Remarkable Harrogate woman talks about 'life-changing' moments after brain surgery

Katie Andrew first moved to Harrogate from London in 2018 after running a catering business.

Maintaining the success of the business during Covid was tough enough.

But, in 2022, Katie faced an new challenge when she underwent brain surgery to remove a colloid cyst, a rare but painful non-cancerous growth which is usually found near the centre of the brain.

And that wasn't the end of it.

“The operation went okay but I experienced a seizure while travelling on a train a year later,” said Katie.

"Following my recovery, I noticed changes to my short-term memory.

"My passion in my spare time was always acting and doing voice-overs.

"I’d done a year-long Foundation course in Acting for Stage and Screen in 2016.

“I began to question whether I would ever be able to return to acting.

"I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to learn lines.”

After the end of her catering business, Katie took jobs in a doctor’s surgery and in customer services.

But she quickly realised her true passion lay elsewhere; her heart lay in acting.

In February of this year, when she turned 40, Katie made the decision to pursue acting and voice-over work full-time.

By last month, she was competing in the Short + Sweet Yorkshire Festival at St Wilfrid’s Hall in Harrogate – and winning.

Dubbed “the world's biggest little play festival”, this international short-form theatre festival was originally founded in Australia and brought to Harrogate by Fiona Georgiou Hunt.

Supported by community organisation Creative Harrogate, it received a record 120 Yorkshire new writing play submissions.

Amid all that talent, Katie Andrew stood out.

And her acting performance went on to win the top award.

But Katie says her remarkable success would not have been possible without the support of the creative community in Harrogate.

"James Reilly, a well established actor in Harrogate, took his turn at Directing for the first time at Short+Sweet Yorkshire Festival, asked if I would like to play the main character.

"We went on to reach the final, and James received the Best Breakthrough Artist award for his first time directing.

"I was also given the opportunity to perform a 10-minute monologue written and directed by Fiona Georgiou Hunt.

"The piece, called I'm Thrilled to Announce, challenged me in ways I wasn’t sure I could manage.

"I genuinely didn’t know whether I would be able to learn it.

"I was amazed when I won Best in Fest for it.”

The awards success was an incredibly emotional and important moment for Katie who said the opportunities she had been given since recovering from brain surgery had been life-changing.

"Sometimes, you have to prove to yourself that you can still do the things you once thought were possible,” she said.

"If you want something badly enough, you don’t give up.

"You keep going. You keep trying.

“At 40, after everything I have been through, I am now choosing to believe in myself, my voice and my ability to perform.

"And I’m not giving up.”

More information at: www.katherine-andrew.co.uk

Creative Harrogate is urgently looking for new, permanent premises in Harrogate.

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