HighTide has announced that Clare Slater will step down as Artistic Director/CEO later this year. Slater will join the National Theatre as Head of Play Development, starting on June 30. HighTide will begin the recruitment process for a new Artistic Director/CEO to lead the company.
Clare Slater said, “I have loved every moment of my time at HighTide. I couldn’t be prouder of how the company now champions East of England playwrights. My heartfelt thanks to the writers in the region for their brilliance. Huge thanks also to HighTide’s excellent staff, Board, supporters and audiences during my tenure; HighTide is truly a wonderful and important company thanks to their unwavering commitment. I look forward to announcing my final season shortly – and tracking HighTide’s success long into the future.”
Chair of the Board of Trustees Alan Bookbinder commented, “I’m very grateful to Clare for her vision, drive and dedication. It’s greatly to her credit that HighTide is flourishing creatively and prospering financially, providing a firm foundation for her successor to build on and take forward to fresh success. The search is now on for a dynamic and accomplished theatre professional with the energy and talent to maximise HighTide’s impact. We’re looking forward to finding an Artistic Director/CEO who will lead us with passion, integrity and commitment to the values of the company.”
During her tenure, Slater redefined HighTide’s mission to focus on East of England playwrights, commissioning 26 leading playwrights from the region. Her programming included two sell-out tours of Ghost Stories by Candlelight, the world premiere of Bindweed by Martha Loader, and Herring Girls: greater than we are alone, a song cycle with an intergenerational community choir, which saw audiences increase by 150%.
Other initiatives include creating Playwrights East, a network for East of England playwrights, and launching HighTide’s school literacy and creative writing programme, Story Worlds, reaching over 250 primary school children in Lowestoft.
Alongside Associate Artist Zoë Svendsen, Slater embedded climate dramaturgy at the heart of the company’s practice, engaging with 763 artists and participants in climate dramaturgy workshops.
