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verity healey

arts journalist & film maker

verity healey (she/her) is a London-based writer, photographer, and filmmaker who writes for HowlRound, WhatsOnStage, and The Stage, amongst others. She recently completed editorial commissions for Belarus Free Theatre in Minsk.

Five actors in suits stand in front of TVs reading The Iraq Inquiry
How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom
Essay

How LUNG Is Breathing Radical Joy into Theatre in the United Kingdom

5 March 2024

verity healey speaks to Matt Woodhead and Helen Monks, co-directors of LUNG, about LUNG’s work making campaign theatre that uses verbatim theatre strategies and associated political work to explore issues impacting the United Kingdom.

A man in business attire cheers in front of a team of football players.
Dear England/England Now
Essay

Dear England/England Now

19 October 2023

Spurred on by the National Theatre production of James Graham’s Dear England, verity healey discusses the notion that theatre in the United Kingdom might have a few things to learn from football.

Two actors in yellow-green outfits standing over another actor in white lying on a table.
Female Stories from Kosovo: How Two Plays Look at the Loneliness of Balkan Women
Essay

Female Stories from Kosovo: How Two Plays Look at the Loneliness of Balkan Women

10 January 2023

Theatremaker verity healey discusses two plays from Kosovo’s 2022 Theatre Showcase that highlight Balkan women’s stories and struggles.

Several actors sitting at two different tables on stage.
No Borders’ Feast: A Reckoning at the Royal Court/On the Square
Essay

No Borders’ Feast: A Reckoning at the Royal Court/On the Square

26 September 2022

verity healey speaks with Polish theatremaker Nastazja Domaradzka about No Borders, an arts program she created in collaboration with the Royal Court Theatre in London that prioritizes migrant artists’ experiences and voices.

Five women in dresses drinking tea on stage.
Gathering Momentum: Türkiye’s Independent Theatre in President Erdoğan’s Near-Autocracy
Essay

Gathering Momentum: Türkiye’s Independent Theatre in President Erdoğan’s Near-Autocracy

15 August 2022

verity healey describes the power and significance of independent theatre in Türkiye by sharing her experience at the theatre festival, TheatreIST.

A large crowd walks alongside a life-sized internally controlled puppet.
Walk with Amal: The Five-Thousand-Mile-Long Theatrical Provocation
Essay

Walk with Amal: The Five-Thousand-Mile-Long Theatrical Provocation

7 February 2022

verity healey shares the journey and impact of Walk with Amal, an interactive, artistic project that centered on a large puppet refugee girl travelling through Europe.

A woman in red lighting holding her iPhone as if to take a picture.
The Politics of Rebuilding Theatrical and Civic Communities: Global Autocracy, Brexit, and Racism
Essay

The Politics of Rebuilding Theatrical and Civic Communities: Global Autocracy, Brexit, and Racism

16 September 2021

Verity Healey sits down with Javaad Alipoor to discuss themes that preoccupy Alipoor as a theatremaker and political person: racism, history, Brexit, international communities, politics, and how these things come into his work and collaborations with other artists.

Lara Parmiani wearing a black top and holding out a banana in front her like a gun.
“You can’t do revolution on your own”: Lara Parmiani on the Migrant Woman Experience in British Theatre
Essay

“You can’t do revolution on your own”: Lara Parmiani on the Migrant Woman Experience in British Theatre

19 July 2021

verity healey sits down with Italy-born, UK-based theatremaker Lara Parmiani to talk about the migrant woman experience in Britain and its representation, or lack thereof, on British stages.

two actors onstage
The Perpetual Crises Engulfing British Theatre
Essay

The Perpetual Crises Engulfing British Theatre

An Interview with Migrant Theatre Director Alex Istudor

8 March 2021

verity healey speaks with Alex Istudor, the Romanian-born director who lives and works in the UK, about the challenges of migrant theatremakers, different attitudes towards creating shows between the UK and continental Europe, and more.

four actors onstage
There’s an Array of Theatrical Talent on Display in Kosovo. So Why Won’t Its Government Support It Properly?
Essay

There’s an Array of Theatrical Talent on Display in Kosovo. So Why Won’t Its Government Support It Properly?

