Board

As the UK’s leading theatre trade association and membership organisation, UK Theatre’s vision is to see a well-connected and well-supported theatre sector, and our Board gives vital support to help us achieve that vision. Board members volunteer their time and expertise to UK Theatre on behalf of the industry to steer and advise on our work.

Current Board Members

Stephanie Sirr, MBE

Joint President

Stephanie Sirr MBE has been Chief Executive of Nottingham Playhouse since 2001. Before this she ran Blackpool Grand Theatre for five years and the Merlin Theatre Frome for two. She has programmed several theatres in addition including Sadler’s Wells and The Hackney Empire. Prior to this Stephanie worked as an actress for five years, a stage manager for two and has been, variously, a theatre critic, court reporter and comedy club compere. She is a founder Board Member of Dance Touring Partnership and Ticketing Network East Midlands and a board member of Nottingham City Of Literature. 

Stephanie was recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours during the Platinum Jubilee 2022 and was awarded an MBE.

Jon Gilchrist

Joint President

Jon is Artistic Director and CEO of Birmingham Hippodrome. The Hippodrome reaches over one million people a year through on and off-stage programmes of work, digital presence, and performances in Birmingham and beyond.

Prior to this Jon was Executive Director of HOME in Manchester, the city’s centre for live performances and international contemporary art and film. He worked as Executive Director of the Bush Theatre between 2014 and 2018 and in this time he led on their major capital redevelopment and helped expand the organisation’s reach as a centre of excellence for diverse emerging talent. Before this he worked in marketing roles at theatres across the North West for ten years, including The Lowry in Salford, the Octagon Theatre Bolton, and the Dukes in Lancaster.

Samir Bhamra

Founder and Artistic Director, Phizzical Productions, a theatre and dance producing company specializing in narratives associated with the diversity of South Asian cultures, ethnicities and heritage.

Creative Director of UK Asian Film Festival, organized by Tongues on Fire Ltd, a 23-year-old touring film festival that takes place annually presenting premieres of feature films, short films and digital commissions and masterclasses with global A-list South Asian film talent.

Senior Producer, Belgrade Theatre, delivering the theatre’s UK City of Culture programme culminating in May 2022.

Julien Boast

Julien is the Chief Executive and Creative Director of Hall for Cornwall (HFC), with twenty years of experience in senior management in both the private and public sectors. He has made significant contributions to regional theatre and London’s West End. Julien served as Chief Executive for Theatre Royal Brighton and Churchill Theatre Bromley, among other roles. His extensive experience collaborating with funding bodies, sponsors, and the broader community has enabled him to provide valuable mentorship to artists and theatre companies. Julien’s commitment to cultural regeneration and transformation of HFC was evident when he raised £26 million to rebuild Hall for Cornwall. He is dedicated to leveraging theatre as a force for creativity and providing opportunities for artists through exciting collaborations and innovative digital means.

Kris Bryce

Elected Vice-President

Kris joined Pitlochry Festival Theatre as Executive Director in 2016 and was appointed Chief Executive in 2018.

Leading Scotland’s largest producing theatre and the UK’s most northerly major theatre producer, Kris operates one of the region’s largest employers and is responsible for the £20m creative and capital redevelopment of the organisation as the single cultural project named by government within a regional transformation programme.

Before taking up his current role, Kris was Head of Operations at Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre from 2011. Previous to this, he held management positions in theatres and multi-art form venues across the country. Kris spent ten years working with arts organisations and festivals in Vancouver including six years in a sector link role at Ticketmaster Canada before relocating to the UK in September 2004.

Kris is currently a board member of Stellar Quines Theatre Company, Scotland’s touring theatre company inspiring excellence in women and girls, and supports UK Theatre’s workforce consortium as the member representative from Scotland. Kris has an MBA with a focus in Creative Industries and has a professional interest in strategic management and the development of future workforces, mentoring and supporting future arts leaders.

Tom de Keyser*

Tom formed ROYO in 2019 with producing partner Hamish Greer after several years of producing together in the UK, on tour and in the West End, and around the world.

Their musicals include The Cher Show, directed by Dame Arlene Phillips, and choreographed by Oti Mabuse, Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical which opened the new Hall For Cornwall in Autumn 2021, and The Osmonds: A New Musical, the Osmond family’s biographical musical, touring the UK in 2022.

ROYO also produces a number of profile driven events including Oti Mabuse: I am Here and Johannes Radebe: Freedom throughout the UK.

They also own stream.theatre: a digital venue, ticketing platform and production studio that has created events with partners including Sky Arts, ENO, The London Evening Standard, TikTok, WhatsOnStage, and The Shanghai Grand.

Prior to starting ROYO, Tom was Production Director for Bill Kenwright Ltd., producing numerous musicals in the West End, on the UK road and in particular, developed the companies international presence with new production relationships in Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Australia, Turkey, the Middle East, South East Asia and Scandinavia.

Prior to becoming a producer, Tom was a Musical Supervisor and Musical Director for productions in the West End and on tour including Cabaret (Savoy) Evita (Phoenix) Scrooge (Palladium), Starlight Express (UK and International tours), Blood Brothers, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Whistle Down the Wind and Jesus Christ Superstar. 

Alan Dix

Alan Dix is the Artistic Director of 509 Arts, based in Bradford. He has directed shows in regional theatres, streets, parks, castles and warehouses and worked on cultural regeneration and development programmes for over 40 years. He has produced work for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the Tour de France and in 2017 his large-scale community opera Calderland won a Royal Philharmonic Society award. Alan has been deeply involved in Bradford’s successful bid for UK City of Culture, is Chair of both Hull Truck Theatre and the coastal climate change programme Tide and Tide Bell. He is interim Chair of Lancaster Arts and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bradford University in 2021.

