school exclusion and entering the care system at 15 fuels her mission to advocate for vulnerable and marginalised young people. Since 2020, she has championed youth voice and improved outcomes for care-experienced young people, contributing to national campaigns alongside Mission 44 & Sir Lewis Hamilton and Become Charity.