25 January 2021

verity healey, who spent time in Kosovo for its Theatre Showcase last October, discusses the precarious nature of Kosovo’s independent theatre sector and shares her thoughts about the plays she saw while visiting.

an actor onstage
Welcome to Weimar Kunstfest
Essay

Welcome to Weimar Kunstfest

How an Arts Festival is Promoting a Better Germany

23 November 2020

verity healey recaps the multidisciplinary arts festival Kunstfest, which took place in Weimar, Germany in late August and early September this year and tackled issues such as immigration, identity, COVID-19, and the environment.

a person seated at a desk with multiple screens
At Home and in Lockdown with Belarus Free Theatre
Essay

At Home and in Lockdown with Belarus Free Theatre

The Show Goes On

30 June 2020

verity healey examines how Belarus Free Theatre is making work during COVID-19 and dives in to their latest show, A School for Fools.

exterior of a theatre space
Participatory Theatre
Essay

Participatory Theatre

Europe’s Game Changer

4 August 2019

verity healey does a deep-dive into the Our Stage – 4th European Bürgerbühne Festival, which took place in Dresden, Germany, in May 2019.

a group of people running in a circle
Thinking About Space in Invited and A Doll’s House at Germany’s Our Stage Festival
Essay

Thinking About Space in Invited and A Doll’s House at Germany’s Our Stage Festival

23 July 2019

verity healey examines the concept of theatrical space as it applies to two shows that were presented at Germany’s Our Stage festival in May: Invited and A Doll’s House.

close up of an actor playing the cello
The Search for Truth in Putin’s Russia
Essay

The Search for Truth in Putin’s Russia

How Teatr.doc’s “Civil Theatre” Is Exposing Injustice

4 June 2019

verity healey looks at Teatr.doc’s latest show, Torture, and the vital need for “truth-telling” theatre.

two actors onstage
Exploring Colonization and Identity at Belgium’s New Theatre Festival
Essay

Exploring Colonization and Identity at Belgium’s New Theatre Festival

7 May 2019

verity healey discusses themes and productions from Ghent’s new theatre festival called same same but different.

three people performing onstage
How Refugees Are Using Theatre to Welcome Parisians into Their Lives
Essay

How Refugees Are Using Theatre to Welcome Parisians into Their Lives

13 December 2018

verity healey looks at how refugees in Paris are using theatre to create connections, break down barriers, and find community.

Bringing Theatre to Torbay
Essay

Bringing Theatre to Torbay

Doorstep Arts

16 May 2017

UK contributor verity healey looks at how Doorstep Arts is bringing access to the theatre arts to Torbay.

Open Your Mind
Essay

Open Your Mind

Theatre Space, Performance, and Audience

6 January 2017

verity healey considers the Battersea Arts Centre’s new Courtyard theatre space and inviting an audience to participate in the performance through interaction with the performance space.

Roads into Portrayals of Mental Health Onstage
Essay

Roads into Portrayals of Mental Health Onstage

7 October 2016

Frequent overseas contributor verity healey reports on the Belarus Free Theatre workshop exploring the intersection of how a true story about mental illness is portrayed on stage.

Violence and Female Genital Mutilation Onstage in Charlene James’ Cuttin’ It
Essay

Violence and Female Genital Mutilation Onstage in Charlene James’ Cuttin’ It

12 June 2016

verity healey discusses Charlene James’ new play Cuttin’ It at the Young Vic in London, England.

Meta
Essay

Meta

A Quiet Theatrical Revolution

14 April 2016

verity healey on Cardboard Citizens’ Meta in London, England, and theatre for social change. 

Place Hacking, Belarus Free Theatre, and Coming Home
Essay

Place Hacking, Belarus Free Theatre, and Coming Home

13 February 2016

verity healey is back with a report on Belarus Free Theatre’s Staging a Revolution festival that was held November, 2015 in London.

To Moscow?
Essay

To Moscow?

4 February 2016

verity healey on what four new Russian plays performed at London’s Frontline Club say about the present and future of theatre in Russia.

Power vs. Truth in Belarus Free Theatre’s Being Harold Pinter
Essay

Power vs. Truth in Belarus Free Theatre’s Being Harold Pinter

21 January 2016

verity healey reviews Belarus Free Theatre’s Being Harold Pinter at the Young Vic in London, England.