Francesca Amewudah-Rivers

Woman in grey top standing in front of yellowed old stone wall

Writer and Composer

Director & Composer Music Intern - National Theatre (2019-2020)

Member of the National Youth Theatre – Actor & Musician (2013-present)

Actor

President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society (2018-2019)

University of Oxford - BA Music (2019)

I first had the idea of adapting Medea at the beginning of my second year of studying Music at St John’s College. I was driven by the desire to diversify the Oxford drama scene, take up mainstream space, and bring together students from BAME backgrounds so we could explore, discover and celebrate our own narratives and cultures through theatrical forms. The production became a reality when I set up the Oxford BAME Drama Society with Riya Rana and Taiwo Oyebola. We saw how the society grew into a vibrant community of creatives, and suddenly the idea of putting on Oxford’s first BAME cast & crew play seemed not only achievable but also a necessity. I spent my final year as a student committed to widening participation and access to student theatre as President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Since graduating in 2019, I have worked in the Music Team at the National Theatre on Inua Ellams’ adaptation of Three Sisters, and I am currently training with the Almeida Young Company and the National Youth Theatre REP Company.

I am really excited to be collaborating with Shiv on the revival of Medea, and we hope that Khameleon Productions will lead the way in producing innovative, challenging and interdisciplinary theatre for all audiences.