Tony founded the organisation in 2001. Prior to that he trained as a teacher and enjoyed various roles within the theatre sector. During his time at Northern Stage he was instrumental in establishing the participation department. Tony enjoys football and is a life long West Ham supporter.

Bev has joined The Forge team after an eclectic career in the arts and education; some of her previous roles include: Head of English, Head of Theatre Marketing, lecturer, creative writing tutor, journalist and TES columnist. She is passionate about the arts, cheese savoury sandwiches and Netflix.

Heather moved to the North East in Autumn 2014 from Edinburgh where she has been a freelance Operations and Production Manager for 8 years working a variety of production companies and arts & cultural organisations. Heather manages the day to day running of the Forge. When she is not at the Forge Heather enjoys watching rugby, cooking and hunting for vintage clothes.