James Blakey

Photo by Joseph Priestly

James Blakey is a theatre maker, director, producer, community artist and facilitator from Manchester in the UK.

He is currently the Director of Public Acts Doncaster, as part of the Public Acts programme; The National Theatre’s initiative to create extraordinary acts of theatre and community. In summer 2020 he will direct a large-scale, community musical adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, in a new version made for Doncaster by playwright Chris Bush, with original music by Ruth Chan.

Previously, James was the Associate Artistic Director of Slung Low during the company’s launch of the Cultural Community College and the move into The Holbeck, the nation’s oldest existing working men’s club. Prior to that James was an Associate Artist with Company Three, a company of 75 teenagers representing every state secondary school in Islington, who make work in long-term collaboration with theatre artists that strives to make teenagers better listened to, understood and celebrated. He was a founding member of game-theatre collective Oscar Mike, an Associate of London-based new work company Upstart Theatre, and has been an Associate Director for The Royal Shakespeare Company and a Staff Director for the National Theatre.

James has worked at theatres including CAST Doncaster, The Royal Exchange in Manchester, The Yard, Leeds Playhouse and Hull Truck. His work has also been presented in shopping centres, disused commercial units, across city centres, in science laboratories, on trains, in rugby clubs, schools and Pupil Referral Units.

He trained on the Theatre Directing MFA course at Birkbeck College, on secondment as an Assistant Director at Leeds Playhouse, and was invited to take part in the National Theatre Studio Directing Course.