Tom Wright is a writer, director and dramaturg for theatre and film. He is currently the Associate Artistic Director of the Kiln Theatre. 

He oversees the commissioning, development and programming of brand new work for Kiln Theatre, including contributions from acclaimed figures such as Marina Carr, Zadie Smith and Ryan Calais Cameron, with productions successfully transferring to the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and London’s West End. Tom also established the Kiln’s Young Writers Programme, providing support to local first-time writers in amplifying their voices. 

In his previous role as Head of Artist Development at The Old Vic, Tom steered the prestigious Old Vic 12 initiative to success over five years, culminating in a ground-breaking repertory season in partnership with Shoreditch Town Hall. Through an array of innovative projects, Tom nurtured over fifteen new plays and propelled countless theatre artists into the next stages of their careers, many of whom are fast becoming major names. 

Tom’s two back-to-back debut plays My Dad’s Gap Year (Park Theatre) and Undetectable (King’s Head Theatre) achieved acclaim with seven Off West End Award nominations, including Best New Play and Most Promising Playwright. Undetectable returned the following year and has since been licensed worldwide. Tom’s third play Very Special Guest Star (Omnibus Theatre) earned praise from The Guardian as a ‘thoroughly original play that entertains, provokes and unsettles’. 

His latest project, I Ain’t Dumb premiered at the Belgrade Theatre as part of UK City of Culture celebrations in his hometown of Coventry. Additional projects include the musical adaptation of Jamie O’Neill’s award-winning novel ‘At Swim, Two Boys’ titled Rebel Song (The Other Palace), and Sirens and White Lies (ArtsEd) a double-bill of new plays both written and directed by Tom. 

As a theatre director, Tom’s recent credits include Dumbledore Is So Gay (Southwark Playhouse, Pleasance Theatre and Vault Festival, Origins Award Winner), Blowhole (Soho Theatre and Pleasance Theatre) and Tumble Tuck (King’s Head Theatre and Underbelly Edinburgh). Tom has been Associate Director to Rikki Beadle-Blair and Indhu Rubasingham on various productions including the Olivier Award nominated production of The Invisible Hand (Kiln Theatre)

Tom’s award-winning debut short film Stockholm premiered at BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, garnering recognition at festivals internationally and winning Best Cinematography at the LA LGBTQ+ Festival. The film has amassed over 100k views online. His second short film Kweenship was completed in the same year, followed by a commission from Sky Arts to make his third short film Sent To Cov for national broadcast. The film was subsequently shortlisted for a Broadcast Digital Award. 

Tom is a trustee of the Olivier Award winning Papatango Theatre Company, as well having participated in the Programming Committee for the Belgrade Theatre. He is a sector leader in LGBTQ+ inclusion, conducting bespoke training workshops, whilst dedicating himself to broadening and diversifying the LGBTQ+ cannon.

 Self-organisation, mentorship and skill sharing are central to Tom’s collaborative activity. Whether offering feedback on scripts, facilitating workshops, running his annual LGBTQ+ playwriting course, or curating shadowing placements, Tom hopes this nurturing of the next generation of talent forms an ever-expanding revolution of empowered, joyful and disruptive theatre artists.