Justine Themen is a

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

who has lived and worked in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

since 2003. She is currently deputy

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the

Belgrade Theatre The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...

in Coventry, as well as being a co-artistic director of the Belgrade's 2021 City of Culture programme.

Career

Themen's work "focuses on diversifying the stories brought to the stage and reaching audiences that are typically less likely to engage with

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and cultural programming" and has "a strong track record for co-creating work with communities & young people and for promoting & directing the work of writers of colour". Themen became a fellow of the

Clore Leadership Programme The Clore Duffield Foundation is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2000 by the merger of two charitable foundations, the Clore Foundation of Charles Clore and his daughter's Vivien Duffield Foundation. Formation After ...

in 2012, and started working at the Belgrade Theatre in 2014 with responsibility for Community and Education where she has had a "significant impact on the artistic vision" of the organisation. In March 2020 it was announced that Themen would be co-artistic director for the Belgrade's programme in the City of Culture year, 2021. In May 2020 she joined dozens of other creative leaders in signing a letter to the

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department f ...

urging the government to ensure that diversity in the arts is not lost due to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. She has also written for the industry publication ''Arts Professional'', and sits on the boards of the

Birmingham Opera Company Birmingham Opera Company is a professional opera company based in Birmingham, England, that specialises in innovative and avant-garde productions of the operatic repertoire, often in unusual venues. History The company was founded by leading in ...

and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. In July 2020, Themen was announced as the co-director of the

Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 is a designation given to the city of Coventry, England, between 2021 and 2025 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation means that Coventry gains access to funding to improv ...

opening event ''Coventry Moves''.

References

British theatre directors Artistic directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{theat-director-stub