St Andrews University has appointed Jessica Richards and Kally Lloyd-Jones as joint directors of the Byre Theatre – taking over from Liam Sinclair, who left in December 2018 to take up a post at Dundee Rep Theatre.
Kally Lloyd-Jones comes to St Andrews after founding Company Chordelia of which she is artistic director. Previous posts include director for Scottish Opera, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Edinburgh Grand Opera. She is currently chair of the board of the Work Room at Tramway
Jessica Richards is currently company manager of the National Theatre of Scotland, a post she has held since 2006. She has had substantial experience as a stage manager with theatre companies including Communicado, Dundee Rep, 7:84, Stellar Quines, the Royal Lyceum and the Traverse Theatre.
In a joint statement, the pair, who will be job sharing, said they were “thrilled” to take up the role at such an “exciting time” for the Byre.
University Assistant Vice-Principal Collections, Dr Katie Stevenson said: “The university is delighted to have Jess and Kally as custodians of the Byre, sustaining its vitality through its next phase of development”.
“While individually they are both outstanding leaders in the sector, together they offer the Byre, the university and the communities the theatre serves an outstanding range of expertise and are well placed to grow and enhance the Byre and to continue its positive trajectory since the university took over its management in 2014.”