Andrew Smaje Named Executive Director of Actors Touring Company

The board and directors of the internationally acclaimed Actors Touring Company announced today that Andrew Smaje will be taking up the positon of Executive Director from March 21. This follows the departure of Nick Williams earlier in the month after a successful five years in the post.

Known for his work producing contemporary theatre, particularly new writing, Andrew Smaje is a consultant for leading theatre companies, organisations and artists, with a list of clients that include Theatre Royal Plymouth, Greyscale and The Empty Space. His past productions and commissions were nominated at the TMA UK Theatre Awards in 2003, 2011, 2012 and 2013. From 2010 to 2012 he was Chief Executive of Hull Truck where he produced work by contemporary playwrights both in Hull and on tour, co-producing with partners that included Headlong, Paines Plough and The Gate. Smaje's productions at Hull Truck were nominated for the Renee Stepham Touring Award (TMA UK Theatre Awards) in 2012 and Best Visiting Production (Manchester Theatre Awards) in 2013.

He was Associate Director of Theatre Royal Bath 2000 - 2010, supporting and developing new and innovative theatre across a broad spectrum of performance genres and practice, principally new writing.

Smaje also created the Bath International Puppet Festival, a showcase for adult puppetry; he was co-Director of the Bath Shakespeare Festival, an unplugged festival of contemporary perspectives on Shakespeare's work; and produced plays on both large and small scale, by writers such as Gregory Burke, David Greig and Lucinda Coxon.

Since he took up the post at Actors Touring Company in 2011, Nick Williams has overseen a 78% increase in the Company's turnover despite the tough climate for arts funding. The touring output has doubled, with extensive touring in the UK, and international touring has been revitalized under his stewardship,. Williams' notable producing credits at Actors Touring Company include the multi-award winning The Events created by the writer David Greig and Artistic Director Ramin Gray, Marius von Mayenburg's Martyr, Ivan Viripaev's Illusions and Roland Schimmelpfennig's The Golden Dragon as well as the current production of Mark Lockyer's Living With The Lights On. Williams leaves Actors Touring Company to pursue a variety of freelance projects over the coming months.

Smaje's first projects at Actors Touring Company will be announced in April.

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