Director – Phil Clark

Phil Clark was born and educated in Brecon, South Wales before training at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama where he studied for a Diploma in Theatre Arts and a teaching qualification. He followed this by undertaking professional training at Durham University with an Advanced Diploma in Drama and Language Development. He is currently completing a Phd at the University of Glamorgan, Wales.

His professional career began as a founder member of Theatr Powys before becoming a founder member of Bruvvers Theatre Company based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Whilst there, he directed and devised over 30 new plays, originated and toured a one man show, and took traditional, experimental and new plays on nine European tours.

In 1983 he joined Tyne Wear Theatre Company as a Director and established and directed Britain's largest annual Youth Theatre Festival. Whilst there, he also set up Eyes of Men Theatre Company for the unemployed; PIT Theatre Company - a community theatre group for South Tyneside; and taught Performing Arts and Media Studies to secondary school students.

The position of Artistic Director at the Crucible Theatre in Education and Community Theatre followed, where he commissioned and directed 11 new plays on the main stage and in the studio and on tour; won the 1988 British Theatre Association Drama Review Award; established Sheffield's first International Children's Theatre Festival; set up and organised an International Exchange with actors from the Crucible and Moscow's Central Young People's Theatre; wrote the play Home Movies for the Crucible Theatre which was filmed and networked by Yorkshire Television Play for Today; initiated the 4th year B.Ed TIE course for Sheffield City Polytechnic; and directed the award-winning Plague of Innocence and wrote Serfdom Right?, both of which were chosen for the Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton Canadian Children's Festival of Young People's Theatre 1990.

While in Sheffield, Phil Clark was also on the advisory panel for Tertiary Education for Sheffield Education Authority, a touring production assessor for Yorkshire Arts Association, a panel member for Sheffield Education Authority Arts Exchange and established a programme of training for school governors on 'Theatre for Young People'.

Phil was appointed Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Sherman Theatre Cardiff in 1990. The Sherman is the premier producing theatre in Cardiff. The resident professional theatre company, the Sherman Theatre Company, was directed by Phil and toured throughout Wales, Britain and internationally to large, middle and studio theatres. He prioritised new writing and commissioned some 104 new plays for the company. Alongside the professional performance work, the Sherman had an active youth community education and participatory policy prioritising work with emerging artists. Alongside the Young People’s Theatre Policy the Sherman remains the only producing professional theatre in the capital city.

Phil directed over 45 productions for the Sherman Theatre Company on stage, television and radio. In 1993 he was nominated for the BBC Artist of the Year. Phil has directed productions for Newcastle upon Tyne Playhouse, Theatre Centre London, Brewhouse Theatre Taunton, Grand Theatre Swansea, Off The Kerb Productions, Palace Theatre Redditch, Theatr Powys, Pomegranate Theatre Chesterfield, Mappa Mundi Theatre Co, Colin MacIntre Productions, Watershed Productions, The Anvil Sheffield, Birmingham Stage Company, Swan Theatre Worcester and Hampstead Theatre London.

Alongside his work in theatre, Phil has served on numerous committees for the Arts Council of England and the Arts Council of Wales. For five years he was a member of the BBC Broadcasting Council of Wales. He has sat on numerous boards of theatre companies and art centres. He is currently a Director of Brecon International Jazz Festival.

He received the Arts for Young Audiences Award from the Commonwealth Conference for Young People in Canada. He has edited a new book of Welsh plays in the second half of this Century published in 1997 by Seren Books and is currently working on two new books. He teaches regularly at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Actors Centre London, Tishe School of Performing Arts New York, the National Association of Youth Theatres Summer Festival and is a regular broadcaster on BBC Wales.