The Marlowe Theatre is built on the passion and enthusiasm of the people who work here. Read more about them here – and if you’d to join them, you can see our current vacancies on the ‘work with us’ page.
Leadership
Our Leadership Team provides strategic direction and oversight for the Marlowe, working alongside talented staff, freelancers and creative partners to deliver exceptional cultural experiences and support our communities.
Executive Team
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Deborah Shaw
Chief Executive
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Kate Mackonochie
Executive Director
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Paul Turner
Chief Operating Officer
Strategic Management Team
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Kate Bowden
Director of Development
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Gary Bowman
Technical & Estates Director
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Roxan Kamali
Director of Learning & Participation
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Vikki Maudave
Interim Director of Learning & Participation
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Kate Mullan
Director of Operations
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Thabo Stuck-Mekela
Director of Vocational Strategy
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Ben Travis
Director of Marketing
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Jennifer Yard
Interim Director of Communications & Public Affairs
The Marlowe Trustee Board
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William Bush CBE
Chair and Director of Marlowe Trust Trading and Marlowe Theatre Productions Limited
William Bush CBE
Chair and Director of Marlowe Trust Trading and Marlowe Theatre Productions Limited
William “Bill” Bush CBE is a senior public policy, communications and governance leader with nearly two decades’ experience at the Premier League, where he served as Executive Director and later as Senior Adviser and Acting Chief Policy Officer to the Chief Executive. His responsibilities included public policy, intellectual property, relations with government and the EU, supporter engagement, communications, community programmes, reputation management, stadium safety, environmental issues, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Bill’s career has consistently connected public policy, culture, media and sport. Before joining the Premier League in 2005, he served as Special Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of Research at No. 10, and later as Senior Special Adviser to Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. In that role he worked across major arts, media, sport, lottery and gambling policy, including support for arts and heritage-led regeneration in Kent coastal towns such as Margate, Whitstable and Folkestone. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Research and Information at BBC News and held senior roles in London local government.
His engagement with the arts began long before his current cultural roles. In 1981, he co-authored the Greater London Council’s arts policy, which combined major investment in established arts institutions with a commitment to widening access, strengthening local theatres and galleries, supporting education and community-building, and contributing to local regeneration. The approach helped shape a model for arts investment that influenced cities across the UK.
Alongside his executive career, Bill has contributed to a range of non-executive and advisory roles across sport, culture, literacy, intellectual property and civic life. He is Deputy Chair of English Touring Opera, has served as Chair of the Alliance for Intellectual Property, and has held board or trustee roles with organisations including the Football Foundation, the Premier League Stadium Fund, the Premier League Charitable Fund, Civic Future, Sports United Against Dementia and the National Literacy Trust. Since 2022, he has been a member of the National Council of Arts Council England, where he has continued to support place-led arts investment through committee and planning work.
Bill describes the arts and sport as central to his life, alongside family and public service. He first discovered the power of the arts as a teenager at the Edinburgh Festival, an experience that opened up drama, music, visual art and comedy as sources of enjoyment, education and connection. He believes regional theatres should be welcoming places at the heart of civic life, offering excellent work close to home while contributing to local identity, opportunity, education and community pride.
Bill has a personal affection for Kent through family connections and regular visits over many years, and recognises Canterbury as one of the county’s most distinctive cultural and historic cities. He is drawn to the Marlowe for the quality and breadth of its programme, its artistic ambition, its strong connection with audiences, and its role as a cultural anchor for Canterbury and the wider region.
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David Harrel
Vice-Chair and Chair of the Development Sub-Committee
David Harrel
Vice-Chair and Chair of the Development Sub-Committee
David Harrel was a founding partner of London law firm SJ Berwin LLP (1982), then a Senior Partner (1992-2006). On retiring in 2007 (and until 2018), he held several non-executive positions as either Director or Chairman in a variety of public and private businesses. David was a trustee of English National Opera (2006-2017), and has been a trustee of the Clore Duffield Foundation and the Clore Leadership Programme since 2006.
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Atri Banerjee
Director of Marlowe Theatre Productions Limited
Atri Banerjee
Director of Marlowe Theatre Productions Limited
Atri Banerjee is a director and translator, and is Artistic Lead at the Gate Theatre. One of two recipients of the 2022-24 Peter Hall Bursary at the National Theatre, he was named in January 2022 as one of The Stage 25 (“theatremakers to watch out for in 2022 and beyond”). In 2019, Atri won The Stage Debut Award and was nominated for the UK Theatre Award for Best Director for Hobson’s Choice at the Royal Exchange Theatre. His other theatre directing credits include Look Back in Anger (Almeida); Julius Caesar (RSC); The Glass Menagerie (Royal Exchange/UK tour); SHED: EXPLODED VIEW (Royal Exchange); Britannicus (Lyric Hammersmith); Kes (Octagon Theatre Bolton/Theatre by the Lake); and HARM (Bush Theatre; also filmed for BBC Four’s Lights Up season).
