READ College is delighted to announce the appointment of our new Artistic Director, Clara Vaughan.

Before being appointed as the Artistic Director of READ College, Clara was the Head of the Market Theatre

Laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa, a multi award-winning arts incubator that aims to build an inclusive and brave community through learning, exchange, experimentation, research and making, primarily for the benefit and development of emerging theatre-makers from subaltern backgrounds. It has a reputation for facilitating the development of exceptional young theatre-makers, facilitators, actors, writers and directors, and for creating innovative and relevant new plays.

Clara has extensive experience as a theatre-maker, arts facilitator, arts manager, and writer. While the roles she plays in the arts environment are diverse, her practice is motivated by an interest in process, curiosity about alternative or experimental ways of learning and making, rigorous research, and collaborative creative methods. She is most drawn to theatre that has a generous and life-affirming interpretation of the human spirit.

The thirst that people have to create and tell stories and to share their humanity with others through performance; the capacity of performance and storytelling to witness us and to make it easier and richer to live, is what she finds endlessly compelling and rewarding about theatre, and theatre education.

Discussing her appointment and forthcoming move to the UK, Clara said:

“I feel so lucky to have discovered READ College & Access to The Arts™, an organisation whose values and commitment to redressing inequalities in the creative industries resonate so strongly with my own beliefs and practices. Luckier still to be given this opportunity to join the team!

I was the Head of the Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg for nine years, which has much in common with READ College; most strikingly a commitment to providing opportunities in the arts for under-represented and marginalised artists, the practice of creating a community in which individuals can thrive, and a holistic approach to contributing to both the artistic and personal growth of young people. As such, this new role is an incredible opportunity to build upon my previous work and further explore my obsessions with creating access to cultural participation, community building, and contributing to a more diverse, compassionate, and dynamic artistic landscape.”

Outgoing Artistic Director and co-founder, Jamie Read, is equally as excited about the future of the college:

“Clara is just a perfect fit for our ethos, energy and passion at READ College and I couldn’t be leaving the organisation in better hands! I am thrilled that she has agreed to join Helen Read (Principal) and the rest of the team at the college, and I know that the future for the organisation is going to be excellent under Clara and Helen’s leadership.”