National’s Walton to head Eclipse Theatre

Published Monday 13 October 2008 at 14:45 by Alistair Smith

Dawn Walton, former acting head of the National Theatre Studio, has been appointed as the first artistic director of Eclipse Theatre.

Launched in 2001, Eclipse is managed by a consortium of three theatres comprising West Yorkshire Playhouse, The New Wolsey, Ipswich and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. It is currently hosted by WYP. The Arts Council England-funded initiative was formed in response to the Eclipse Conference, which identified a gap in opportunities for black theatre practitioners wishing to work in medium-scale regional theatre.

Walton commented: “Eclipse works with the best artists from the diverse community to produce quality work that attracts a new and diverse audience to mainstream theatre. I am delighted to have been invited to become its artistic director and I look forward to working with the partner theatres to lead Eclipse into its exciting future.”

Walton’s first project for Eclipse will be as director of the forthcoming touring production The Hounding Of David Oluwale.