INSIDE/OUT : Matthew Xia

Matthew Xia is a multiple award-winning theatre director, cultural leader, and multi-disciplinary artist whose work moves fluidly between stages, streets, and communities. Matthew began his career at Stratford East as a young actor and DJ under the name Excalibah, this unorthodox path through performance, music, and a love of audiences informs his distinctive approach.

 He directs across forms: drama, comedy, musicals, immersive theatre, family productions, site-specific and large-scale works, blending artistic daring with audience connection. Highlights include The harder they come at Stratford East, THE WIZ at Hope Mill Theatre, Blue/orange at the Young Vic (starring David Haig, Daniel Kaluuya, and Luke Norris), One night in Miami…, Blood knot, EDEN, Marcelo Dos Santos’ Fringe First winning Feeling afraid as if something terrible is going to happen, and the immersive production of The Architect, staged on a moving London bus. That production explored Black British lives, memory, and future hopes, inspired by Stephen Lawrence, blending performance, steel pan music, and a celebratory finale in Woolwich town square. 

He is currently directing a production of Small Island at Leeds Playhouse a powerful and intimate portrayal of Andrea Levy’s multi award-winning novel, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson. This bold staging offers a fresh perspective on a world shaped by empire and entitlement, caught between belonging and unbelonging, disappointment and hope.

The INSIDE/OUT public programme of lectures invites speakers and leading thinkers whose breadth of work, practice, thought and collaboration we feel will inspire all our students and staff across the wide range of disciplines in the Leeds School of Arts