Matthew Linley Named New Artistic Director & CEO of Liverpool Unity Theatre

Liverpool's Unity Theatre is delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew Linley as Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer.

He succeeds Graeme Phillips, who has guided Unity Theatre for the last 34 years and maintained its tradition of staging radical but accessible work that stretches back to the 1930s.

Matthew is currently General Manager with Eastern Angles - an acclaimed touring theatre company based in Ipswich. He has previously led venues in Leicester (Phoenix Arts), Reading (21 South Street) and Bath (Michael Tippett Centre).

Matthew Linley said on his appointment:

I am thrilled to be invited to become the new Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Unity Theatre. To be asked to lead this remarkable venue with its reputation for challenging and edgy work is a dream job for me. Independent theatre, supporting new/ home grown talent and venues rooted in a strong sense of community have always been key passions of mine.

In the last few years I've been making regular visits to Liverpool and I've always been struck by the way the city holds culture close to its heart. There is a very real sense of collaboration, pride, ambition and optimism, and I'm looking forward to being part of that, and working with the artists and audiences of this brilliant city

Most of all though I want to build on the legacy of Graeme's 34 year tenure and work with the whole Unity team to ensure the theatre continues not just to thrive but to punch way above its weight in the city, regionally, nationally and beyond.

As both Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer Matthew will lead a venue that promotes cutting-edge work from the national and international circuit. Unity Theatre supports a reservoir of talent, with a number of embryonic companies, and individual artists in the early stages of development.

Unity Theatre's Chair of Board, Chris Bliss, commented:

"Matthew was the outstanding candidate from a very a strong field of contenders and we are of course delighted to welcome him aboard. He has a passion for cutting-edge theatre that both challenges and entertains. His experience, leadership and energy will help us take Unity forward, as well as providing the continuity to build on the considerable achievements of Graeme Phillips."

Matthew's independent producer credits include chairing the Artist Taking the Lead panel for the East, four Phrased & Confused festival programmes and a national tour, UK tours for Croatian radical theatre makers BadCo and House of Extreme Music Theatre, the hub's Insulting Cabaret (Royal National Theatre and Southwark Playhouse) and producing all of Windswept Productions tours and activities.

Ian Tabbron, Senior Manager Funding Programmes at Arts Council England added:

"The Arts Council are delighted that Matthew Linley has accepted the job of Artistic Direct and CEO at Unity Theatre. His combination of leadership, experience and artistic insight should ensure that Unity is able to grow as an organisation even in economically challenging times. We look forward to working with Matthew and the Unity team to usher in a new and exciting era."

Unity Theatre was formed by directors Gerry Dawson and Edgar Criddle as the Merseyside Left Theatre in the 1930s. In 1944 it became Merseyside Unity Theatre. The company was radical and experimentalist, staging classics alongside contemporary left wing theatre and an aim was to make theatre accessible to the working class. Today it is based in a converted Synagogue in Liverpool's Hope Street area, a Georgian promenade linking the city's two cathedrals.

The 2015 programme is characteristically challenging, innovative and unusual - and Unity will continue to work extensively throughout the local community, offering bespoke workshops and access to the arts. Liverpool Unity Theatre is proud to be core funded by Arts Council England and Liverpool City Council.

Matthew Linley is currently General Manager of Eastern Angles as well as a Director of Windswept Productions, The Hub Lab and Phrased and Confused CICs.

Eastern Angles are one of the busiest theatre companies around producing around four or five shows a year with an acting company working somewhere in East Anglia for around 200 days of the year. Since joining in 2011 Matthew has produced over 15 shows for the company which have toured into community centres, theatres, aircraft hangers, railway museums and ancient monuments to name but a few (as well as successful runs in London and Edinburgh).

Previous to that he was a freelance producer specialising in new and alternative theatre. Credits include chairing the Artist Taking the Lead panel for the East, four Phrased & Confused festival programmes and a national tour (including commissions for Kate Tempest, Dead Poets and Laura Dockrill), UK tours for Croatian radical theatre makers BadCo and House of Extreme Music Theatre, the hub's Insulting Cabaret (Royal National Theatre and Southwark Playhouse) and producing all of Windswept Productions tours and activities including most recently, development work on an online digital anti-play.

He was Director of Phoenix Arts, Leicester from 2002-8 where as well as leading the venue he was part of the team who led the development of a £21million capital project (Phoenix Square). Prior to Leicester he ran venues in Bath (Michael Tippett Centre) and Reading (21 South Street).

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