What do we mean by activism within the arts? How can we use live art as a tool to instigate change? How do we raise a voice worth hearing? Why, more than ever, is it important to champion voices that create radical work?
This year’s exciting panellists are:
- Sarah Brigham
- Selena Thompson
- Cheryl Martin
- Chris Sonnex
- Lyn Gardner
Join us afterwards for a vegan curry and informal networking.
Cast
Lyn Gardner
Sarah Brigham
Cheryl Martin
Chris Sonnex
Selina Thompson
Featured Panellists
Chaired by
Lyn Gardner
Lyn Gardner is associate editor of The Stage and writes about theatre for national and international publications.
Panellists
Sarah Brigham
Sarah Brigham is the CEO and Artistic Director of Derby Theatre. She launched In Good Company in 2013 and has worked extensively across theatre as a Director, actor and facilitator.
Cheryl Martin
Cheryl’s the new Artistic Director at Red Ladder Theatre in Leeds, a 55+-year-old radical theatre.
A former Associate Director, New Writing/New Work at Manchester’s Contact Theatre, she co-founded Black Gold Arts (winner Best Event, 2024 Manchester Culture Awards) to showcase Global Majority & LGBTQ+ artists.
Cheryl’s solo show Alaska featured in 2016’s A Nation’s Theatre, & 2019’s Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe & London’s Wellcome Festival of Minds and Bodies, focussing on her experiences of psychiatric disabilities.
She directed The Walk: A Sleeping Child for 2021’s Manchester International Festival, launching the journey refugee child giant puppet Little Amal.
And she directed This Town by Rory Aaron, Contact Theatre & Derby Theatre 2023, about working-class friends in Derby, which won a 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Pleasance award. Her first Red Ladder show, Sanctuary, about a failed asylum seeker, will tour nationally in Autumn 2024.
Chris Sonnex
Chris Sonnex is a respected figure in the theatre industry, known for his dedication to promoting inclusivity and empowering underrepresented artists. As the former Artistic Director of the Bunker Theatre (2018-2020), he championed diversity by programming works predominantly by women. He also established innovative partnerships to engage new audiences. Previously, he worked with the Royal Court and contributed significantly during the refugee crisis in Calais. Sonnex’s directorial work received acclaim in various prestigious venues. In September 2021, he became the Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Cardboard Citizens, continuing his impactful career in theatre.
Selina Thompson
Selina is an artist and writer whose work has been shown and praised internationally. Her practice is chiefly concerned with grief, love, and the world to come, and she seeks to make work that is visually striking, and lyrical, even while grounded in politics. She has led the company since its inception in 2016, and is primarily concerned with it centering those historically excluded by the arts, without compromising on rigour or experimentation. She won the ISPA Distinguished artist award in 2023, and her credits, include theatres across the UK, Europe, South and North America and Australia.