Owen Calvert-Lyons

Owen is Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, and has previously held equivalent roles at Ovalhouse in London (2016-2020) and The Point and The Berry Theatres in Hampshire (2013-2016).

In 2009, Owen established Arcola Theatre’s award-winning Creative Learning Department, which he ran for four years. He has also worked for York Theatre Royal, The Courtyard Centre for the Arts, and Theatre Royal Plymouth, and was Vice Chair of the National Association of Youth Theatres, helping to shape the future of youth theatre in England.

As a Director, Owen's credits include: Home, Holes, Around The World in Eighty Days, A Christmas Carol (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); Murder in Play (Aldeburgh Classic Theatre); Random Selfies (Ovalhouse); Beauty and The Beast (Derby Arena); Little Red Riding Hood (Chelsea Theatre); Across The Dark Water, Jack and Pinocchio (The Berry Theatre); Around the World in Eighty Days, Boy with a Suitcase and Walking the Tightrope (Arcola Theatre); and I am a Camera (Rosemary Branch – nominated for Best Director Off West End Awards).

As a Producer, Owen has commissioned plays by Javaad Alipoor, Angela Clerkin, Nick Makoha, Guleraana Mir, Ambreen Razia, and Annie Siddons. In 2019, he produced The Demolition Party: a revolutionary production that invited artists to destroy a theatre through performance. His radical, site-specific productions have taken place in spaces including a ruined abbey, an urban wheat field, and a multi-story car park.

Owen’s international work, including his project The Uncommercial Traveller (developed in collaboration with Punchdrunk Enrichment), has been presented at the Karachi Literature Festival (Pakistan), The National Playwriting Festival (Australia), and Infecting the City Festival (South Africa).