About Us
Bold stories. New perspectives. Connected communities.
Authenticity
We create theatre with integrity and quality.
Encounter cares about the stories we see on stage: What those stories are, what those stories say about us, and who gets to tell them. There are so many artists and cultural leaders with lived experiences and imaginations that we don’t hear often enough. By raising the volume on these unheard voices, we bring out brave, creative new ways of storytelling, while making room for the power of those stories to change our communities for the better.
Our mission is to disrupt the status quo by creating bold, inclusive theatre that challenges perspectives and sparks urgent cultural dialogue. We combine professional practices with community-rooted processes to foster radical empathy and intercultural exchange.
Participation and Inclusion
We prioritise inclusion by empowering undervalued artists.
Creativity
We blend artistic and cultural practices with aligned partners.
Leadership
We promote social change by inviting audiences into our vision.
Our History
Encounter Theatre was established in 2021, after founder Jay Emmanuel ran into a problem: Despite his work thriving in the Eastern States and internationally, he struggled to find meaningful opportunities to create, perform, or develop ambitious work in Western Australia. Jay saw a sector that, rather than embracing outside voices, excluded them, with little space for different ways of making or thinking about theatre. Encounter Theatre was created to serve as a place where those voices could be celebrated and shared – fostering inclusive creativity to set an example for the wider arts and culture landscape.
In the years since Encounter has created major productions including Mahabharata, and Children Of The Sea, and also facilitated community and artist development projects such as Stories Begin Here and ThisGen Fellowship. You can read more about our past works here and more about our community projects here.
Support Encounter.
With your support, we can continue to develop bold stories, support emerging to mid-career creatives, pursue ambitious community engagement activities, and cultivate diverse cultural leadership to create more vibrant and sustainable communities.
