Tom Mansfield – Artistic Director

Tom is a director and theatremaker and Artistic Director of Upstart Theatre.
On stage, his work as director for Upstart includes Beneath the City, Republic, Phone Home, Silent Planet (“remarkable” 4 STARS The Guardian), The Situation Room (4 STARS“Immersive theatre at its very best… highly original” WhatsOnStage) and The Falling Sickness. He launched a balloon into space as part of the Andover Space Programme, and co-created The Chorus podcast with citizen artists in Birmingham and sound artist Duncan Grimley.

As a digital artist, he created the viral immigration game BritQuest which was played by over 70,000 people in its launch week, and is currently working on a digital political thriller, Red Planet: Revolution. He co-founded Upstart Theatre’s DARE Festival, for which he has been artistic lead since 2016. As a producer, his work for Upstart includes Marco, The Last Ones, The Identity Project, and The Maddening Rain.

Alongside his work with Upstart, Tom is a Connections Mentor Director for the National Theatre, and a visiting practitioner at the University of Birmingham. He has delivered teaching and productions for the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; Birkbeck, University of London; University of South Wales; St Mary’s University; and the University of Cumbria. He has previously worked as Youth Theatre Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Assistant Director at Opera North, and as Resident Assistant Director at West Yorkshire Playhouse (now Leeds Playhouse).