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Kully Thiarai
FRSA
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materBradford University
OccupationTheatre director
Known forCreative Director of LEEDS 2023

Kully Thiarai FRSA is a British artistic and creative director whose career began in theatre. With her appointment at National Theatre Wales in 2016, she became the first Asian person, and only second woman, to lead a national theatre company in Britain. She has held multiple artistic directorships, including, from 2020 to 2024, the role of creative director for LEEDS 2023 – the city's independent year of culture.

Early life

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Thiarai grew up in Smethwick in the West Midlands, where her father was employed as a labourer in the steelworks.[1][2] She initially studied social work at Bradford University.[3][2] At Theatre in the Mill, then run by Ruth Mackenzie,[4] Thiarai was introduced to performances by companies such as Gay Sweatshop and Phoenix Dance which influenced a future career in theatre.[5]

Career

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Thiarai's first job in theatre was with Red Ladder Theatre Company. A subsequent role there enabled Thiarai to support the development of new South Asian work like Bhangra Girls.[6] In 1994 she was appointed artistic director of Red Ladder Theatre Company, a role she held until 1998.[7][8][3][9] During this time she commissioned a variety of new shows, including: Kaahini by Maya Chowdhry,[10] End of Season by Noel Greig,[11] Sleeping Dogs by Philip Osment, and Crush by Rosy Fordham.[10] She also founded the Asian Theatre School;[6][12] this ultimately became Freedom Studios, led by Madani Younis.[13]

Contact Theatre, 2009

In 1998 she began a new role at Contact Theatre in Manchester, re-imagining the theatre as a centre for young people with a renewed "artistic vision and operational model" for the organisation.[3][8][7][14] Whilst there she also worked with Noel Greig to create Contacting the World, which was part of the Commonwealth Games' cultural programme.[6] She was left Contact Theatre holding the role of artistic director.[15]

At Leicester Haymarket Theatre Thiarai was co-artistic director with Paul Kerryson.[8][14] Productions during her tenure included: Death of a Salesman with Joseph Marcell playing Willie Loman,[16] Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard,[17] Bollywood Jane by Amanda Whittington,[18] Fortune Club by Dolly Dhingra,[19] and Bones by Kay Adshead.[20]

In 2010 Thiarai worked for National Theatre Wales on The Soul Exchange, a play about Teddy Boys in Butetown, where audiences travelled in taxis as part of the performance.[21][22] In 2012 she directed Mandala, an outdoor dance work in Birmingham and Nottingham with Sampad arts organisation, as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.[23][24] She also worked as artistic director of the Theatre Writing Partnership, based in Nottingham.[25]

In 2013 she became the founding director of CAST in Doncaster, a new £22 million venue,[8][26] where she worked to make CAST a "living room" for the town and its people.[2][27][28] She has used the term 'porous' to describe how to integrate communities practices with more traditional forms of theatre.[29] One noted production was an adaptation of Kes by Philip Osment,[30][31] another was the opening show The Glee Club by Richard Cameron, a playwright from Doncaster.[32] Thiarai left Cast in May 2016 to join National Theatre Wales (NTW) as artistic director and CEO.[33][34][35][2][8]

At National Theatre Wales (NTW) she was the first Asian person, and only second woman, to lead one of the national theatre companies in the United Kingdom.[5][36] Notable productions during her time there included We're Still Here, about the Tata Steelworks.[2] During her tenure, NTW was criticised for not doing enough to support Welsh artists, claims Thiarai rebuffed stating during the "history of the company is that almost 80% of all of its work has been led by Welsh artists".[1] Thiarai moved in 2019 to work as creative cirector of LEEDS 2023, beginning her role in 2020.[37] On her departure, critic Gary Raymond wrote:[38]

For every criticism aimed at Thiarai from a white middle class theatre practitioner in Wales, she was adored by those she worked with from minority backgrounds, and inspired countless people to work in theatre in Wales who otherwise would never have considered a UK national theatre a space in which to express themselves.

— Gary Raymond, Kully Thiarai departure from NTW | Failure of Wales?, Wales Arts Review
Barnraisers including Kully Thiarai during The WOW Barn build, Cinder Moor. LEEDS 2023

From January 2020 Thiarai was the Creative Director and CEO of LEEDS 2023.[6] Initially proposed as a bid to the host city for European Capital of Culture, post-Brexit exclusion from European Union initiatives meant that Leeds could no longer complete.[39][40] This resulted in Leeds City Council and partners deciding to run an independent year of culture in 2023.[41] Thiarai stated in December 2023 that through complex programming and community-engaged practice, the year had "put Leeds on the cultural map, nationally and internationally – and I think we can certainly say that that's happened in the way people talk about the city".[42]

In March 2023 she was appointed as the next chair of Paines Plough.[43] In November 2023 she joined the Board of National Theatre of Scotland.[44]

