NEWS: Ben Wilson appointed new Associate Artist

Ben is a blind actor, theatre maker and audio description consultant based in Nottingham. Ben was previously the Ramps on the Moon Agent for Change at Sheffield Theatres and Trainee Artistic Director at Extant Theatre.

The role of Associate Artist supports the Artistic Director, acting as a sounding board as the artistic vision for Nottingham Playhouse is conceived and delivered. This includes reading scripts and watching productions, meeting freelance theatre makers and representing Nottingham Playhouse at industry events. They also support the development of other theatre makers through the Amplify artist development programme and assist community engagement via the Participation department. Alongside contributing to the creative life of Nottingham Playhouse, the post places equal emphasis on Ben’s individual development as a professional theatre maker.

Ben has acted in many productions including Ramps on the Moon’s Much Ado About Nothing which toured to Nottingham Playhouse in 2022. Ben received a commendation at the National Theatre and Sunday Times‘ prestigious Ian Charleson awards for this role. He has also worked as Associate Director on plays at Sheffield and Leeds.

On his appointment, Ben said:

“I am absolutely delighted to be the new Associate Artist at Nottingham Playhouse. Having worked there as both an actor and access consultant, I am hugely excited to get to know, and learn from, everyone across the organisation.

 “I’m really keen to build closer connections and deepen relationships between Nottingham Playhouse and other theatre makers in the area. The East Midlands has such a vibrant community of artists, and I see this job as the opportunity to dive in and get to know everyone better. I am very interested to see Adam work and to see what it takes to be an artistic leader, continuously producing work on a large scale of the highest quality.”

As her tenure concludes, the current Associate Artist, Laura Turner, is being retained by Nottingham Playhouse for a further year, in a new role of Associate Literary Artist.

Adam Penford, Artistic Director, said:

“Following an open callout and competitive recruitment process, I’m delighted that Ben will be our new Associate Artist. His broad experience in theatre making across the UK, and his passion for making theatre accessible, will directly benefit our artists, audiences and community participants.

“We were impressed by the ambitious ideas he has for using his tenure to contribute to the creative life of Nottingham Playhouse and to develop his own craft. Laura’s dramaturgical skills have proven irreplaceable over the last year and we’re thrilled that she has agreed to stay on for a further year in the new role of Associate Literary Artist.”

Laura Turner, Associate Literary Artist, commented:

“Being Associate Artist at Nottingham Playhouse has been a huge learning curve to understand more about how a regional producing theatre operates, and the combination of creative and business-minded decisions that are being taken every day. Feeling part of the collaborative, creative environment has been a huge highlight for me; specifically working with Beccy d’Souza and Adam Penford to learn from their own experiences of a bigger theatrical eco-system.

“I am very excited to move into the new role of Associate Literary Artist, focusing on dramaturgy and artist development. I can’t wait to continue meeting East Midlands artists, getting to discuss their work and feeding into the creative community of Nottingham Playhouse.” 

Previous Associate Artists at Nottingham Playhouse during Adam Penford’s tenure as Artistic Director have included James Graham, Sarah Kolawole, Amanda Whittington, Matthew Xia and Hannah Stone.