Our People

Artistic and Executive Director of New Diorama Theatre, David Byrne is a playwright and theatre director, whose first play won a Writers’ Guild & List Magazine Awards for Drama. Since, his work has been presented as part of the Arts Council England’s Escalator showcase, received the Charlie Hartill Fund for emerging artists and won the 2014 Les Enfants Terribles Prize. David was also a winner of BBC Writers’ Room national script contest; and now has several scripts under commission with BBC Television and Channel 4.

As a founding member of New Diorama Theatre, David’s programme has been awarded two Peter Brook Awards; the first for “establishing a central London home for ensemble theatre” and the second for its support of young NDT Associate Theatre Company, The Faction. New Diorama has been shortlisted for Fringe Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards and David has been awarded Artistic Director of the Year at the OffWestEnd Awards. New Diorama’s outreach programme has won two Arts and Business Awards and led them to be named as Mayor of Camden’s Charity 2012/13.

David is a trustee of True Heart Theatre (chair), a Chinese language theatre company, Spinning Wheel Theatre (chair), who specalise in youth engagement arts projects in the East of England and Idle Motion, a total-theatre, British Council theatre company who tour the world with their devised theatre shows. David regularly speaks about leadership, fundraising and artist development strategies, most recently at AMA Conference (Bristol), Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Newcastle) and for Arts Council England’s philanthropy partners Cause4, as part of the Catalyst Programme.