Natasha Sutton Williams is an award winning writer, actor and journalist. She is a member of the Soho Theatre Writers' Alumni Group. Her plays have been performed at multiple London venues, including Southwark Playhouse, Arcola Theatre, Pleasance Theatre, King's Head Theatre, Brasserie Zedel, Chelsea Theatre, Bunker Theatre, Rosemary Branch Theatre, Waterloo East Theatre, Space Theatre, and Angel Comedy Club. She will blog about her latest research and development project Lesbian Pirates! – the untold true story of ruthless, maverick, queer 18th century pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. They met while cross-dressing as male pirates, fell in love, slaughtered swathes of men, stole treasure and escaped execution. Previously erased from history, this inspiring, rebellious, and incendiary female narrative will use original music and a disabled cast to bring to life a sexy, violent and turbulent world.
Posts by Natasha Sutton Williams
The Green Room video podcast series talks disability theatre
April 26, 2021During lockdown, disability-led theatre companies DH Ensemble and Hot Coals Productions came together to create Strive Collective. For their first collaboration, they have produced The Green Room: a video podcast series with interviews from leading Deaf and disabled theatremakers. Actor Sophie Stone talks to Natasha Sutton Williams about how The ...
Jan Rothuizen’s Mood Drawings: Illustrating Manchester’s Mental Health Across the Metropolis
April 23, 2021Natasha Sutton-Williams reviews the work of Dutch visual artist Jan Rothuizen commissioned by SICK! Festival for Mindscapes running across the city of Manchester from 19 April – 16 May. Disability Arts Online · Jan Rothuizen’s Mood Drawings Review Mindscapes is a program of work that seeks to explore how our mental health ...
‘Ni Chawn Ein Dileu’ – ‘We Shall Not Be Erased’: It’s Time to Change Who Tells the Stories
March 22, 2021Disability Arts Cymru recently launched ‘Ni Chawn ein Dileu’ – We shall not be Erased’ – a pan-European initiative to bring together disabled/Deaf people from across our nations to discuss and explore the impact of Covid -19 on our lives, captured though debate, sharing and arts commissions. On 10th March ...
Dear Lina: a queer feminist audiobook for our turbulent times’
March 18, 2021Dear Lina is a queer, feminist audio-novel set in a not-so-distant dystopian future by Jess Glaisher and published on Audible. Review by Natasha Sutton-Williams. Disability Arts Online · Dear Lina: a queer feminist audiobook for our turbulent times' Stemming from real world events including Brexit, Covid-19 and the climate crisis, 'Dear Lina' ...
Well-Behaved Women Never Make History: Crip Talks on International Women’s Day
March 11, 2021This year’s International Women’s Day was unique considering the fact that celebrations have had to move online due to the pandemic. However, this has not impacted the quality of celebratory content, and this Crip Talks Choose to Challenge female-led event was no exception. The event was co-hosted by Disability Arts ...
Instagramming the Apocalypse
January 20, 2021In his first film, writer/performer Byron Vincent rips a hole into the echo chamber of post-truth social media. This multimedia film was broadcast as part of Southbank Centre’s Unlimited Festival on 15 - 17 January 2021. Review by Natasha Sutton Williams Warning: This review contains spoilers! Using split screen, face-to-camera monologues, animation, ...
Baluji Shrivastav OBE ‘unlocking the mind’ during lockdown
September 29, 2020Musician and composer Baluji Shrivastrav OBE, talks with Natasha Sutton-Williams about his latest project Raaja-Ajaar commissioned by Unlimited and made in collaboration with poet Linda Shanson. Baluji Shrivastav OBE is one of the most versatile Indian instrumentalists in modern history, excelling in sitar, surbahar, dilruba, pakhavaj and tabla. Established in the ...
Maria Oshodi on resurrecting stories of medieval Japanese blind female performers
July 29, 2020On 17th August Extant, the UK’s leading company of visually impaired theatre-makers, is partnering with The Space to launch its online multimedia production of Flight Paths. Extant Artistic Director and CEO Maria Oshodi spoke to Natasha Sutton Williams about the digital adaptation of the show. Flight Paths was first produced as ...
Artificial Things: fusing poignancy and dynamism into dancing bodies
May 20, 2020Stopgap Dance Company’s film Artificial Things (Dir. Sophie Fiennes) was released on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter when social distancing measures came into force to combat Covid-19. Natasha Sutton Williams went to the Watch Party on 18 May. Filmed on location in a derelict suburban shopping mall, Artificial Things features an ensemble of disabled ...
