Elizabeth Newman has been Artistic Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre since September 2018 but will leave in November "to take up a new leadership role".
Newman—who was recently nominated for a CATS award for Best Director for her production of A Streetcar Named Desire, a production that will be revived in Edinburgh and Aberdeen in the autumn—moved to Scotland after ten years at Bolton Octagon, the last three as Artistic Director. At Pitlochry, she has instigated collaborations with theatre companies from around the UK including the National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, New Wolsey Theatre, Capital Theatres, Watford Palace Theatre, HOME Manchester and Stellar Quines.
Beyond the stage, she created the Shades of Tay project and the Sound Stage online platform, which has premièred audio plays from some of the UK’s leading playwrights.
Her final production at the theatre will be the Christmas production of The Sound of Music.
She said, “it has been an incredible privilege to serve as the Artistic Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre for the past six years. Working with the amazing team here in Pitlochry has been wonderful, and I’ve especially loved collaborating with Kris Bryce (Executive Director). His tenacity and energy have inspired me every day. It has been an honour to open the Theatre’s Amphitheatre and new Studio and to create diverse programmes of work for these new spaces with him and the rest of the team.
"I’m proud that we have produced more new Scottish work, supported more artists and participants, and reached more new audiences than ever before. While I will miss being here terribly, I look forward to joining audiences and working on projects with the organisation in the future.”
The theatre will begin the search for a replacement Artistic Director over the next three months.