Women, Small Nations and British Theatre Q&A

Admission free but ticketed

With Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director, and Lucy Davies, Executive Producer, at the Royal Court Theatre

The event is chaired by Professor Steve Blandford

For the first time in its history the Royal Court Theatre is being run by women. How is this significant? What do they bring from the small nations of Scotland, where Vicky was the first Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland, and Wales, where Lucy was National Theatre Wales’ first female Executive Producer? How will they continue the Royal Court’s legacy to innovate, discover and surprise? What is the future for women in British Theatre?

This event aims to open up a debate about women in British theatre. Vicky and Lucy will explore the experience and perceptions they brought – from Scotland and Wales respectively – to the posts they now hold at The Royal Court, the venue often viewed as the heart of new theatre making in the UK. In what ways have their previous experiences combined with their current roles fed into, and made a difference to, their separate perspectives on the wider UK arts landscape in the 21st century?

This event is supported by The Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations at the University of South Wales and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Court Theatre.

Biographies

Lucy Davies joined the Royal Court as Executive Producer in April 2013. Lucy was previously Executive Producer at National Theatre Wales. She and Artistic Director John McGrath were on the company’s founding executive team, having launched the company in 2009. Prior to NTW, Lucy was Executive Producer at the Donmar Warehouse and Head of Studio at the National Theatre under Nicholas Hytner. Between 1994-1999 Lucy was Literary Manager at the Donmar Warehouse under Sam Mendes, where she also produced a season of new plays every Spring. This was followed by a five year stint in the film industry, commissioning, developing and working on feature films. She started her career as an Assistant Director and Assistant Administrator at Kneehigh Theatre.

Vicky Featherstone joined the Royal Court as Artistic Director in January 2013. At the Court she has recently directed Cyprus Avenue by David Ireland in the Theatre Upstairs & the Abbey Theatre Dublin, and X by Alistair McDowall in the Theatre Downstairs. Previous directing at the Royal Court includes Zinnie Harris’s How to Hold Your Breath and Molly Davies’s award-winning God Bless the Child.
Her other work includes the current NToS production of Lee Hall’s Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour at the National Theatre. Vicky was Artistic Director of Paines Plough 1997-2005 and was the founding Artistic Director of The National Theatre of Scotland 2005-2012. She began her career at West Yorkshire Playhouse and in television.