Actors Touring Company Appoints Five New Trustees

Actors Touring Company (ATC) has announced the appointment of five new trustees, Laila Alj, Eleni Gill, Sarita Godber, Feeroza Patel and Teunkie Van Der Sluijs.  The new trustees will join the Board later this month, bringing with them significant professional expertise and lived experiences that will support ATC in its work as an industry leader in the producing and presenting of international plays throughout the UK and worldwide.

In addition, ATC have also announced that Helen Jeffreys will join the organisation as Interim Executive Director working alongside Artistic Director and CEO Matthew Xia. Helen takes over the role from Jo Royce.

Helen joins ATC from TARA Theatre where she was Executive Director and CEO. She is also currently CEO parental cover at City of London Sinfonia. With over 20 years' experience in theatre as an Executive Director and Producer, Helen's previous roles have included Executive Director for Theatre Centre and Akademi South Asian Dance; General Manager and Producer at the Young Vic Theatre; and General Manager at Hampstead Theatre. She also headed up the producing team at Bush Theatre. She began her career as a line producer at Almeida Theatre. 

Matthew Xia, Artistic Director and CEO said: “We're thrilled to announce the beginning of an exciting new chapter at ATC, which will see a big injection of energy, ideas and sharp new thinking. I'm delighted to be joined by Helen Jeffreys as ATC's Interim Executive Director. Her extensive producing and leadership experience is invaluable, and I'm already enjoying collaborating with her to shape the company's future. 

We're also welcoming five fantastic new trustees: Feeroza, Laila, Teunkie, Eleni, and Sarita. Each of them brings something unique, from communications and law to directing, producing, performing, and cultural change, united by a deep love of theatre and a shared belief in ATC's globally minded mission.”

Geraldine Brodie, Chair of the Board of Trustees said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Helen as Interim Executive Director and our five new trustees Laila, Eleni, Sarita, Feeroza and Teunkie, who between them bring such a broad spectrum of experience, knowledge and skills to the organisation alongside a genuine passion for theatre. My fellow trustees and I are very much looking forward to working closely with them all and there is no doubt that they will enable us to build upon and further develop ATC's work championing underheard voices and creating bold theatre that connects artists and audiences across borders, languages and cultures.”

Laila Alj is an actor, voiceover artist, and theatre producer from Casablanca, Morocco. She is a founding member of MENA Arts UK and also took part in Tamasha's Digital Producing Traineeship. Currently, Laila is the producer at Theatro Technis, an independent theatre in Camden. 

Eleni Gill is a deputy director in the Government Legal Department (GLD), currently advising the Department for Education. She is also co-chair of GLD's Pro Bono and Volunteering Network. Prior to that she held other senior lawyer posts in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Office.

Sarita Godber is Chief People Officer at the Science Museum Group, where her remit spans leadership of the People, Talent & Culture, Volunteering, Corporate Information, Health & Safety and Security functions. With experience of working across a range of sectors, including museums, arts & culture, STEM higher education, non-profit and commercial, Sarita has extensive experience operating as an executive director, leading large teams to deliver organisational transformation and culture change. Prior to joining the Science Museum Group, Sarita worked as Director of HR and Organisational Development at City St George's University. Sarita developed her career in the culture sector at the Southbank Centre.  

Feeroza Patel is a senior communications leader with 20 years of experience across multiple disciplines covering corporate reputation, press and public affairs, brand development and multi-channel campaigns. Her most recent role was as Director of Communications at London & Partners, the growth agency that promotes London, where she led the global PR, brand, crisis and internal communications teams.  

Teunkie Van Der Sluijs is a Dutch-British theatre-maker. From 2019-2024 Teunkie was Creative Associate and then Head of Artistic Development at the Young Vic. As a director, his work includes the trilogy A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha's Place and Clybourne Park at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam and the Netherlands premieres of The Mountaintop (Meervaart), Waterdragers (Zuidelijk Toneel), Lungs (Compagnietheater) and Motortown (Rozentheater, Royal Theatre The Hague). In the UK, he adapted and directed HATE after La Haine (Barbican, Oxford Samuel Beckett Trust Award shortlisted) and directed Yasser (Assembly Rooms Edinburgh; Arcola Theatre; Chopin Theater Chicago; Royal Theatre The Hague), Winter (Orange Tree Theatre), and Women Laughing (Old Red Lion, OFFIE Nomination Best Director). He co-devised Our National Health Stories' 75th anniversary programme of the NHS at AVIVA Studios.

The new trustees will join existing Board members Geraldine Brodie (Chair),  Sudha Bhuchar, Alan Evans (Vice Chair), Maria M Delgado, Sarah Grochala, Sanpreet Janjua, Margherita Laera and Nick Tyler.

Earlier this year ATC completed a national tour of their critically acclaimed production of Dave Harris's Tambo & Bones, directed by Matthew Xia, which played at Royal & Derngate,  Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, HOME Manchester, Belgrade Theatre, Stratford East and Leeds Playhouse. Tambo & Bones was the latest in a series of acclaimed productions from ATC, one of the only British theatre companies dedicated to producing international plays and presenting them throughout the UK. ATC's recently celebrated work includes The Architect (2023), Family Tree (2023) and Bodies of Water (2024).