Carolyn ML Forsyth*

Carolyn’s ​17-year track record of success as a detail focused senior Producer and Arts Manager has been gained in roles within theatre, young people’s work, outdoor and site-specific shows, UK and International touring, and festivals. Carolyn is a passionate advocate of racial and social justice. She is currently Executive Director and Joint CEO of Talawa, the UK’s outstanding Black theatre company.

Eleanor Lang

Eleanor is Executive Director at Theatre Royal Stratford East and is the Deputy Chair of the London Theatre Consortium. She is on the Board of Sheffield Theatres Trust and Tonic Theatre and is a Trustee of Marshall’s Charity. Previously she has been Executive Director of Cheek by Jowl and Free Word, General Manager of the Bush Theatre and worked for Y Touring Theatre Company and the Donmar Warehouse and has been on the Board of Rose Bruford College.

Anthony Lilley

Anthony Lilley is a media and theatre producer, strategist and consultant.

He is the co-founder with John Berry CBE of Scenario Two.  In 2019, Anthony and John produced The Light in the Piazza starring Renée Fleming which opened in London and toured to Los Angeles Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.  After the pandemic, they were delighted to present Terry Gilliam’s production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods which premiered at The Theatre Royal Bath in 2022 and intended to transfer to the West End in 2024 as well as the high tech, Offie-winning stage event, CAGES, at Riverside Studios They are currently hard at work producing a project based on the life and music of legendary tenor, Luciano Pavarotti and on a new family musical written by David Baddiel and Dan Gillespie Sells, The Parent Agency.

Anthony is also Non-Executive Chairman of Time and Space Ltd, a developer and operator of media studios and creative clusters around the UK and internationally, and previously he was the CEO of Magic Lanterns Productions, one of the UK’s first digital media content agencies and consultancies.  He holds a professorship in Creative Industries at the University of Ulster and was founding chair of the AHRC Creative Industries Clusters Programme.

He is a trustee of NESTA and previously, he has chaired the Board of Lighthouse, Brighton’s digital culture agency, been a trustee of English National Opera, a Member of the Content Board of OfCOM and a Gambling and National Lottery Commissioner.

Conrad Lynch

Conrad is a Freelance Producer and Cultural Consultant based in the glorious Eden Valley in Cumbria.

Current projects include The Queen and The Rebelsby Ugo Betti, adapted by Timberlake Wertenbaker for Shared Experience,#LocalLegends for Not Too Tame, Street for Imitating the Dog, Brewery Arts Centre & HIghlights, and Immediate Family by Paul Oakley Stovall for TEAM.

Clients include MIF, Royal Exchange, Shakespeare’s Globe, Bated Breath & Jackson’s Lane.

Louise Miles-Payne*

Louise is the Director of Creu Cymru, which represents most of Wales’ professionally run theatres and arts centres and producing companies, and a range of individuals.

Prior to joining Creu Cymru Louise worked in Enterprise at Cardiff University and at UpRising, a national youth leadership development charity. Before that she was a freelance creative producer and Head of Programming at Wales Millennium Centre where she joined prior to the opening in 2004 and stayed until 2016. 

Louise is passionate about enabling boards to fulfil their potential and has sat on the boards for WEN Wales, Creu Cymru (where she was also chair) and Carlson Dance Company.

Louise lives in Cardiff with her wife and son.

Janthi Mills-Ward

Janthi Mills-Ward has been Executive Director of Hull Truck Theatre since August 2013. During this time, she has dramatically improved the theatres resilience through developing the organisations business model – balancing the theatres producing work alongside a programme of visiting and community productions.  She has built a strong team and introduced new personnel and diversity initiatives to ensure the continued growth and development of the theatre.  She was instrumental in Hull Truck Theatres delivery as a key partner in Hull UK City of Culture 2017; building an ambitious programme, relationships with key partners and a national profile for the theatre.  

Previous experience in other regional producing theatres; include 6 years at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry as General Manager where she set up the theatres award winning Apprenticeship scheme and 4 years as Community Development Manager at Derby Playhouse where she set up the Hot Tickets scheme which went on to become a  DCMS model of best practise.

Julia Potts

Julia is the Business Director (UK Venues) at Ambassador Theatre Group.

Dafydd Rogers*

Dafydd is an independent theatre producer.

Michelle Rolfe*

Michelle is the Producer for Birds of Paradise Theatre Company (BOP). BOP is Scotland’s leading disability-led theatre company, producing world-class productions and projects that place disabled artists centre stage. While at BOP Michelle has produced award-winning productions & delivered training on Disability Equality and Creative Access within a UK & international setting. She is also a freelance consultant & producer, specialising in accessible productions. Michelle is an active committee member for Stage Sight, the sector support organisation working to diversify off stage roles. Her career is focused on increasing access for audience members and arts professionals alike. 

Sebastian Warrack

Sebastian is Executive Director of Wiltshire Creative, a pan-arts organisation, which incorporates Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury International Arts Festival and Salisbury Arts Centre following their merger in February 2018. Previously he had been Executive Director of Salisbury Playhouse since 2012. Prior to this he was Executive Producer of Told by an Idiot, Theatre Officer at Arts Council England (both in the London and East offices), press officer for Guy Chapman Associates, an arts press and marketing company, and he fulfilled a variety of roles at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, including Marketing Officer, Development Officer, Assistant to the Directors and Finance Assistant – a superb training ground for arts administration. Before moving into arts management, Sebastian worked for ten years as an actor.

Sebastian’s previous board roles include Chair of Company of Angels (now Boundless Theatre) and a trustee of ITC and Oily Cart.

* Co-opted Board members

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