Great British Theatres Awards - 2026 Judging Panel

The judging panel brings together leading voices from architecture, sustainability, theatre-making, accessibility, planning and cultural leadership.

Mark Davy

Mark Davy is the Founder of Futurecity a global placemaking agency established in 2007 to promote culture-driven development. Davy champions culture as the guiding narrative behind the regeneration and development of towns, cities, and regions. He has persuaded real estate developers and investors across the world to invest millions of dollars in placing arts and culture at the masterplan and design stages of developments. In 20 years since its formation, Futurecity has delivered over 140 public art projects and 250 strategies across the UK, Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Australia. In London, Futurecity has contributed to major projects such as a cultural strategy for Battersea Power Station, 17 development projects in the City of London, public arts strategy and implementation for the Elizabeth Line, and placemaking strategies for Canary Wharf and Wembley Park. He has also led on brokering new homes for major institutions, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Ballet and the Centre Pompidou. Davy is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Advisory Panel, Executive Director of the Land Economic Society, and a member of the NLA Expert Panel for Culture and the National Trust Regional Advisory Group.

Annie Hampson OBE

Annie is a Trustee of the Theatres Trust and brings to that role a deep understanding of Town Planning, development, conservation, listed buildings and Local Government. Annie was formerly the Chief Planning Officer at the City of London and had a variety of Local Government Roles prior to that.
She is now the Chairman of the Diocese of London Advisory Committee which covers 460 Churches and in addition advises on a number of development and strategic Committees and architectural selection panels. She is a Judge for the International Property Awards. Annie is a keen cyclist and traveller and is involved in a charity for Children in Care.

Debbie Hibbert

Debbie is Vice-Chair of Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain. She is an actor, writer and director mainly working in Rugby Theatre.

Emily Lim

Emily is an award-winning director whose work explores theatre as a form of community building and social activism. She works in settings ranging from grassroots community centres to major theatres and international festivals.Recent directing credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Globe Theatre), Brighter Still (City of Culture, Bradford),The Underworld: The Odyssey and Pericles (Olivier Theatre, National Theatre),The Enormous Crocodile (Regents Park Open Air Theatre, USA / UK tours); Brainstorm (as Co-Director, Company Three) and Jeremy Deller’s We’re Here Because We’re Here (1418 Now). From 2017 - 2025 she was an Associate Artist of the National Theatre where she led the critically acclaimed Public Acts programme.

Saratha Rajeswaran

Sara is a Trustee of the Theatres Trust. She has spent 20 years in corporate affairs and executive advice, previously as Chief of Staff to the Group CEO of Aviva, Amanda Blanc; as Director of External Affairs at UK Private Capital; and currently and Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at AXA UK&I. She also co-authored A Portrait of Modern Britain with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Sara began her career as a performer and trained in classical voice at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama under David Pollard.

Michèle Taylor MBE

Michèle Taylor is Director for Change at Ramps on the Moon, having run her own business as a Disability Equality strategist and trainer since 1992. She has been a key part of the Ramps on the Moon endeavour since its inception, supporting arts organisations to enrich the stories they tell and the ways they tell them by elevating the place of disabled people in the mainstream performing arts. Michèle has been working with cultural and heritage organisations over more than 30 years to embed systemic and structural change to ensure that their practices, policies and premises are open to disabled people and challenge ableism. She has been the access consultant on a number of award-winning buildings, and she contributed to the second edition of Theatre Buildings, A Design Guide (ed. Margaret Shewring, 2024). She is an accredited coach, registered psychotherapist, and has an MA in fine art photography. In January 2022 her work was recognised when she was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for services to disabled people and theatre. 

Obioma Ugoala

Obioma is perhaps best known for appearing in the original West End cast of Hamilton as ‘George Washington’ and the original cast of London’s West End Frozen as ‘Kristoff’. He was most recently seen on stage as ‘Jacob Marley / Fezziwig’ in the Leeds Playhouse Production of A Christmas Carol. Prior to this he starred as ‘Theo’ in A Role to Die For at the Marylebone Theatre; ‘Narrator’ in The Book Thief (Leicester Curve); ‘Bartholomew’ in the RSC’s Hamnet as well as touring to China and New York with the company’s productions of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. His screen credits to date include; Bob Marley: One Love, Brittania, Miracle Workers: Dark Ages, and Beauty and the Beast. Obioma’s first book interrogating masculinity in modern Britain was published by Simon & Schuster in 2022.

Nicola Walls

Nicola Walls is an experienced architect with a passion for the performing arts. While at Page\Park Architects she led redevelopments of venues including Eden Court in Inverness, Theatre Royal and Kelvingrove Bandstand in Glasgow, Symphony Hall Birmingham, and Leeds Playhouse. Committed to revitalising spaces for cultural engagement, she has conducted many studies for historic theatres and community venues. Since 2024 Nicola has worked as Inclusive Design Manager in the Estates Department of the University of Edinburgh, building on her interest in accessibility and inclusion. As a trustee of the Tron Theatre in Glasgow and artist studio provider WASPS, Nicola maintains her strong connections within the cultural sector.

Andrew Wylie

Andrew is a Partner at Buro Happold with over 25 years’ experience leading the design of museums, galleries and theatres in the UK and internationally. His theatre projects range from heritage landmarks such as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to major new cultural destinations including Aviva Studios in Manchester. As a Partner, Andrew is a member of the UK+ Leadership Team, with responsibility for the new work and strategic direction of the UK+ business. A structural engineer by training, he specialises in complex new-build and refurbishment projects and has particular expertise in timber design and engineering. He has designed some of the first buildings in the UK to use cross-laminated timber. Andrew holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment from the University of Cambridge and is a Chartered Engineer. He is also a member of the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT). He led the Buro Happold team that, in collaboration with Renew Culture, authored the award‑winning Theatre Green Book. Building on this success, The Arts Green Book was published under Andrew’s leadership for Arts Council England and the Greater London Authority. Andrew is a Trustee of the Theatre Green Book charity and a Trustee of The Lowry, Salford.