Bio

Mathew Russell is Executive Director of Variable Matter, producing the world premiere tour of World Kiosk, international premiere of New Beginning and other projects. He is a Director of Havering London, co‑author of A Good Life, Havering’s new cultural strategy, recently raising £1.8m to realise it, and was co‑chair of Havering’s London Borough of Culture bid.

Recent assignments as consultant include producing Is Shakespeare Funny? in the West End and consultancy for Lyric Hammersmith, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Luton Place Partnership, Havering Libraries, Les Theatres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Dacorum Borough Council, Create Sheffield and Arts Council England. He secured £1.3m to establish Havering Changing and chaired its consortium. Earlier, he was Executive Director at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, following roles at Cast Doncaster, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Southbank Centre, Watford Palace Theatre and Greenwich+Docklands Festivals. Mathew served for eight years on Arts Council England’s South East Area Council.

Project

Variable Matter will explore the next chapter for ‘New Beginning’, working in partnership with Festival Sismògraf and its communities, alongside other evolving projects developing its Deep Touring methodology, tackling the environmental challenges of contemporary theatre.

New Beginning is design-led, reimagining how theatre can respond to the climate crisis through collaboration and participation. Each version is remade locally – through language, materials and people - forming a dialogue between place and environment.

Instead of exporting a fixed show, Deep Touring embeds creative production in host communities. Local technicians and participants restory work in their own context, transferring skills and reducing environmental impact.