Atri was previously Trainee Director at the Royal Exchange and a Resident Director at the Almeida Theatre, and is currently a trustee of the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme. He previously directed ERROR ERROR ERROR in collaboration with RSC Shakespeare Nation at the Marlowe, where his RSC production of Julius Caesar opened its national tour.
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Pim Baxter OBE
Director of Marlowe Theatre Productions Limited and Member of the Development Sub-Committee
Pim Baxter OBE
Director of Marlowe Theatre Productions Limited and Member of the Development Sub-Committee
Pim Baxter has more than 35 years’ executive experience of strategic leadership in the arts, heritage and the creative industries. She was at the National Portrait Gallery for 22 years, including as Deputy Director, and was previously at the National Theatre for 10 years. Pim was a member of Chapter at St Paul’s Cathedral from 2014 until March 2023, and a governor of St Paul’s Cathedral School. Her current non-executive roles include non-executive member of Chapter and Lay Canon at Canterbury Cathedral and trustee of Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham. She is on the Campaign Board of Historic Royal Palaces and is a trustee of the Portrait Fund at the National Portrait Gallery.
Pim lives near Faversham and has a range of local interests, including as a governor of her local Primary School. She is a Kent Ambassador and a Charity Mentor. She became a licensed lay minister in 2022, and worships in the Benefice of Kingsdown & Creekside and High Downs.
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Colin Carmichael OBE
Member of the Finance Sub-Committee
Colin Carmichael OBE
Member of the Finance Sub-Committee
Colin Carmichael was Chief Executive of Canterbury City Council for 26 years, and is currently Acting Chief Executive of Thanet District Council. During his tenure in Canterbury, Colin was instrumental in the cultural capital investment within the city, including the rebuilding of the Marlowe Theatre, the Beanie House of Art & Knowledge and, more recently, the Riverside Development. Awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to local government, Colin is also a member of the governing body of Canterbury Christ Church University, Chair of the Corporation of Canterbury College, a member of the East Kent Enterprise Agency and a board member of Canterbury Festival.
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Nigel Cripps
Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee
Nigel Cripps
Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee
Nigel Cripps had a 45-year career as a chartered accountant, primarily in practice in Canterbury, until retiring in 2021. Having been Senior Partner of Lakin Clark, he was subsequently Managing Partner of the Canterbury offices of Wilkins Kennedy and then Azets. Nigel has been involved with the Marlowe Theatre since 2019, when he was the Partner responsible for the relationship between the Marlowe and Azets as our auditors. Following his retirement, he became a trustee in 2023.
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Guy Hollaway
Member of the Development Sub-Committee
Guy Hollaway
Member of the Development Sub-Committee
Guy Hollaway is the sole owner and Principal Partner of Guy Hollaway Architects, a design-led practice committed to innovative building solutions – from prestigious one-off commissions to large-scale regeneration projects. Working from studios in London and Kent, Guy has produced award-winning architecture for many prestigious clients. He lectures at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and for public and government bodies, and has been a lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury and the University of Kent. Guy’s work has been globally published, including in the book From Now On (2020).
Guy works throughout Great Britain and beyond but remains committed to the county in which he lives, becoming a Kent Ambassador in 2016. F51, the award-winning skatepark in Folkestone designed by Guy Holloway Studios, opened in April 2022.
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Dr Kerry Jordan-Daus
Dr Kerry Jordan-Daus
Dr Kerry Jordan-Daus has served education throughout her professional life – first as a senior leader in schools in Sussex, the West Midlands and Kent; and then in higher education, where she led on teacher education and partnership development. It was during this phase of her career that Kerry led the East Kent Cultural Education Partnership and forged a number of innovative projects. A creative, strategic and innovative leader, Kerry is driven to deliver on inclusion and addressing inequalities. Her doctorate is an examination of women leaders in education. Kerry is currently the CEO of Veritas Multi Academy Trust, a group of schools in East Kent; acting CEO of Rainham Mark Education Trust; and the Kent Lead for WomenEd, an international grassroots campaign network to challenge inequities.
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Ray Mia
Member of the Finance Sub-Committee
Ray Mia
Member of the Finance Sub-Committee
Ray Mia is an award-winning producer, technology expert and former Executive Vice-President of Universal Music Group who has enjoyed a 25-year career working with the world’s leading multinational media conglomerates and Fortune 500 brands on their content production and business strategies. A former TV and film producer for the United Nations and one of the first recognised immersive audio producers, Ray founded Jacaranda Records, Liverpool, in 2018.
Ray’s work includes directing projects for artists including The Beatles and Justin Bieber; serving as executive producer for leading musicians across such iconic venues as the Royal Albert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden; and producing the complete works of Christopher Marlowe for distribution via Audible. Ray is currently driving a number of Hollywood studio and major record label-led immersive storytelling productions.