Karena Johnson is a British

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, 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 p ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and producer who first started working at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Oval House Theatre Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (located ...

. She was acting artistic director at Contact theatre and Artistic Director of Kushite Theatre Company as well as associate director at Nottingham Playhouse and

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

. She was born in South

, and studied drama at the Royal Holloway, University of London and at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

. She has programmed a succession of productions, including Dipo Agboluaje's Early Morning, a satire about

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

cleaners mounting a coup in the city of London. She has been involved in a number of international cultural collaborations within

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, China,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Karena has worked as a professional theatre director since 1997. Her work include "40" by Angie LeMar at

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in L ...

Crossings by

Julie McNamara Julie McNamara (born 26 March 1960) is a theatre director, playwright, producer, actor and poet. She is artistic director of touring theatre company Vital Xposure. Patron of disability arts organisation DaDaFest and a political activist for human ...

Cochrane Theatre The Cochrane Theatre, previously known as the Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, was a receiving and producing theatre situated in Holborn, London, that opened in 1964. It is now used for television filming. History The theatre opened in 1963 and was n ...

"Safe" by David Herminstien at West Yorkshire Playhouse''"Sweet Yam Kisses"'' which was conceived by her and written by Courttia Newland and

Pat Cumper Patricia Cumper, MBE, FRSA (born 1954), also known as Pat Cumper, is a British playwright, producer, director, theatre administrator, critic and commentator. She was the artistic director and CEO of Talawa Theatre Company from 2006 to 2012, and ...

at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

,''"The Bridge"'' by Pedro Obaseki, an international co-production between

and Don Pedro productions Nigeria; ''"The Oddest Couple"'' by Geoff Aymer at the

; ''"Vengeance"'' by Wayne Buchanan on a National Tour; ''"Yerma"'' by Federico Garcia Lorca at the Young Vic/ Jerwood Space; ''"The Key Game"'' by Pat Cumper at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

; ''"The Front Room"'' by Jenny Davis on a National Tour; ''"Under Their Influence"'' by Wayne Buchanan at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

; ''"Angie Baby"'' by Rommie Smith at the Young Vic; ''"Gods and Bad Guys"'' by Tunde Euba; ''"Two"'' by Jim Cartwright; and EMMA Award nominated premier production of Vengeance by Wayne Buchanan at the

. Karena has also collaborated with other artist as including Robert Hylton on ''"Swan Breaks"'' Benji Reid on ''"Process 06"'' and Melih Gorgun on ''"SEAS Black/North"'' Karena was a Jerwood Young Director Award Winner in 2003 and was nominated for the Carlton Multicultural Awards in 2003. Karena was the head of theatre programming at

for five years, was the artistic director of Kushite Theatre, the acting artistic director of

Contact Theatre Contact is an arts organisation in Manchester, England that focuses on youth leadership. History Contact was founded in 1972 by Barry Sheppard (General Manager of what was then Manchester University Theatre) and Hugh Hunt (Professor of Drama) ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and CEO and artistic director of

The Broadway The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant reta ...

theatre in Barking. Karena spent some time working as a freelance director in London and has been artistic director and CEO of

Hoxton Hall Hoxton Hall is a performance arts theatre and community centre in the Hoxton area of Shoreditch, at 130 Hoxton Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. A grade II* listed building, the theatre was first built as a Music hall in 1863, as MacDonal ...

since February 2015.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Karena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Theatre people from London English theatre directors Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London Alumni of the University of Leicester