What is this all about?
So. We’re Fast Familiar - a group of recovering theatre makers and artists from different creative and academic backgrounds.
We design ‘audience-centric’ experiences. That means that you, the audience, are at the heart of it all.
Sometimes you’re making decisions. Sometimes you’re figuring things out.
Most of the time you’re making sense of the world with strangers.
Our art is not just a picture to look at or a piece of theatre to watch.
It’s a space for you to be alive in. A place where you can explore questions that are too complex for daily life.
Life moves fast. We live in a state of (dis)information overload and the internet can push us into making oversimplified binary choices. Our artworks are a supported space to explore these things we all experience, but find difficult to discuss. They’re part artwork, part consensual social experiment. Fast Familiar are fascinated by social psychology and human connection in a rapidly changing world.
What we make is experimental and ambitious but you don’t have to be an art expert or to have read a ton of books to enjoy it. Our experiences take you to a part of your brain that embraces complexity - they’re an invitation to operate at the top of your intelligence and curiosity.
We work with digital technology a lot - which we think of as a kind of magic cloak of invisibility. We use it to get out of the way so that you as an audience member can have more meaningful interactions with other people.
It’s not about shiny tech though. It’s about connection and co-creating with you - our audience.
We’ve been around since 2008 and in a past life, Fast Familiar made work under the name fanSHEN - it’s used in various reviews and articles. You can see the work we made under that name, and the reason we changed it here.
We exist:
Awards
Fast Familiar were selected for Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology: Future Now - 100 contemporary artists of 2020.
The Metro recognised our legacy of digital innovation, “The digital studio was doing the business way before the lockdown trend for online arts experiences”. We were praised by The Guardian for pioneering “a hybrid form that is its own thing entirely… Fast Familiar are making participatory stories that feel distinctly theatrical.”
The Justice Syndicate was longlisted for the Lumen Prize, and received multiple 4 and 5 star reviews.
The Acquisitions Panel received a Jury Special Mention in the Alternate Realities category at Sheffield DocFest 2022, and the Activist Museum Award.
The Curse of the Burial Dagger won Best Mystery Game at the Bullseye Awards and was a semi-finalist for the ‘Players’ Choice’ award.
Do What You Must was invited to be part of the official cultural programme in the Green Zone at COP26.
Social Sandwich was selected for the prestigious international MediaFutures programme, which supports innovative artists working with technology to critique its impact on individuals and society.
Fast Familiar were selected to be part of the EU VERTIGO STARTS project; our residency resulted in Smoking Gun, which was chosen by the Financial Times as one of their ‘Top ten dramas to enjoy at home’ during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
The Evidence Chamber, played online by participants from over 20 countries, was featured by the New York Times as “an especially successful way for theater to be enjoyed from a laptop” and shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award.
Fast Familiar’s lead artists
Dan now splits his time between FF and researching interactive digital performance as a PhD student in the Informatics Department at the University of Sussex, where he is part of the Creative Technologies research group. He is a member of the Association for Research in Digital Interactive Narratives (ARDIN). He previously worked for a decade as a part time Senior Lecturer in Drama and Performance at London South Bank University, where he was a member of the Centre for the Study of the Networked Image.
Joe lectured at Goldsmiths, University of London where he created six modules across the MFA, MA, MSc, BA and BSc degrees covering machine learning for artistic practice, conceptual programming for artists and designers, interaction design and mobile development. He has also written several modules for University of London's Worldwide degree programmes.
Nowadays Joe spends his time finding new and innovative ways we can decarbonise technology, or running occasional marathons.
These days, she mainly works as a writer, dramaturg and facilitator. She has completed the Clore Short Course for Cultural Leaders and is a Storytelling Fellow at UAL's AKO Storytelling Institute.
Rachel is a qualified Feldenkrais practitioner, keen outdoor swimmer and engaged in a mutually unfulfilling longterm relationship with Duolingo.
We’re super proud to collaborate with a variety of multi-skilled creatives. We encourage you to employ them, at generous rates and under favourable conditions.
These include Clare Dunn, Delme Thomas, Emma Pallant, Endy Mckay, Guy J Sanders, Helen Skiera, Jamie Zubairi, Jon Foster, Kamaal Hussain, Kris De Meyer, Milo Quinton, Rachel Donovan, Shireen Mula, Soph Galustian, Stu Barter, Yana Penrose & Zachary Hing.
We receive support and guidance from our board, another group of truly excellent people.
Christine Twite
Hilary O’Shaughnessy is a leading creative with twenty years of experience developing and delivering innovative cultural programmes that engage broad audiences with digital art and culture. Her expertise lies in pioneering and stewarding ambitious, groundbreaking cross-disciplinary projects that drive innovation and engagement, reaching millions worldwide. Previously, she has commissioned multi-award-winning digital art (Dreammachine), overseen the UK’s most extensive immersive programme (Storytrails), and designed interactive games for the Science Gallery International’s GAME:THE FUTURE OF PLAY touring exhibition.
Irini Papadimitriou is a curator, and currently Director of Exhibitions at Diriyah Art Futures. She was previously Creative Director at FutureEverything, UK; Artistic Director at Sea Art Festival 2023, South Korea; Digital Programmes Manager at the V&A; and Head of New Media Arts Development at Watermans, UK.
Recently curated exhibitions include: AI: Who’s Looking After Me? Science Gallery London; Flickering Shores, Sea Imaginaries Sea Art Festival, Busan; FutureFantastic, Bangalore; Plásmata: Bodies, Dreams, and Data and You and AI: Through the Algorithmic Lens, Onassis, Athens; [Digital] Transmissions, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Artificially Intelligent, V&A.
She is a co-founder of Maker Assembly, a critical gathering about maker culture, and she has served as jury member for Prix Ars Electronica, D&AD, Lumen Prize, EU STARTS and ACM Siggraph.
Nadeem Azhar
Nikkan Woodhouse has a law degree from Oxford University and a BA in Craft & Design from Brighton University. She splits her time between her studio practice and partnering in a brand consulting business. Her career journey has taken her through legal practice, regulatory work, lobbying, brand consultancy and creative practice. She has had a range of trustee and governor roles to date and is currently interim Chair of the Society for Designer Craftsmen.
Sarah Heenan joined the board of Fast Familiar in 2018 and has worked in financial services technology for over 20 years, specialising in communication, engagement, innovation and project management. From 2021-2024 she was Chair of Regents Opera and Executive Producer of the Regents Opera Ring Cycle. She is also a freelance writer and director - most recently in 2024 she directed and designed a touring production of Don Giovanni and is artistic director of Drifting Haze.
Tim Powell is a freelance producer and creative consultant - developing experiences that combine immersive technology, live performance and physical installations in new ways.
He is currently Creative Entrepreneur in Residence at Reading University, Creative R&D Producer for MyWorld’s Experimental Productions programme, and founder of Buried Giants. He was consulting Executive Producer for The Gunpowder Plot - a feature length immersive experience running since 2022. Other clients include Coventry City of Culture, British Museum, City of London Corporation, Screen South, National Trust, and National Theatre Wales. He has presented and taught his work internationally.
Previously, as Head of the R&D Studio, he led the creative innovation strategy for Historic Royal Palaces, including the multiple award-winning The Lost Palace.