KABEL | Anthony Matsena
Anthony is a BAFTA-winning Zimbabwean-born and Welsh-raised director, writer, performer and choreographer, working internationally across dance, theatre, film and site-specific performance. He co-founded Matsena Productions with his brother Kel in 2017 to explore cultural, race, change, and belonging themes, reflecting on his Afrocentric upbringing and Eurocentric schooling.
Anthony’s breakthrough came as a Sadler’s Wells Young Associate in 2018, where he created works for the Lilian Baylis Studio Theatre and the main stage. His recent commissions include projects with Sky Arts, BBC, Korean National Dance Company Wales, Jasmin Vardimon 2, Messums Wiltshire, National Theatre Wales, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Rambert School of Contemporary Dance and CAPA College.
More recently, he has directed and choreographed Shades of Blue which visited Sadler’s Wells, DanceEast and RWCMD as well as premièring Matsena Productions' first feature-length film, Error Code 8:46 in Swansea at Taliesin Arts Centre. He was awarded a lifetime fellowship at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Alongside creating work, he also sits on the board of Trustees at National Youth Arts Wales, chairing the Diversity and Inclusion board for National Youth Dance Wales.
Image: KABEL project image (Anthony Matsena, Group 11). Photographed by Laurentina Miksys
