Our people

The people who make this place tick

We are super passionate about our theatre. But we’re even more passionate about our people, because they’re the ones who make everything we do possible. We could sing their praises from the rooftops all day, if only it didn't annoy the neighbours.

We believe in the power of collaborative working and diverse perspectives to boost creativity. In fact, we all work in the same shared office space, which is wrapped around the Festival Theatre stage. So we’re always connected to the theatre and the work that drives us forward.

The magic formula? We live by our values of being creatively ambitious, community driven, champions of inclusivity and sustainably minded. And it’s the recipe for our success; we turned 60 last year (but we’re told we don’t look a day over 30).


Meet our people

Find out more about each of our teams and if you see any of us around the building make sure you say hello!

Trustees
Directors' Office

Justin Audibert, Artistic Director

Kathy Bourne, Executive Director

Keshira Aarabi, Projects & Events Co-ordinator

Angela Buckley Project & Events Co-ordinator

Miranda Cromwell, Associate Director

Sophie Hobson, Creative Associate

Hannah Joss, Associate Director (Literary)

Patricia Key, PA to the Directors

Aimée Massey, Diversity, Inclusion & Change Consultant

Julia Smith, Company Secretary & Board Support

Building & Site Services

Chris Edwards, Maintenance Engineer

Lez Gardiner, Duty Engineer

Daren Rowland, Facilities Manager

Graeme Smith, Duty Engineer

Costume

Helen Flower, Senior Costume Assistant

Loz Tait, Head of Costume

Development

Nick Carmichael, Development Officer (Corporate, & Trusts)

Julie Field, Friends Administrator

Sophie Henstridge-Brown, Senior Development Manager (Individuals)

Sarah Mansell, Appeal Director

Liz McCarthy-Nield, Director of Development

Leo Powell, Appeal Co-ordinator

Charlotte Stroud, Development Manager (Corporate & Trusts)

Karen Taylor, Development Manager (Individuals)

Megan Wilson, Events & Development Officer

Finance

Alison Baker, Payroll & Pensions Officer

Rob Bloomfield, IT & AV Technician

Sally Cunningham, Purchase Ledger Assistant

Amanda Hart, Finance & Operations Director

Krissie Harte, Finance Officer

Katie Palmer, Assistant Management Accountant

Amanda Trodd, Management Accountant

Protozoon Ltd, IT Consultants

Learning, Education & Participation (but you can call them LEAP)

Ellen de Vere, Youth & Outreach Trainee

Matthew Downer, Cultural Learning & Participation Apprentice

Zoe Ellis, LEAP Coordinator

Sally Garner-Gibbons, Apprenticeship Co-ordinator

Matt Hawksworth, Head of Children & Young People's Programme

Hannah Hogg, Senior Youth & Outreach Manager

Shari A. Jessie, Creative Therapist

Kate Potter, Youth & Outreach Co-ordinator

Louise Rigglesford, Senior Community & Outreach Manager

Dale Rooks, Director of LEAP

Angela Watkins, Youth & Outreach Projects Manager

Marketing, Communications & Sales

Josh Allan, Assistant Box Office Manager

Caroline Aston, Audience Insight Manager

Becky Batten, Head of Marketing (maternity leave)

Laura Bern, Head of Marketing (maternity cover)

Jessica Blake-Lobb, Marketing Manager (Corporate)

Helen Campbell, Box Office Systems Manager

Jay Godwin, Box Office Assistant

Lorna Holmes, Assistant Box Office Manager

Mollie Kent, Box Office Assistant

James Mitchell, Sales & Marketing Assistant

James Morgan, Head of Sales & Ticketing

Lucinda Morrison, Head of Press & Publications

Brian Paterson, Distribution Co-ordinator

Kirsty Peterson, Box Office Assistant

Ben Phillips, Marketing & Press Assistant

Catherine Rankin, Box Office Assistant

Vic Shead, Marketing Manager

Luke Shires, Director of Marketing & Communications

Jenny Thompson, Social Media & Digital Marketing Officer

Grace Upcraft, Box Office Assistant

Claire Walters, Box Office Assistant

Isobel Walter, Marketing Officer

Joanna Wiege, Box Office Manager

Jane Wolf, Box Office Assistant

People

Helena Berry, Heritage & Archive Manager

Paula Biggs, Head of People

Jenefer Francis, HR Officer (maternity leave)