Writer and Performer Sophie Woolley on becoming a ‘deaf cyborg’ and her new solo show Augmented
March 17, 2020Natasha Sutton-Williams interviews Sophie Woolley about her play Augmented – a personal story about the joy, and conflict, of becoming ‘hearing’ again after 22 years of progressive deafness. Commissioned in development by Unlimited and produced in association with Told by an Idiot the play is directed by Rachel Bagshaw and ...
Thibault Delférière illustrates man’s struggles in his performance piece The Spirit
March 9, 2020Belgian born, live artist Thibault Delférière works in the mediums of theatre, film and visual art. He has created over 70 different performances in Belgium, the UK, Los Angeles, France, Italy and Luxembourg. Performing at the world’s first fully relaxed venue Battersea Arts Centre, Delférière’s latest work The Spirit is ...
Deaf Female Boxers and Giant Squid at VAULT 2020
January 27, 2020VAULT Festival is London's biggest annual arts festival, serving up entertainment in theatre, comedy, cabaret, music, immersive experiences, late night parties and more. This January to March VAULT will host its most diverse festival yet. With nineteen disability-led shows in their programme, Natasha Sutton Williams caught up with six theatre ...
Scrounger: a new play about Athena Stevens’ quest for justice
January 20, 2020Written and performed by Athena Stevens, Scrounger is inspired by real life events that Stevens experienced in October 2015 . A no holds barred look at Britain’s treatment of disabled people, the play is currently staged at the Finborough Theatre, London. Review by Natasha Sutton-Williams When trying to make a flight ...
Playwright Matilda Ibini on Afrofuturism, magical realism and disabled identity
December 2, 2019Matilda Ibini is a self-titled ‘bionic’ playwright and screenwriter. During her career she has been supported by highly prestigious arts organisations including BAFTA, Warner Bros, BBC Writersroom, Channel 4, and the National Theatre Studio. Her second full-length play 'Little Miss Burden' is about to burst onto the Bunker’s stage this ...
Together! 2019 Festival Director Ju Gosling proves inclusion is a catalyst for quality art
November 18, 2019Together! 2019 is an international Festival of Disability Arts that offers a diverse range of free events, performances, screenings and workshops during Disability History Month. Artistic Director of Together! Ju Gosling spoke to Natasha Sutton Williams about the vitality of this festival and it’s inclusive artistic outreach. Based in East London, ...
Not F**kin’ Sorry – Furiously Sexual and Frightening Real
November 5, 2019Presented by Not Your Circus Dog Collective and Access All Areas, the devised cabaret Not F**kin’ Sorry confronts discrimination in a provocative and seductive way. It has been collaboratively devised by the Not Your Circus Dog! collective and is directed by University of East London academic Liselle Terret, who also ...
Playwright Winsome Pinnock on identity, otherness and the artistic benefits of ageing
September 26, 2019Commissioned by Ramps on the Moon, co-produced by Graeae and Theatre Royal Plymouth and presented in association with Curve, Winsome Pinnock's 2005 play 'One Under' is touring the UK this autumn. Natasha Sutton-Williams talks to the playwright about her oeuvre, the experience of writing for over three decades and of ...
Beth Hinton-Lever on change from the grassroots upwards
August 23, 2019Actor and Disability Activist Beth Hinton-Lever talks to Natasha Sutton-Williams about mainstream musical theatre, grassroots creative integration and how to open the theatre industry to all. Beth Hinton-Lever is a force of nature. Having worked professionally as an musical theatre actor for only four years, she has already reached remarkable heights, ...
Passengers – a nuanced account of what it is like to experience Dissociative Identity Disorder
August 1, 2019Natasha Sutton-Williams caught a preview of Kit Redstone’s Passengers – taking audiences on a journey through Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) – at London's Omnibus Theatre before it's Edinburgh Fringe run until 25 August. The experimental, non-linear Passengers takes its audience on a winding journey through the mind of Max. The only ...
Jellyfish: making the invisible visible
June 21, 2019Following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre last year, Sarah Gordy returns to play Kelly in 'Jellyfish' written by Ben Weatherill at the National Theatre from 5 -16 July. Natasha Sutton-Williams interviewed actor and playwright about the process of writing and performing this ground-breaking play. Jellyfish is a progressive and ...
Going Through: the emotional journey of a child’s solo migration across countries
March 27, 2019The Bush Theatre's production 'Going Through' illuminates the realities of child migration through the deaf experience. Natasha Sutton Williams spoke to actor Nadia Nadarajah, director Omar Elerian and translator Kirsten Hazel Smith about their creative process and how they blended English, British Sign Language, Creative Captioning and Visual Vernacular into ...
“Be the Forest Fire” Playwright Ross Willis on his debut play Wolfie
March 24, 2019Wolfie, the debut play by disabled playwright Ross Willis is a fantastical fairytale following two twins separated at birth, which looks at life in and after the care system. It plays Theatre503 20 March-13 April. Natasha Sutton Williams spoke to Ross Willis ahead of its premiere. Ross Willis is an up-and-coming ...
