2024/25 has been a super exciting time at The Paper Birds, involving lots of learning, development and growth for the company. This growth included a Feel Me tour of mid-scale venues around the UK, as well as touring the show internationally to Indonesia, our busiest year of workshop delivery to date, a new symposium for Facilitators called HELD with Sheffield Theatres, new Board Members joining us bringing different skills and vibrancy, and planning our next, ambitious touring show for 2026 (which will be our biggest to date!). We have been working, collaborating and receiving guidance and mentorship from some fabulous leading people from across our industry as part of this. Rather than keep their brilliance to ourselves(!), we wanted to share with you some of their pearls of wisdom through a series of short filmed interviews, ‘5 Minutes with’ which will be appearing here on our website between April and May 2025.
Episode 1 | 5 Minutes with… Doug RintoulWe’re kicking our ‘5 minutes series off with our chat with Doug Rintoul. Doug is Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre, who we are Associate Artists with. He is also a theatre director and cultural leader committed to making theatre accessible and inclusive. Growing up on a council estate in Essex, his passion for theatre was sparked by dedicated drama teachers, leading him to study Drama & Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham. His career has spanned directing musicals, opera, contemporary drama, and large-scale community productions, with a focus on amplifying underrepresented voices. As Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre, Douglas champions bold, relevant storytelling and engagement with diverse communities. Previously, he led Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, founded the touring company Transport, and was an Associate Director at Complicité. His work has been staged across the UK and internationally, always driven by a belief in theatre’s power to bring people together. |
