Tara Theatre are delighted to announce that Gavin Joseph has joined the team as our new Associate Director. Gavin will be working alongside our Artistic Director, Natasha Kathi-Chandra who was previously Associate Director at Tara Theatre from 2022-2024. 

Our Associate Director role is a key member of Tara Theatre’s team who works closely with our Artistic Director Natasha Kathi-Chandra to generate ideas for the future and deliver projects and events across all strands of our programme. Gavin will be a central point of contact for all artists working with Tara Theatre, whether that be young theatre-makers, emerging artists, community practitioners or industry professionals. 

Gavin will also be integral to all of our artist development programmes, including Young Company, NOVA and Constellations. He will be a key imagineer on these projects and will support their delivery alongside other events hosted at Tara Theatre. Additionally, Gavin will be a representative for Tara Theatre to develop new and existing relationships with artists across Tara Theatre’s wide network of freelancers and creatives. 

Gavin Joseph is a theatre director, actor, and writer based in London. He is deeply interested in absurdist and surrealist work that seeks to challenge our traditional understanding of storytelling. As a British South-Asian creative, Gavin has an affinity toward underrepresented communities and the creatives and respective stories that exist within them, as such he is dedicated in championing and platforming work from artists from marginalised communities. 

He has previously worked as an Associate Artist at Company Three where he was involved with writing and directing new pieces of work in collaboration with young people from Islington. Gavin has worked extensively with young people as a director and facilitator at various theatres including Southwark Playhouse, Wimbledon Civic Theatre Trust, The Kiln, Lyric Hammersmith, and The Old Vic where he has also been an Artist Consultant. As a director Gavin’s credits include Ad Nauseam (Lyric Hammersmith), Madam Interpreter (Stanley Arts), Hello, it’s me (Tamasha), Little Threads (Selladoor), For One More Day To Live (Peckham Theatre), and Indigo Giant (Komola Collective). Gavin’s theatre credits as an Assistant Director for The Glee Club (Out of Joint), The Unfriend (Chichester Festival), and The Way Old Friends Do (Birmingham Rep). 

Gavin is an alumni of the Young Vic Directors programme, Tamasha Directors programme, Lyric Ensemble, National Youth Theatre, RADA Youth Company, Soho Sketch lab, and the Hackney Empire’s Writers Room. 

  

On his appointment, Gavin Joseph reflects:  

“Tara Theatre’s history, legacy and impact are the reasons I wanted to be part of this company. It gives me joy knowing that I’m now part of a rich lineage of South Asian artists who have grown and developed here. What’s more exciting is knowing the direction Tara Theatre is heading in, and how it continues to strive for artistic excellence and the development of South Asian artists and the stories we want to share.” 

  

Artistic Director and Joint CEO, Natasha Kathi-Chandra says:  

“I am excited to have Gavin join us as Associate Director at this time of renewal and rebuilding at Tara Theatre. Gavin’s energy is a breath of fresh air, with thoughtful and exciting ideas. I cannot wait for all the events & projects he will lead for us over the year with his knowledge and experience working as a director and facilitator, particularly with young and emerging artists.” 

  

Executive Director and Joint CEO, Helen Jeffreys tells us:  

“Gavin is an experienced, energetic and thoughtful practitioner. He will contribute greatly to the support we can offer artists. We are very lucky that he is joining Tara Theatre as our next Associate Director.” 

Our work to amplify South Asian and Global Majority voices on British stages continues, with Spoken Space x One Mic Stand later this month. This will be an evening of poetry and live music in collaboration with Young Identity. Additionally Tara Theatre are planning to open up submissions for our NOVA Playwright Seed Commission very soon. Stay tuned for more details.