Introducing Talawa…
Talawa was founded in 1986, its mission is to provide a platform for Black actors and artists to launch and establish their careers in the wider industry. The company enables this by: providing leading roles for Black actors, staging at least one touring production each year for diverse audiences, from traditional theatre goers to hard-to-reach groups; using theatre as a learning and personal development tool in schools, community groups and with organisations such as the NHS and; offering a range of artists and participants development opportunities through its national initiative called MAKE.
Our Change Creation Plan
Talawa Theatre Company has undergone several changes in the last four years. We have developed into an organisation that is partnership driven. We now co-produce the majority of projects, which has allowed us to increase activity across all aspects of our work. However, our staff structure has remained the same, and due to limited resources most roles are part-time. We want to examine this further and design a structure that reflects our ambitious plans for the future.
Having an independent creative space is fundamental to our business. We have been searching for a new property and long-term premises for the company for the last two years, as the current premises are being redeveloped by the Landlord. We want to take a step back from the property search and assess the original search criteria. We hope that the Change Creation Programme can help us to refine the strategy and strengthen our approach.
Michael Buffong
Talawa has been led by Michael, Artistic Director and CEO since 2012. Michael is responsible for developing the artistic programme for Talawa and for leading the organisation. Michael has a long and successful career in theatre, television and film.
Natasha Bucknor
Natasha joined Talawa as Executive Director in 2014. Natasha works with Michael on organisational development, fundraising and the line management of the team. Natasha has worked as a manager in arts for over ten years.
