Live Theatre announces new board members and chair

Live Theatre, Newcastle has appointed a new chair of its board of trustees and six new trustees with experience drawn from the commercial and creative sectors.

Lucy Winskell OBE DL, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Employment and Partnerships at Northumbria University who has been a trustee of Live Theatre for almost 9 years becomes Chair, taking over from Paul Callaghan, Chairman of the Leighton Group and Trustee of Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture Trust who steps down as Chair after almost 9 years, but remains on the board.

New Trustees with extensive theatre and arts experience include award-winning playwright Ishy Din, whose play Approaching Empty comes to Live Theatre in February after premiering at Kiln Theatre, London; Robin Cantrill-Fenwick, former Deputy Executive Director of the Mercury Theatre in Colchester, and Brenna Hobson, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Producer at National Theatre of Scotland. Live Theatre and NTS have been forging a successful cross border co-producing partnership which started with Lee Hall’s Olivier Award-winning hit play Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, and will continue with John McGrath’s classic Scottish play The Cheviot, The Stag, and the Black, Black Oil in Summer 2019, with Live Theatre being the only English date on the new production’s tour.

Joining the trustees from the commercial sector are Lucy Robson, a qualified accountant and audit partner at a mid-tier professional services firm with extensive experience advising and auditing business, charity and education sector clients, Paul Shevlin, an Employment Rights lawyer and Partner at Thompsons’ Solicitors, and Ross Elgie, Chief Financial Officer at Kilfrost.

The new Trustees were co-opted in December 2018 and will start in the new year joining existing Trustees Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director Young Vic Theatre; Professor Peter Fidler CBE, Retired Vice Chancellor, University of Sunderland; Cllr Mick Henry, CBE, Retired Leader Gateshead Council; Arts Council England North Area Council member; Rhys McKinnell, Store Director Newcastle, Fenwick Ltd; Michelle Percy, Assistant Director, Corporate Development, Newcastle City Council; Susan Wear, Former Director of Corporate Affairs at Port of Tyne; Sue Wilson, CBE (Lady Gibson), Chair, Emmaus Gateshead and Jim Beirne MBE D.Litt. FRSA Chief Executive, Live Theatre.