Invisible Cabaret: Being Anti-Shame is Pretty Thrilling
March 4, 2019In an interview with Natasha Sutton-Williams, Invisible Cabaret cofounders and performers Rosalind Peters and Rochelle Thomas bear all in their mental health focussed cabaret at VAULT Festival in London. Invisible Cabaret are a burlesque and cabaret troupe that perform vaudeville-style variety shows devoted to raising mental health awareness. Through the mediums of ...
Mental Health Burlesque and Life-Saving Blood Hounds at VAULT Festival
January 17, 2019VAULT Festival is back, bringing over 400 shows including theatre, comedy, immersive, experiences, cabaret, live performance and late night events. This is their most diverse festival yet, with 53% female-led work, 25% LGBTQ+ work and 11% disability-led work. Natasha Sutton Williams spoke to the VAULT programming team, and four theatre ...
vessel – A Meditative Study on the Power of Language
November 17, 2018Writer, director and BSL interpreter Sue MacLaine (creator of the award-winning Can I Start Again Please?) returns to the stage with a new show that connects the personal with the political. Review by Natasha Sutton-WIlliams In vessel, Sue MacLaine has created a quietly hypnotic show utilising the bodies and voices of ...
Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence uncover attitudes towards disability
November 6, 2018Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence shine a spotlight on prejudices against disabled people in their latest touring production 'Still No Idea'. Review by Natasha Sutton-WIlliams Actors Lisa Hammond, Rachael Spence and their director Lee Simpson have created a genuinely innovative show using verbatim, improvisation, comedy gags and musical numbers. With these ...
vessel – the new work by Sue MacLaine Company, explores historical and contemporary ideas of activism
October 25, 2018In conversation with Natasha Sutton-Williams, about her new work 'vessel', theatre-maker Sue MacLaine poses the question "Who is silenced and who is allowed to be visible?" Sue MacLaine is one of the most sought after BSL Interpreters in the theatre world and is known for challenging and interrogating ideas of accessible ...
Still No Idea: Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence tread the boards in a new adventure
September 20, 2018Presented by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence with Improbable and the Royal Court Theatre, Still No Idea revisits the original production, which toured the UK in 2009. Natasha Sutton-Williams unravels the concept behind the piece due to tour the UK in a new format, this autumn. "The public are trying to ...
Graeae Ensemble’s ‘Hurricane Protest Songs’ hits the head and the heart with one swift punch
July 26, 2018Graeae’s Ensemble of young theatre makers recently showcased a breakthrough production as part of the learning process, interweaving spoken word poetry, movement, music and storytelling. Review by Natasha Sutton-Williams Graeae's Ensemble training programme has produced a group of dynamic, engaging and theatrical performers who have worked with leading disabled artists from ...
This Is Not For You: A Battle Cry for Those Who Demand To Be Heard
July 19, 2018Graeae highlight the injustices incurred by disabled veterans from the First World War as well as the men and women affected by more recent conflicts, in an epic outdoor production. Working with the National Centre for Circus Arts, Graeae has trained 25 disabled veterans in performance especially for the piece. Review ...
Libby’s Eyes: Questioning Society’s Gaze from a Disabled Perspective
June 27, 2018Presented by Poke in the Eye Productions, Libby’s Eyes sits firmly in the modern sci-fi genre that is populating contemporary UK stages. With shows like Lazarus at King’s Cross Theatre, Instructions for Correct Assembly and Alistair McDowall’s X at the Royal Court, Libby’s Eyes is located in a world that ...
Back to Back push the physical, aural and visual boundaries of contemporary theatre
June 19, 2018Australian theatre company Back to Back are an ensemble of actors with perceived intellectual disabilities who co-author and perform their work. Their latest show Lady Eats Apple at the Barbican is part of LIFT 2018, a theatre festival that celebrates unconventional, radical, international theatre. Review by Natasha Sutton Williams For over ...
Four Directors Give Four Reasons to be Graeae
May 21, 2018To mark the launch of Graeae’s new book Reasons to Be Graeae which charts the history of the company which was founded in the early 1980s, Natasha Sutton Williams talked to four Graeae directors whose work has spanned the decades. They give four major insights into what makes Graeae so ...
Going Underground VAULT Festival: London’s Biggest Arts Explosion
January 22, 2018Deep down inside the subterranean underworld beneath Waterloo Station lie the Vaults. Here in these cavernous bunkers you will find yourself immersed in the biggest performing arts festival in London. Natasha Sutton-Williams previews four of the top disability shows. There are over 300 shows to choose from at VAULT Festival, ranging ...
