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Matthew Xia
Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Matthew Xia (born 1982) is a British theatre director, DJ (under the name DJ Excalibah), composer, broadcaster, and journalist.
Early life and education
Matthew Xia was born in 1982[1] to a Scottish and English mother and Jamaican father in Waltham Forest, London, and was raised in Leytonstone and Newham.[2][3]
Xia's interest in theatre was sparked and encouraged when he joined the Theatre Royal Stratford East youth theatre at the age of 11.[4]
Career
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As a young man, he worked for his uncle who ran a recruitment agency, did some map-reading for drivers, and a few other "random jobs" before working as a DJ.[4]
DJ Excalibah
Xia's first job was as a DJ.[4] As "DJ Excalibah", he presented his show, Tales From the Legend on BBC Radio 1Xtra until 2005.[5]
In 2012 during the parade at the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony, he presented a mix of global music along with DJ Walde and Goldierocks.[6]
He has also DJed at the Glastonbury Festival, Ministry of Sound, Fabric and clubs across Europe and the UK.[7] His other broadcast work includes BBC Radio 1, 6Music, and Radio 4.[7]
Theatre
As a young actor he appeared in the series Tube Tales, directed by Armando Iannucci; this was his first paid job in the theatre.[4]
He was on the board at the Theatre Royal Stratford East for 10 years, as well as being associate director there in 2009–2010.[7] Work here includes: I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky, Mad Blud, Re:Definition, Da Boyz (also musical director and composer), and as co-director Aladdin, Cinderella, and The Blacks.[citation needed]
In 2013, Xia was the recipient of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme bursary and took up the post as director in residence at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, where he directed the premiere of Daniel Matthew's Scrappers and was associate director of the Everyman's opening ceremony.[7]
In 2013, his production of Sizwe Banzi is Dead, which sold out its six-week run at the Young Vic and was then followed by a six-week national tour.[7]
He also directed the revival of Joe Penhall's Blue/Orange for the Young Vic in 2015 starring David Haig, Daniel Kaluuya and Luke Norris.
From 2014 to 2017 he was associate artistic director at the Manchester Royal Exchange[4] where he directed Wish List by Katherine Soper, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and Frankenstein, adapted by April de Angelis.[7]
In November 2018 he was appointed artistic director of the Actors Touring Company (ATC). His first production with the company was Amsterdam, by Israeli writer Maya Arad Yasur, at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London, in autumn 2019. Xia focused on changing the direction and governance of ATC; to this end, he established a new board and relocating the headquarters from the Institute of Contemporary Arts to Brixton House, which had recently opened as a theatre. These moves were intended to better align with the vision and values of the company.[4]
In 2020, Xia directed 846 Live at the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival. The play was a response to the 2020 murder of George Floyd in the United States, the number referring to the amount of time (8 minutes and 46 seconds) that a police officer knelt on his neck.[4]
In 2022, away from ATC for a while, he directed Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen (by Marcelo Dos Santos as part of the Roundhouse season at Edinburgh Fringe, and the children's show Hey Duggee for Kenny Wax Family Entertainment.[4]
In mid-2023 he directed Tambo & Bones with the Actors Touring Company at Theatre Royal Stratford East,[4] written by poet and playwright Dave Harris, from West Philadelphia,US. Xia also wrote the hip hop music for the production, which was well-reviewed[8][9] and received three nominations in the 2023 Black British Theatre Awards, including Best Director and Best Production.[10]
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Other activities
Xia was a founding member of Act For Change, a trustee for Artistic Directors of the Future and has served on the boards of Rich Mix (2008-2012) and Creative Future (British organisation).[citation needed]
He was a member of the panel of judges for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2017.[citation needed] He was also a judge for the 2017 Alfred Fagon Award.[11]
During the Covid pandemic lockdowns, he established an informal Black cultural leaders group. The group met every two weeks to discuss the impact of the pandemic as well as how to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement.[4]
He was a jury member for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.[4]
He has written for The Stage, Hip Hop Connection, The Sunday Telegraph and The Guardian.[7]
Recognition and awards
- 2013: Recipient of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme bursary[7]
- 2013: Winner, Young Vic's Genesis Future Director award, for Sizwe Banzi is Dead[7][4]
- 2017: Manchester Theatre award for best studio production, for Wish List[4]
- 2019: Honorary doctorate, University of the Arts London[1][11][4]
Selected theatre productions
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- 2004 Da Boyz by Rodgers & Hart at Theatre Royal Stratford East.
- 2007 The Blacks by Jean Genet at Theatre Royal Stratford East.
- 2011 I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky by John Adams and June Jordan at Theatre Royal Stratford East.
- 2013 Sizwe Banzi is Dead by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona at the Young Vic.
- 2015 Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim at the Manchester Royal Exchange.
- 2015 Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall at the Young Vic.
- 2016 Wish List by Katherine Soper. Joint production between the Manchester Royal Exchange and the Royal Court Theatre.
- 2018 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley adapted by April De Angelis at the Manchester Royal Exchange
- 2018 Shebeen by Mufaro Makubika
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References
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