Awards and recognition

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References

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  1. ^ a b Morris, Steven (10 December 2018). "National Theatre Wales to showcase homegrown talent after backlash". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gardner, Lyn (1 May 2017). "From Tata to the NHS: how Kully Thiarai is making theatre for Wales". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Haydon, Christopher (21 February 2019). The Art of the Artistic Director: Conversations with Leading Practitioners. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-350-01693-4.
  4. ^ "Leeds 2023 will display the city's ambition and culture to the world - Ruth Mackenzie". 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b Carter, Imogen; Bromwich, Kathryn (28 August 2016). "What inspires Hans Ulrich Obrist and seven other cultural tastemakers". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Arts supremo Kully Thiarai: 'Break the rules! They need breaking'". The Guardian. 4 October 2021. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b "History". Red Ladder Theatre Company. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Kully Thiarai". Centre for Cultural Value. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  9. ^ Ahad, Nick (18 December 2023). "'Red Ladder shares a lot of my DNA': radical Yorkshire theatre company's new leader Cheryl Martin". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b "The Changing Shapes of Red Ladder." (Red Ladder Theatre, 2015). Source automatically downloads here
  11. ^ "Noel Greig Topics List – Unfinished Histories". Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Headingley Stadium - stands and stage - to be packed with artistic talents of all Leeds people for spectacular LEEDS 2023 opening event". Conference Leeds. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  13. ^ O'Connor, Chris (23 January 2023). "Dermot's Blog: Look Backwards, Move Forwards - Freedom Studios". Freedom Studios - Freedom Studios is a theatre company dedicated to working with new artists to create innovative drama that challenges conventional form. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b Brown, Mark (6 January 2016). "National Theatre Wales names Kully Thiarai as new artistic director". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Kully Thiarai appointed new artistic director at National Theatre Wales". 6 January 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  16. ^ Web, UK Theatre. "Tour archive for Death of a Salesman (Play). 5th October 2001-27th October 2001 [T01552918441]". UK Theatre Web. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  17. ^ Web, UK Theatre. "Master Harold..And the Boys (Play) archive [PLAY]". UK Theatre Web. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  18. ^ Gardner, Lyn (14 May 2003). "Bollywood Jane". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  19. ^ Marlowe, Sam (19 March 2024). "The Fortune Club". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  20. ^ Adshead, Kay (3 October 2006). Bones. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84943-884-1.
  21. ^ Waldram, Hannah (7 December 2010). "Butetown story told from a taxi". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  22. ^ Waldram, Hannah (28 January 2011). "The Soul Exchange – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Mandala". Sampad. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Dance's new dimension with Mandala". Birmingham Live. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  25. ^ Winter, Bianca (27 June 2012). "Theatre Writing Partnership". Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Doncaster signals its cultural aspirations with new £22m Cast arts". The Independent. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  27. ^ Gardner, Lyn (6 January 2016). "With Kully Thiarai, National Theatre Wales will remain radical and relevant". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Doncaster theatre to celebrate a decade of curtain rises". BBC News. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  29. ^ Trencsényi, Katalin; Cochrane, Bernadette (24 April 2014). New Dramaturgy: International Perspectives on Theory and Practice. A&C Black. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-4081-7710-5.
  30. ^ Gardner, Lyn (5 September 2014). "Kes – the right show in the right place?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  31. ^ Gardner, Lyn (10 September 2014). "Kes review – a bustling production that speaks directly to its audience". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  32. ^ Brown, Mark (1 January 2014). "Doncaster stages a bold revival of the arts with 'cultural living room'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  33. ^ "New role for Doncaster's Cast theatre boss". 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  34. ^ "Theatre boss: 'Something has gone awry'". BBC News. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  35. ^ Price, Karen (6 January 2016). "7 promises new National Theatre Wales boss Kully Thiarai will keep". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  36. ^ Ledger, Adam J. (2 April 2019). The Director and Directing: Craft, Process and Aesthetic in Contemporary Theatre. Springer. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-137-40767-2.
  37. ^ Review, Wales Arts (14 June 2019). "Kully Thiarai Resigns as Artistic Director of NTW - Wales Arts Review". www.walesartsreview.org. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  38. ^ Raymond, Gary (14 June 2019). "Kully Thiarai Departure from NTW | Failure of Wales? – Wales Arts Review". www.walesartsreview.org. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  39. ^ "Leeds submits 2023 Capital of Culture bid". BBC News. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  40. ^ "Leeds plans own 'Year of Culture' after European let-down". ArtsProfessional. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  41. ^ "Homebuyers feel the lure of Leeds, Yorkshire's unofficial 'city of culture'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  42. ^ "LEEDS 2023 creative director Kully Thiarai on the challenges, highlights and legacy of the Year of Culture". 2 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  43. ^ "Kully Thiarai appointed chair of Paines Plough". The Stage. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  44. ^ "Welcome to two new Board members". National Theatre of Scotland. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  45. ^ a b "Graduates and Honorary Fellows feature on 'The Stage 100' list". The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  46. ^ "BBC World Service – BBC World Drama – Judges". BBC. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  47. ^ "Northern Asian Powerlist 2020 winners – Kully Thiarai | TheBusinessDesk.com". North West. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  48. ^ Kathy (19 March 2018). "Tonic Awards 2018 – Tonic Awards – Tonic – For greater equality, diversity and inclusion in the arts". Tonic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
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