Dr. Caroline Margaret Clegg is a visionary theatre and opera director, educator, and humanitarian whose work has transformed the cultural landscape of Manchester and beyond. Born in Bury, Lancashire, she began her artistic journey at the age of four, immersing herself in singing and dancing at her local dance school. Her early passion for performance led her to entertain in hospitals and care homes, sowing the seeds for a lifelong commitment to community engagement through the arts.
Caroline moved to London at 17 to study acting and dance at the Italia Conti Performing Arts School and the City Lit Institute. Her talent and dedication earned her a coveted Equity card, paving the way for a successful career in London’s West End musicals, regional theatre, television, and film. Despite her professional success, she remained devoted to bringing theatre to underserved communities.
Caroline arrived in Manchester in 1990 for an acting role and never left. She became vice-chair of the Manchester Actors Centre, taught movement and dance, and developed a musicals project at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) from 1992 to 1996. It was here that she discovered her passion for opera, leading to her directorial debut with Harrison Birtwistle’s “Down by the Greenwood Side,” which won Best Opera at the Manchester Evening News Awards and toured to Los Angeles.
Caroline’s innovative approach to theatre and opera has led to a remarkable international career. As a director for Welsh National Opera, she staged productions that captivated audiences worldwide, including the first-ever staging of Sir Paul McCartney’s “Liverpool Oratorio” for Cincinnati Opera in 2024. Her commitment to telling authentic stories is evident in works like “Rhondda Rips It Up,” which chronicled suffragette Margaret Mackworth and was nominated for both a South Bank Sky Arts Award and an International Opera Award, and “Blaze of Glory,” an opera about Welsh miners and the healing power of music, which was also nominated for multiple prestigious awards and is set to tour again in 2026.
Caroline’s entrepreneurial spirit and determination to make theatre accessible to all led her to found Feelgood Theatre Productions in 1994. Inspired by the desire to create immersive, community-driven performances, the company’s first production, “Our Girls,” was staged in an aircraft hangar, featuring a live World War II aeroplane landing on the runway before audiences. Under her leadership, Feelgood has spent 30 years pushing artistic boundaries and site-specific, fusing disciplines, creating hundreds of jobs and bringing together communities through storytelling.
Caroline has consistently placed social justice at the heart of her work. Her production “Slave—A Question of Freedom,” based on Mende Nazer’s autobiography, won multiple awards and was performed at the House of Lords to support the campaign for the Modern Slavery Bill, which became law in 2015. She went on to direct “Anya17,” the first opera to address sex trafficking, which won an Anti-Slavery Award and was performed at the European conference on human trafficking in Romania. As a trustee of the Mende Nazer Foundation, she travelled undercover to Sudan with Mende and Baroness Caroline Cox to document testimonies of those still living in fear from government bombings in the Nuba Mountains.
Caroline’s impact is embedded in Manchester’s cultural fabric. Caroline has numerous awards including Horniman Award for outstanding achievement at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. She has created outdoor promenade performances in Heaton Park since 1998, founded the annual Remembrance Sunday Peace Event, and produced large-scale public celebrations, including the closing gala of the Free Trade Hall, the opening of the Bridgewater Hall, VE Day celebrations, and Manchester’s City of Drama events. Her production of “These Days – The Manchester Peace Song Cycle”—which featured nine female composers and poet Tony Walsh—was gifted to the city for use in schools and community groups.
Caroline’s passion for education runs parallel to her artistic career. She has lectured at the Manchester School of Theatre, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Despite leaving school at 15, she pursued a relentless academic journey, earning a John Thaw Fellowship at the University of Manchester, a Master’s degree, and finally a Doctorate from the RNCM in 2024.
Caroline is not just a director; she is a force in the world of theatre and opera, a leader who ensures that stories—especially those that challenge, educate, and heal—are told, heard, and remembered. Whether through groundbreaking site-specific theatre, internationally acclaimed opera, or activism-driven productions, she has cemented her place as one of Manchester’s most visionary cultural figures. Her ability to bring together history, art, activism, and community is nothing short of extraordinary—a legacy that continues to shape the city, the industry, and the lives of those who experience her work.
About Frameworthy
Frameworthy is an uplifting and powerful exhibition series celebrating those making the greatest difference—changemakers—through art. Held throughout the UK and further afield in iconic arts-related and cultural venues, Frameworthy exhibitions and art shows are unique and inspiring occasions where changemakers from all backgrounds come together, mingling in front of art that honours them, alongside dignitaries, the press, and fellow changemakers.
Through powerful storytelling, breathtaking art, and unforgettable exhibitions, Frameworthy celebrates impact, community, and the beauty of cultural spaces. Each portrait is created at no cost to the changemaker, ensuring that those shaping our world are recognised in the timeless medium of art.
More than just an exhibition, Frameworthy is a joyful, diverse, and meaningful celebration—where changemakers, remarkable venues, and the communities they serve are honoured and uplifted.
Discover more about Frameworthy’s exhibitions and the people we celebrate here.
