Our team are a lively and passionate lot. W&T’s staff come from a variety of backgrounds in theatre, the arts and the social sector. Our Board is made up of representatives from diverse sectors; individuals who have contributed much of their time  and expertise to supporting the company’s continued success.

Adaya Henry, Artistic Director

Adaya  joined W&T as Artistic Director in October 2023. She is a multidisciplinary artist with nearly a decade’s experience of working in theatre, film and spoken word. She has been hailed as an ambassador for the city after being at the forefront of the #WMGeneration campaign and Be Bold Be Brum campaign with self-written spoken word pieces.

For the last two years she has been working with MAIA, an arts and social justice organisation, where she has produced, facilitated and designed events and programmes rooted in world building and imagination.  She has had commissions from Create Central,  Birmingham Live, Shout Festival, HomeGrown31 and Tinker Taylor Video Agency and was a guest on Sky Arts show Life & Rhymes with Benjamin Zephaniah.

Adaya has had an extensive acting career performing at venues such as The Belgrade, The Other Place, Birmingham REP, The Albany and a number of site specific pieces of work. She has been in a number of short films and appeared on Doctors and The Archers.

Katherine Hewitt, Executive Director

Katherine Hewitt has over a decade of third sector management experience having been Chief Executive of Gateway Family Services CIC since June 2014 and before that their Operations Manager and Deputy CEO.  Whilst in charge she oversaw significant growth but also steered the company through the challenges of austerity and the pandemic. Throughout she strengthened their reputation as a pioneering provider of health and wellbeing services and their commitment to tackling inequality was recognised with the Public Health Minister’s Award.

Katherine’s career background is in community development and capacity building, initially starting out as a frontline worker. From 2001 – 2010 she led the Community Empowerment theme of Sandwell’s New Deal for Communities Programme.

After a recent break from work Katherine has joined Women & Theatre as Executive Director and she is excited about the possibility of combining her love of theatre and the arts with her previously gained skills.  She recognises how powerful theatre can be in terms of inclusivity, building confidence and helping people find their voice.

Vicky Pritchard, Associate Director

Vicky is a theatre artist/practitioner and actress born and bred in Birmingham. Before working with Women & Theatre, Vicky has been a freelancer working with companies across the West Midlands and the UK.

She specialises in community theatre and engagement projects, including theatre in education, theatre for young people in hospital settings and working with neurodiverse young people and adults with Open Theatre Company.

Vicky studied Drama & English at Newman University as well as undertaking acting training with the National Youth Theatre of G.B., The Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Young REP, Vamos Theatre Company and Geese Theatre Company. She is also experienced in project management, marketing, and producing.

Vicky is also a board member for Fantastic Journeys CiC, a theatre company that provides music, dance and storytelling workshops for Children and Young People with Additional Needs.

Matt Smith, Marketing & Projects Manager

Matt joined Women & Theatre in January 2018, having previously worked at MAC in their marketing team and interned at Writing West Midlands. He also has experience in fringe theatre having written and produced theatre and comedy events in Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh before completing an MRes in Playwriting Studies at the University of Birmingham.

As well as his work for with W&T he also works as a freelance playwright.

Board of Trustees

Ellie Griffiths (Chair), Alison Finn, Angela Henry, Bethany Kapila, Margaret King, Hayley Meachin, Rebecca Phillips, Alice Tomlinson.