Our Vision
c21 is a Northern Irish touring theatre company that champions new stories with an eye to international audiences and festivals
Our Mission
- to embrace traditional, digital and interactive methods as well as site-specific projects
- to deliver enriching and memorable experiences in the heart of communities
- to collaborate with public and private organisations, education and tourism
Our Story
c21 was co-founded in 2005. The company started out as a touring theatre organisation and quickly built a reputation in Northern Ireland as a small company of great force
To this day the vision remains intact, and we continue to provide audiences with high quality theatre that is easily accessed and regularly tours nationally and more recently internationally. We strongly believe that audiences should have the opportunity to experience professional theatre no matter what location of our country we live in.
In February 2020 the company represented Northern Ireland in Brussels at a NI Showcase event performing the hit show May the Road Rise Up at the Bozar Theatre http://artscouncil-ni.org/news/northern-ireland-theatre-talent-to-be-celebrated-on-stage-in-brussels. The same show had completed an Australian tour in 2019 visiting numerous venues around the city of Melbourne.
In January 2019, along with its business sponsor, Doyle Shipping Group, the company won the Arts & Business NI Award for ‘Staff Engagement’. This was recognition for the ‘It Only Takes a Minute’ project in 2018 that looked at attitudes around disability in the workplace. The production was seen by over 2000 young children aged 14-16 plus 1500 other audiences throughout NI and Scotland.
The company continues to look at contemporary material that involves a creative process from conception right through to production and will embrace opportunities to collaborate.
Stephen Kelly, Co-Founder and Creative Director
Stephen co-founded c21 in 2005. The company, which champions new writing, has toured extensively and continues to explore opportunities nationally and internationally. He has produced and directed over 30 productions since its formation.
Some of Stephen’s highlights include a 2019 international tour to Melbourne, Australia with the high-profile production May the Road Rise Up by Northern Irish playwright Rosemary Jenkinson. He then led the same show to Brussels in February 2020 for the NI Showcase at the Brussels Platform in association with the NI Executive.
In August 2023 he led a team of d/Deaf and hearing artists to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a brand new piece Expecting. The critically acclaimed production which made its world premiere in Belfast in May 2023, very quickly received an invitation to perform at the Keegan Theatre, Washington DC in May 2024. He led a team of six on the tour, which included a collaboration with Gallaudet University, a setting mainly for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Our Board of Trustees
Derek Smyth
Chairperson
Derek has been a career administrator spending the majority of his working life within the Queen’s University of Belfast. Now retired, he brings to the Board experience gained at a senior administrative level, in a large complex organisation, particularly in respect of matters concerning governance and finance.
Sean McCready
Board Member
Sean is the Director of Doyle Shipping Group Belfast. He has been instrumental in the partnership formed between his company and c21. With his business background he has recently driven the successful Arts and Business NI Projects, which have resulted in both companies winning two of the prestigious awards over the last five years, as well as countless nominations.
Carrie-Anne McAlonan McCrudden
Secretary
Carrie-Anne has almost 30 years experience working in the arts industry and has had the privilege of working with a range of companies in theatre, opera, musicals, theatre-in education and youth theatre.
Dearbhla Holohan
Board Member
Dearbhla has been involved in the voluntary and community sector for 20 years and has worked in a range of roles as a Youth Worker and Programme Manager.
Trudy Harkness
Board Member
Trudy studied Law at Northumbria University graduating in 2010 and moved back to Northern Ireland. Before joining Ulster University in 2018 as a School Officer within the Business School, she worked for a range of organisations.
Pamela Minford
Board Member
I was delighted to be matched with c21 as part of the Arts and Business Board Bank Programme. This has allowed me to match my executive and strategic thinking with my passion for the arts and to develop leadership skills in a creative environment with people who are passionate about driving the cultural sector.
Board Member
Nuala Toman is the Head of Policy, Communications, Information and Advocacy at Disability Action. She is the former Project Manager of Future Screens NI which is Creative Industries Cluster Funded by UKRI, in this role she worked to address diversity with creative industries companies to address race, disability, gender, social inclusion and the need for a sustainable peace
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Our Funders, Partners and Supporters
Our Principal Funder is the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Business Partner, Doyle Shipping Group. However, many of our projects are supported by a range of funders and partners without whom we would not be able to deliver our mission or diverse annual programme.
