Inigo Lapwood

Inigo Lapwood
Lapwood (right) with Theatreship head of Film Programming Natalie Hill at the 2026 BAFTA Television Awards
Born1993 (age 32–33)
EducationChrist Church, Oxford
Occupations
  • Arts director
  • marine engineer
  • data scientist
Known forFounding of Theatreship
TitleDirector, Theatreship
Board member of
RelativesAnna Lapwood (sister)

Inigo Lapwood (born August 1993) is a British arts director, marine engineer, and data scientist. He is the founding director of Theatreship and Artship, the world's largest floating arts centre in the London Docklands, and serves on the Council of Experts for National Historic Ships UK.

Early life and education

Lapwood is the brother of organist Anna Lapwood. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. In 2013, following a disciplinary incident involving a homemade flamethrower, Lapwood relocated onto a houseboat that was in a state of disrepair. He identifies repairing a sinking barge in Oxford when in need of a place to live as the starting point for his career in marine restoration.

Career

Marine restoration

Lapwood's work involves the restoration and adaptive re-use of historic steel vessels. He has restored seven ships, two of which were listed on the National Historic Ships register.

MS Unterelbe (1939) - a World War II era coaster now named Artship

As director of Theatreship, Lapwood converted a 1913 dry cargo vessel into a 100-seat floating theatre and cinema, which opened in 2024 with a cinema season in partnership with the British Film Institute. During the 2025 transit of a second vessel, Artship, from Germany to London Lapwood carried out an emergency 36-hour engine rebuild while in the North Sea.

Arts and entertainment

Lapwood has been Theatrical Ground Crew Director for Boomtown Festival and a juror for the Watersprite Film Festival.

Advisory work

He serves on the council of Experts for National Historic Ships UK and as an advisory board member for the Canal & River Trust.

Data Science

Lapwood co-founded YourStaffKnow.com Ltd based on his academic work at the university and supported by the Oxford University Innovation startup incubator. The company developed natural language processing tools utilising cluster analysis and feed-forward neural networks to analyse staff feedback for corporate and government clients including Danone, B Lab, Kraft, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He exited the company in 2026.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Massey, Jon (24 January 2024). "Isle Of Dogs: How Theatreship and Artship are set to carry cultural cargo". Wharf Life. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  2. ↑ Barker, Sam (24 April 2026). "You can attend free mystery cinema screenings on board a boat in East London – and you'll get a free round of drinks if you guess the movie correctly". Secret London. Retrieved 8 June 2026. It was joined shortly after opening by Artship[...] Together, the two vessels comprise the world's largest floating arts centre.
  3. 1 2 "Council". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "An Interview with Anna Lapwood". Expressive Audio. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "Oxford University party shut down after one student turns up with flamethrower". The Telegraph. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  6. ↑ Prescott, Jack (17 January 2014). "Student banned from college after flamethrower incident". Cherwell. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "Flamethrower student now living on houseboat". 9News. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  8. 1 2 "People of the Thames: Working on the River". Talk of the Thames (Podcast). Thames Estuary Partnership. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Theatreship Team". Theatreship. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  10. ↑ Forge, Katie (17 January 2024). "A Giant Cargo Ship In London Has Been Transformed Into A Stunning Floating Arts Centre". Secret London. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  11. ↑ Theatreship (26 October 2025). Theatreship - the North Sea Passage - with Inigo Lapwood - June 2022 (Video). YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  12. ↑ de Semlyen, Phil (16 January 2024). "London's getting a brand new cinema... on the Thames". Time Out London. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  13. ↑ Massey, Jon (30 October 2025). "Artship set to join Theatreship on the Isle Of Dogs in cultural flotilla". Wharf Life. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  14. ↑ Lock, Maddie. "Attending Watersprite Film Festival 2025". Young Film Network South East. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  15. ↑ "London & South East Regional Advisory Board Minutes" (PDF). Canal & River Trust. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  16. ↑ "YOURSTAFFKNOW.COM LTD: Persons with significant control". Companies House. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  17. ↑ "Incubator portfolio". Oxford University Innovation. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  18. ↑ "YourStaffKnow testimonials". YourStaffKnow/R-ai. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "YourStaffKnow/R-ai". Inigo Lapwood. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2026.