ABOUT MANDALA
JOINING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO EMPOWER, ENLIGHTEN AND TRANSFORM
Mandala is an ethnically-diverse-led company creating theatre with social justice at its heart. Our work connects people and brings them together. We believe that the arts are a force for change and so we aim to create community, and to influence social, policy, and system change. Established in 2015, we give voice to those whose stories are not heard and give those stories life by producing work for local, national, and international audiences. From April 2023, Mandala became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO).
Mandala is also a place where young people come together to create, train, perform, and belong. We co-create with young people from diverse backgrounds to place their lived experience at the heart of the creative process and the stories that are presented on stage. We employ, train and nurture young people and young artists from ethnically diverse and white working-class backgrounds, offering pathways into the creative industry.
We work in partnership with others to deliver 4 key strands of work:
TOURING PROFESSIONAL THEATRE PRODUCTIONS
Co-creating, producing and touring productions to inspire and move audiences, and change the way people think about issues facing young people.
CREATIVE ARTS PROGRAMME
A programme with/for young people, especially those marginalised, and who do not readily access the arts including care-experienced, those seeking asylum, and refugees.
TRAINING & PATHWAYS
We employ, and offer training pathways for, ethnically diverse and white working-class young people who want to develop their creative passion, and forge a pathway into the creative industries as well as embedding creativity into other pathways they may choose to follow.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH ARTS EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
Having kicked-started such an international programme whilst at Pegasus Theatre, Mandala’s Artistic Director, Yasmin Sidhwa has continued to model this practice offering cultural sharing between young people from different countries alongside two of Oxford’s twin Cities - Grenoble & Ramallah. We believe creativity transcends cultural barriers and unites us in sharing unique connections.