Abdul Shayek is the Artistic Director and founder of Fio, a Cardiff-based theatre company that works across the UK and internationally, telling stories that tackle global socio-political topics and bringing them to local audiences. Fio’s mission is to diversify the public arts sector by working creatively with people from a range of different backgrounds, ethnicities, class, experience, religion, age, and so on. Abdul has also worked as a Creative Associate at National Theatre Wales where he developed the democratically elected ‘Assembly’ programme and produced their Research and Development strand amongst other things, he also set up the Youth Arts Network.
Wales Arts Review associate editor Durre Shahwar caught up with Abdul amidst rehearsals of their highly acclaimed production, The Mountaintop, which will be touring Wales throughout October 2017, starting with a free Launch and Race Awareness Event in the Sennedd on 2nd October. Here, Abdul and Durre talk about the upcoming tour, diversity in the arts, and Fio’s Artistic Development and Participatory Arts Programmes, tying in with their three working strands: Productions, Projects and People.
