Ash Dawes is a theatre practitioner from Aotearoa New Zealand, who moved to Ireland in 2024. Having graduated with their MA in Theatre Practice from (UCD / GSA), they work freelance as a lighting designer and technical manager, as well as directing their own work.

Upcoming credits in the Scene + Heard Festival of New Work include “FEEL SHIT!” (director), “MERMAIDS HAVE NO TEARS” (producer), and “LINDA MARTIN IS NOT A VAMPIRE” (lighting designer). Other recent design work has included “NOTHING PERSONAL” (technical manager) for the Dublin Fringe Festival 2025, “THE LAST WOLF IN IRELAND”, and “WHAT ELLIOT WOULD DO”, which played in Belfast for the Irish Student Drama Awards 2025. 

Before moving to Ireland, Ash directed and designed a production of “THE POLITICIAN’S WIFE” by Angie Farrow for the Dunedin Fringe Festival 2024, for which they received an NZD$20,000 (€10,138) grant from the Dunedin City Council’s Professional Theatre Fund.

For their MA, Ash created a piece titled “ALL THIS, AND LOVE TOO”, exploring historical and contemporary narratives of queer community. This was a devised piece, and the process of its creation cemented Ash’s interest in experimental forms and ways of working. They are drawn to political and documentary theatre that tackles the myriad of social issues facing us today, and they are a firm believer in the power of art to change the world.

Ash has a BA(Hons) from the University of Otago and an Associate Diploma from Trinity College London. In their Honours year, they directed “THE INTRICATE ART OF ACTUALLY CARING” by Eli Kent and co-devised LIMINAL, an original work of documentary theatre led by Prof. Stuart Young and Assoc. Prof. Hilary Halba. At the same time, they worked as a production manager for a variety of festivals and events in Ōtepoti / Dunedin, including but not limited to the Dunedin Fringe Festival, Otago Festival of the Arts, New Zealand Young Writers Festival, and New Zealand International Science Festival—for which, in 2023, they produced “MATARIKI KI TUA O KĀ WHETŪ”, a commissioned play by Īhaka Martyn blending mātauranga Māori (traditional indigenous knowledge) and Western science.