Naz Jahir, Interim People Manager

Emily Oliver, Accommodation Co-ordinator

Gillian Watkins, HR Officer

Production

Niamh Dilworth, Producer

Amelia Ferrand-Rook, Senior Producer

Claire Rundle, Production Administrator

George Waller, Trainee Producer

Nicky Wingfield, Production Administrator

Technical

Steph Bartle, Deputy Head of Lighting

Victoria Baylis, Props Assistant

Finley Bradley, Technical Theatre Apprentice

Elise Fairbairn, Stage Technician

Ross Gardner, Stage Crew

Sam Garner-Gibbons, Technical Director

Laura Hackett, Technical Apprentice

Katie Hennessy, Props Store Co-ordinator

Tom Hitchins, Head of Stage & Technical

Joe Jenner, Production Manager Apprentice

Mike Keniger, Head of Sound

Andrew Leighton, Senior Lighting Technician

Stuart Patrick, Transport & Logistics Assistant

Neil Rose, Deputy Head of Sound

Anna Setchell (Setch), Deputy Head of Stage

James Sharples, Senior Stage Crew & Rigger

Graham Taylor, Head of Lighting

Theatre Management

Janet Bakose, Theatre Manager

Judith Bruce-Hay, Minerva Supervisor

Charlie Gardiner, Minerva Supervisor

Ben Geering, Head of Customer Operations

Dan Hill, Assistant House Manager

Will McGovern, Deputy House Manager

Sharon Meier, PA to Theatre Manager

Gabriele Williams, Deputy House Manager

Caper & Berry, Catering

Proclean Cleaning Ltd, Cleaning Contractor

Goldcrest Guarding, Security

Stage Door

Bob Bentley, Janet Bounds, Judith Bruce-Hay, Caroline Hanton, Keiko Iwamoto, Chris Monkton, Sue Welling

Ushers

Miranda Allemand, Judith Anderson, Maria Antoniou, Jacob Atkins, Carolyn Atkinson, Brian Baker, Richard Berry, Emily Biro, Gloria Boakes, Alex Bolger, Dennis Brombley, Judith Bruce-Hay, Louisa Chandler, Jo Clark, Gaye Douglas, Stella Dubock, Amanda Duckworth, Clair Edgell, Lexi Finch, Suzanne Ford, Suzanne France, Jessica Frewin-Smith, Nigel Fullbrook, Barry Gamlin, Charlie Gardiner, Jay Godwin, Anna Grindel, Caroline Hanton, Justine Hargraves, Joseph Harrington, Joanne Heather, Marie Innes, Keiko Iwamoto, Joan Jenkins, Pippa Johnson, Julie Johnstone, Ryan Jones, Jan Jordan, Jon Joshua, Sally Kingsbury, Alexandra Langrish, Judith Marsden, Emily McAlpine, Janette McAlpine, Fiona Methven, Chris Monkton, Ella Morgans, Susan Mulkern, Isabel Owen, Martyn Pedersen, Susy Peel, Helen Pinn, Barbara Pope, Fleur Sarkissian, Nicola Shaw, Janet Showell, Lorraine Stapley, Sophie Stirzaker, Angela Stodd, Christine Tippen, Charlotte Tregear, Andy Trust, Sue Welling, James Wisker, Donna Wood, Kim Wylam

Volunteers

We acknowledge the work of those who give so generously of their time as our volunteers in the following areas:

Administration
Ambassadors
Archiving
Audio Description
Buddies
Chaperones
CFYT
Digitisation
Theatre Tours
Transcribing

If you are interested in volunteering for CFT, pop over to our Get Closer page.