Improbable Appoints Ben Monks as Executive Director

Improbable has today announced the appointment of Ben Monks as Executive Director. Monks joins Improbable from his current position as producer for Supporting Wall, having co-founded the company in 2008. Monks will work closely with Artistic Directors Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson, as Rachael Williams leaves the company after three years in the position.

Joining Improbable in September 2016, Ben Monks will be integral to marking the company's upcoming 21st anniversary year and new programme of work, soon to be announced.

Ben's productions for Supporting Wall include Mike Bartlett's BULL at the Young Vic, which won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2015. Elsewhere, he has produced the Women Centre Stage festival at the National Theatre and Birds Eye View, the UK's Festival of Women Filmmakers at BFI Southbank and Barbican Cinemas. He previously worked with the Koestler Trust, delivering arts mentoring for prisoners and secure patients. Monks is a board member for Sphinx Theatre and previous joint Creative Producer for Tristan Bates Theatre at the Actors' Centre.

Ben said, "I'm thrilled and incredibly proud to be joining Improbable. The company's plans for the coming years are characteristically exciting and ambitious, from operas and Open Space events to performances and participation programmes, and I can't wait to play my part in making them happen."

In the coming months, Improbable will announce three major collaborations with internationally renowned co-producers, forming a typically innovative programme of work for the year marking their 21st anniversary.

Lee Simpson said, "These are exciting times for Improbable. Our amazing executive director Rachael Williams, having expertly and passionately guided the company through a transformative phase, is moving on to a new challenge. Our sadness at seeing her go is tempered by our excitement at the prospect of working with the new Executive Director. Ben Monks is not only the perfect person to help Improbable realise some of our long held ambitions but he is also very likely to keep me and Phelim very much on our toes."

Ben Monks

Prior to joining Improbable, Ben co-founded arts production and management company Supporting Wall. As producer for Supporting Wall his credits include Mike Bartlett's BULL (Young Vic - Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre 2015); world premieres of Philip Ridley's Radiant Vermin (Soho Theatre, Tobacco Factory Bristol and 59E59 New York), Fringe First winner Dark Vanilla Jungle in association with Royal Exchange Manchester (Edinburgh Festival, Soho Theatre and tour), Stage Award winner Tonight With Donny Stixx (Edinburgh Festival and Soho Theatre), Tender Napalm (Southwark Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Northern Stage and tour) and Moonfleece (UK tour); Jonny & the Baptists in The Stop UKIP Tour (Edinburgh Festival, Soho Theatre and tour) and The End is Nigh (Paines Plough Roundabout, Soho Theatre & tour); and JMK Award winner The Jewish Wife (Battersea Arts Centre). Ben has also produced the Women Centre Stage Festival (National Theatre 2015) for Sphinx Theatre, for whom he is a board member, and Birds Eye View, the UK's festival of women filmmakers at BFI Southbank, Barbican Cinemas and others (2011-14). From 2011-16 Ben was joint creative producer at the Tristan Bates Theatre at the Actors Centre, and from 2009-10 worked for the Koestler Trust delivering arts mentoring for prisoners and secure patients. Ben is a previous recipient of a Stage One Producers' Bursary, and in 2010 he co-produced the YouTube viral hit Gap Yah.

Improbable is an award winning company lead by Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson that occupies a vital space in the landscape of UK theatre. At the heart of our artistic practice is improvisation. Not all of our shows are improvised live every night, but each will use improvisational techniques in the process of creation. As a deeply democratic artform, we see improvisation in all its forms as a tool for social change and our mission is to create a cultural shift that sees creativity placed at the heart of everyday life.

Improbable is a National Portfolio Organisation funded by the Arts Council.

An Improbable timeline:

1996 70 Hill Lane
Animo
1997 Lifegame
1998 Cinderella
1999 Sticky
Coma
2000 Spirit
2003 The Hanging Man
2004 Theatre Of Blood
2005 Stars Are Out Tonight
The Wolves In The Walls
2007 Satyagraha
No Idea
2008 Panic
2009 The Still
2011 The Devil & Mr Punch
2012 The Pirate Project
Beauty and the Beast
2013 The Bear
The Perfect American
Permission Improbable
2014 Cosi fan Tutte
2015 The Tempest
2016 Opening Skinner's Box
Akhnaten

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