Nottingham Playhouse Appoints Benjamin Wilson as New Associate Artist

Benjamin Wilson has been announced as the new Associate Artist at Nottingham Playhouse. 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.”

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.