Kali Theatre Company

Kali Theatre Company is an important women’s theatre collective set up by actor and director Rita Wolf and writer Rukhsana Ahmad in 1990 and incorporated in 1991. Their first production was Song for a Sanctuary (1991), written by Ahmad and directed by Wolf. The play was based on the murder of Balwant Kaur by her husband in a women’s shelter.

Its mission is to provide a space and platform through writing workshops, training and performance for women of South Asian heritage to explore their societal role and positionality. The company pursues this through a dramaturgical development process, play readings and fully staged productions. It has also provided training to theatre practitioners under-represented in the theatre industry.

In 1994 the company secured funding for a series of theatre workshops at Oval House Theatre, London which focused on playwriting, acting and theatre management. Since 1998 the company has been a registered charity, with Rukhsana Ahmad becoming the company’s first artistic director. Since its founding, it has staged full productions and play readings. In 2002 Kali collaborated with Southall Black Sisters on the 'Mehri Kahani' project, which led to the Mehri Kahani, Meri Duniya event at the Waterman’s Arts Centre. In the same year, Kali Theatre staged a range of play readings, Kali Shorts, at Soho Theatre, London. In 2003, the company secured Arts Council England funding as part of ACE’s Cultural Diversity Action Plan. Kali Theatre has a long-standing partnership with Tara Arts, with works developed by the company being fully produced and touring with Tara Arts.

Kali Theatre Company remains an important space for the exploration of intersections between race, class and women’s experiences in South Asian British contexts, especially focused on the development of new writing and key partnerships with theatre companies such as Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company, Leicester Curve and Tamasha Theatre.