Rhianna Ilube: Theatre That Thinks, Plays, and Provokes
We’re proud to welcome our new Resident Rhianna Ilube to the Siena Art Institute! Rhianna Ilube is a London-based playwright, dramaturg, and curator whose work explores themes of activism, identity, and history through interactive storytelling and co-creation methods.
Her debut play, Samuel Takes A Break…, premiered at The Yard Theatre in London in Spring 2024, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Highly Commended for Soho Theatre’s Verity Bargate Award, and shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting.
Her second show, 1884, was an immersive game-theatre experience which premiered at Shoreditch Town Hall and Brighton Festival in April 2024 with a sold-out run. 1884 will tour the UK and Greece in late 2025.
Rhianna was previously associate director for Coney, an award-winning interactive theatre company working across the UK.
She is a film programmer for BFI Flare, Europe’s biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, based in London. For the 2025 edition of the Festival she presents I Like Who I Like, a short that explores bisexuality, gender and the ups and downs of those with fluid attractions and desires.
Rhianna is currently writer-on-attachment with the Royal Court Theatre, and a member of London’s Soho Theatre’s ‘Soho Six’ scheme. She was a 2024 Macdowell Fellow, and is on the board of the Omnibus Theatre in South London. Rhianna holds an MA in Writing for Performance & Dramaturgy from Goldsmiths, and a Double-First Class BA degree in Politics, Psychology & Sociology from Cambridge University.
For more information or to contact her directly, visit her website.
Follow us on social media to stay updated on Rhianna’s activities during her Residency!
