Award-winning theatre company Cardboard Citizens has its second artistic director: Chris Sonnex.
His work has involved the Royal Court's Theatre Local Peckham project and Beyond The Court programme, the creation of a theatre in “The Jungle” refugee camp with Good Chance and as artistic director of London's Bunker Theatre where he continued to champion underrepresented groups.
As a director, Sonnex's work has been seen at the Almeida Theatre, the Bunker Theatre, Caravan Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Guildhall, HighTide Festival where he is currently an associate artists, Northern Stage, the Royal Court, and Synergy Theatre Project.
Sonnex said, “this time has been difficult for many—not least for the arts, its institutions and freelancers—but also for the people who hold onto art engagement as a lifeline. Those people—often among the most at risk in our society—who see engagement in theatre as a space to feel safe, protected, and entertained. Theatre has a duty to champion, to support, and to defend—to stand up for those in society that need it.
"That's what Cardboard Citizens does—theatre for social justice, with homelessness and housing instability at its epicentre—and I'm so grateful and excited to join this incredible community. I want to make sure that Cardboard Citizens is there for the people—championing, supporting and defending—and, of course, making amazing art with representation at its heart. I look forward to getting started.”
Over the past three decades, the charity has blazed a trail in the field of arts for social justice and become a national and international authority on arts and homelessness.
Sonnex takes over in September as artistic director and joint CEO from Adrian Jackson, who founded the company thirty years ago.