Catrina McHugh MBE

ICA18 Shortlisted Nominee.

Diversity Champion Award for Charity Sector

Driven by a passionate belief that great theatre can bring about social change, Catrina McHugh MBE co-founded Open Clasp in 1998. Open Clasp is a multi-award-winning women’s theatre company based in the North East who collaborate with women on the margins of society to create exciting theatre for personal, social and political change. Catrina was honoured with an MBE for services to disadvantaged women through theatre in 2017, acknowledging her unyielding commitment to raising the voices of women and girls through her work. She has worked tirelessly over the last two decades to raise the stories of the women and young women she works with through her plays, advocating for improved services and support for them. Her work gets people talking, contributing to vital conversations and aiding better understanding of policymakers to make change about the pressing issues facing women and girls today.