WHO WE ARE

Kali Theatre develops and presents ground-breaking new theatre by South Asian women and non-binary writers.

We are an incubator and a hub for storytelling, built with the strength and agility of grassroots activism at our heart, and a radically different approach to creating plays.

We exist to create robust, meaningful development pathways for playwrights, from Discovery to Hubs to networks that carry real value, real impact, and real care. KALI is a writer-led company that centres artists, their well-being and values their skills.

We believe that the best new work emerges when playwrights have agency, when risk is welcomed, and when learning, not just commerce, is the objective.

We aim to work in a way that is transparent, inclusive and experimental. If you're a playwright who wants to be part of the theatrical agenda, this is your home.

A woman with short white hair and wearing a blue jacket sitting on a chair in a dimly lit room, while another woman with dark hair in a patterned dress applies makeup or face paint to her face. There is a small table with makeup on it and a delicate background pattern on the wall.

HOW WE WORK

We are not just a producing house; we are a development powerhouse.

We invite audiences and participants of all access needs into the creative process. Through sharings, R&D showcases, and professional productions, we are committed to working with communities to make sure that we are representing their stories and that they are part of the theatre-making experience.

We invite audiences and participants with access needs into the creative process by extending call outs to disabled artists, meeting access requirements through creative captioning and BSL, and integrating this dialogue as part of the creative process.

We are an anti-racist company. You can learn more here.

Two women dressed in traditional Indian attire stand closely together. One, smiling, places her hand on the other's shoulder. They wear jewelry and floral accessories in their hair, with a map and posters on a dark background behind them.

We work with writers and theatre artists across three interconnected strands:

1. EMERGING WRITERS

We support South Asian women and non-binary playwrights to develop and write their first plays and experiment with theatre-making more broadly.

We award research and development commissions to visionary theatre-makers. We seek out artists with ideas for theatrical worlds; immersive concepts that will cradle powerful new stories, be it design, sound, film, to sit with text.

2. artist development

We commission and develop work which centres creation. We believe that we are all makers, and our collective vision is to build a theatrical landscape where plays live. Our commissions are nurtured over years. We want to nurture talent and develop voices until they are ready to find their audience.

3. major commissions

what we do

  1. Create space for writers and makers of all abilities to be free, creative, and uninhibited in their passion for making new work.

  2. Centre artists with all access needs, giving them a platform to share their stories and feel safe, seen, and heard.

  3. Give agency to playwrights, so they can make their own work on their own terms, with the freedom to take risks, where learning and excellence are the objectives of great art making.

  4. Champion our writers to diversify programming in mainstream theatres

  5. Engage audiences from all backgrounds in this work

  6. Increase the diversity of UK theatre audiences

  7. Provide leading roles for South Asian actors to showcase their skills and inspire more diverse casting

A group of six diverse women posing for a photo on stage with an intricate decorative background, some making playful gestures and smiling.

Kali Theatre is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, a member of the Independent Theatre Council, and holds Fair Pay Employer status. We are a resident company at The Albany in Deptford.