About us

Hooley’s ethos

Led by co-founders and joint artistic directors, Micky McGregor & Harriet Ghost, Hooley was formed with a commitment to support homegrown talent and improve arts access in underserved communities, changing the landscape of our region’s theatre scene.
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It is our goal to empower creatives and audiences in historically underfunded communities to access cultural opportunities on their doorsteps and build meaningful and lasting careers in the arts.

We have steadily created a support network for creatives and developed ongoing partnerships with local venues and community organisations to produce work with a strong belief that our region’s talent should be championed and our communities’ stories celebrated. ​
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As a non-profit without core funding, we work to secure grants for each project to provide professional and development roles to local creatives, while removing financial barriers for communities to access our productions and opportunities.

Together, we create and produce Hooley’s projects, have performed in a few, co-written and directed several (including Notice To Move and Cinderella’s SnapTok) and manage all aspects of the company.

“It is our goal to empower creatives and audiences in historically underfunded communities to access cultural opportunities on their doorsteps and build meaningful and lasting careers in the arts.”

You can help us to continue our work with disadvantaged and disengaged communities

Meet the Hooley Theatre team

Portrait headshot of Harriet Ghost

Harriet Ghost

Harriet is a neurodivergent writer-performer from Newcastle. She discovered the arts in a community group production of Macbeth when she was 13. A chronically shy teen, Harriet saw a Psychology degree at Liverpool University as a ‘safer’ option, graduating in 2009. But her passion eventually overpowered her nerves and, in 2011, she trained at AADA New York, choosing debt and pipe dreams over job security. Harriet has since performed in projects with Ken Loach, Sky Studios and ITV.
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In 2020, Harriet was selected for BFI’s Script Lab and BAFTA Connects scheme for women in TV and film, receiving mentoring from Aisling Bea.

Harriet won the 2023 Channel 4 Writing for Television Award, developing a pitch and pilot episode for her original series, Mothers’ Meeting, with Rollem Productions. In 2024, Harriet was selected for BBC Writers/CBBC’s shadow scheme workshop with The Dumping Ground’s production team. Most recently, Harriet was selected for the BBC Writers 2025 Voices programme and she has been awarded an Arts Council DYCP grant to develop an original stage play.

Portrait headshot of Micky McGregor

Micky McGregor

After being ejected from a school lesson for misbehaviour, Micky was made to sit in on his tutor’s drama class and a desire to pursue a career in the arts quickly blossomed. A two year bout of homelessness delayed Micky’s performance course, but he re-applied the day he was handed keys to his council flat.
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Micky’s early stage credits were followed by a television debut in the BAFTA-nominated series Wolfblood (CBBC) in 2016. That same year, he landed a role in Ken Loach’s hard-hitting social drama I, Daniel Blake, which won BAFTA’s Outstanding British Film in 2017. This was the first of three collaborations with Loach, with roles following in Sorry We Missed You (2019) and The Old Oak (2023).​​​​
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In 2019, Micky was selected for BAFTA’s highly competitive Elevate programme — a scheme dedicated to improving diversity in film and TV. Micky has since appeared in Babak Anvari’s I Came By (Netflix) 2022, a guest spot in crime drama Vera (ITV) and a role in World Production mini-series The Hunt for Raoul Moat (ITV). He most recently appeared in season two of police procedural series Ridley along side Adrian Dunbar (ITV).