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elisabeth gunawan

associate artist

Elisabeth Gunawan is a multi-award-winning performer and writer of plays, novels, and films. Raised in Indonesia to an ethnically Chinese family, her only acting experience growing up was the durational performance of her life. 

Trained at RADA’s Theatre Lab, she subsequently formed KISS WITNESS, a company that channels the power of theatre to create spaces of belonging for people who don’t have it in real life, decolonise the imagination, and empower audiences. KISS WITNESS productions include the bouffon performance Unforgettable Girl (The Pleasance, 2021-2023), the immersive headphone piece Stampin’ in the Graveyard (Summerhall, 2021-2025), and the ensemble piece Prayers for a Hungry Ghost (Barbican, 2022-2025).

These works have received critical acclaim from The Stage, Theatre Weekly, and The Reviews Hub. They have also won multiple awards, including The Stage Debut Award for Best Performer in a Play (2022), the Intercultural Connections Pioneer Award (2025), the Charlie Hartill Award (2023), Keep It Fringe (2023 & 2025), the OFFFest Award at VOILA! Festival (2022), and Best Writing from Theatre Weekly (2023).

Her theatrical work has been supported by the Berliner Festspiele (International Forum Fellow 2026), Barbican Centre, Battersea Arts Centre, New Diorama, ArtsAdmin, and the Grotowski Institute. As an actor and deviser, Elisabeth has performed at the Bristol Old Vic, Southbank Centre, and Soho Theatre. As a cabaret artist, she performs as Glo Tesque with The Bitten Peach and was a finalist in the 2024 heat of Burlesque Idol. Her extensive performance work serves as the foundation for her practice-based PhD at Goldsmiths.

Currently, she is developing her first novel, Hour of the Dog, which was shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize and selected for HarperCollins' Author Academy. She is also developing a feature film adaptation of Prayers for a Hungry Ghost, with support from the BFI and MilkTea Films.

The thread across all her work is the desire to uplift voices and perspectives that have been silenced or marginalised, and to alleviate suffering through witnessing.

Elisabeth has previously worked with Ad Infinitum as a performer/deviser on 2023’s If You Fall. As Associate Artist, Elisabeth will be working with Ad Infinitum to develop her artistic ideas and explore how we can make arts organisations, and the sector, better serve creatives.