Young Achiever of the Year Andrew Keates
Director, producer and artistic director Andrew Keates believes that “theatre can change the world” and he has spent his career to date striving to make that happen. Since graduating from Guildford School of Acting in 2009, Andrew co-ran the Landor Theatre for three years and has become as well known for his campaigning roles as for his acclaimed stage productions.
His stagings of As Is by William M Hoffman broke new ground, offering cast and audiences access to rapid HIV testing with countless post-show events exploring the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS. When Andrew took his own test he was shocked to find that it came back positive, and it strengthened his determination to continue campaigning for HIV awareness and acceptance.
“I announced my status on stage at the enormous Dominion Theatre. I thought that if someone like me was HIV positive, how many dancers and actors were putting themselves at risk? The most important message is get tested and end the stigma.”
Andrew is passionate about ensuring ethnic minorities are represented in the performing arts, and his company, Arion Productions, is dedicated to giving opportunities to those not seen in commercial theatre.
“As a young gay boy growing up on a council estate, I encountered constant homophobia and abuse. Those early experiences have made me very sensitive to injustice. Now, as a white man with the privilege of being given opportunities, my voice is listened to in a way that many ethnic and social minority groups just aren’t. The mainstream portrays a predominantly white, heterosexual, male view of the world and anyone need only look out their window to see that the world is just not like that.”
In his decade-long career, Andrew has collaborated with artists such as Howard Goodall and Martin Sherman, staged the European premieres of musical drama Dessa Rose and the bilingual comedy Chinglish and launched the career of hundreds of young artists.
My ultimate goal is to never stop working on highly artistic productions – whether that be musical theatre or plays. I’ve really cut my teeth since leaving GSA and would hope after committing my life to this industry that I will be given a world-stage to work on such as the National Theatre, Royal Court, The Young Vic, Old Vic or The Lincoln Centre in America.
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