New Director Appointed at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Published on: 3 Aug, 2018
Updated on: 9 Aug, 2018

Joanna Read the new director at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

By Laura Neuhaus

Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive and Theatre Director. It is Joanna Read currently the principal and chief executive of LAMDA, the London Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Joanna took up the position with LAMDA in 2010 with a brief to raise the international artistic and education profile of the Academy.

The late James Barber

Her appointment at the Yvonne Arnaud comes after the sudden death of the theatre’s former Chief Executive James Barber in December last year (2017), who had occupied the position since 1992.

Julian Bird, who is the chief executive of the Society of London Theatre and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre’s chairman, has praised Joanna for “her experience, her knowledge of the sector, her passion for regional theatre and her vision for Guildford’s historic theatre”. He believes Joanna is the right person to take the Yvonne Arnaud “forward into the future”.

According to The Stage, Joanna has overseen LAMDA’s £28 million redevelopment project in which ten rehearsal studios and two theatres were built. She has also been responsible for the introduction of new courses such as a masters in classical acting.

Joanna has tweeted that, “although I will miss LAMDA I leave it in a strong place with an exciting future in our glorious new building”.

Joanna’s move to the Yvonne Arnaud will mark her return back to theatre. Before her position at LAMDA, she was the chief executive and artistic director of Salisbury Playhouse. Under her leadership, The Playhouse became one of the leading regional producing theatres of the last decade.

The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Ms Read has said how she is “excited to be returning full time to theatre again”. In particular, she praises, in a Tweet, the Yvonne Arnaud’s “tremendous legacy and terrific audience… I’m delighted to be joining @YvonneArnaud”.

She is currently a board member of the Regional Theatre Young Directors, president of Guildford Shakespeare Company and external examiner for the LIR Theatre Academy, Trinity College Dublin.

Previous roles include associate director of the Octagon Theatre Bolton and head of education and participation for Birmingham Rep.

Joanna has worked as a freelance director and writer for Edinburgh Festival Theatre, the Young Vic London, the New Vic Theatre Newcastle Under Lyme, The Watermill West Berkshire Playhouse, The Mill at Sonning and the Watford Palace Theatre, amongst others.

The team at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre said, in a press release, that it looks forward to welcoming Joanna to the theatre in a full-time capacity from January 2019.