New trustees at Hackney Empire

Hackney Empire has appointed JOSETTE BUSHELL-MINGO OBE, JASMYN FISHER-RYNER and SOHEB PANJA to its Board of Trustees. 

Actor and director Bushell-Mingo is the current Principal of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is also Founder and Artistic Director of PUSH, a Black-led theatre festival at Young Vic Theatre.

Bushell-Mingo is also a former Artistic Director for The National Touring Swedish Deaf Theatre ensemble Tyst Teater, and Head of Acting at Stockholm University of the Arts.

Fisher-Ryner joined Hackney Empire on the Creative Futures Programme at 13-years old, where she co-produced an under-18s rave and DJ night. She went on to participate in the Artist Development Programme, before becoming a mentor and facilitator for the initiative. 

She is now a producer at Royal Court Theatre, alongside her work as an independent producer, writer, and facilitator. 

Panja is the Founder and Editor of Field7, a media business aimed at people working on climate solutions. In 2021, he hosted a three-day climate festival in Hackney Wick named FieldFest. 

Artistic Director YAMIN CHOUDURY and Executive Director JO HEMMANT commented: "A board is simply a group of people who are responsible for the governance and strategic direction of an organisation".

"But the Hackney Empire board is so much more than that; they represent who we are and who we want to be, and they are often the last line of defence for the agitators, the overlooked and the undermined, who comprise many of us at Hackney Empire and those whom we work with. 

"We know that Jasmyn, Josette and Soheb will work tirelessly, and with love, to ensure that Hackney Empire and everything this organisation represents, is protected throughout the challenges of the future."