An invitation to our next Director of Programme
There are moments in the life of an organisation when you have the opportunity to think not simply about what comes next, but about what might be possible.
For Leeds Heritage Theatres, this is one of those moments.
We are looking for a new Director of Programme to join our Executive Team. This is an important new role, reflecting our ambition to place artistic leadership, creativity and programming at the heart of our future.
Written by Vicky Cheetham, CEO
Our venues
We have three extraordinary venues, each with its own history, character and creative possibilities.
Leeds Grand Theatre is one of the great Victorian theatres, presenting major musicals, drama, comedy, opera and dance. It is home to Opera North and Northern Ballet, alongside an exciting range of touring productions. As we look ahead, we want to build on those strengths while expanding our contemporary music programme, developing our dance and performance programme, welcoming new artists and companies, and creating more opportunities for audiences to experience ambitious and unexpected work.
City Varieties Music Hall offers something quite different. Dating back to 1865, its intimate 467-seat auditorium creates a connection between artists and audiences that few venues can replicate. Its history is one of popular entertainment, creativity and constant reinvention. Today, that spirit lives on through comedy, music, variety, cabaret, spoken word and our much-loved Rock ’n’ Roll Panto. It is a venue where we can be playful, adventurous and experimental, and where there is considerable potential to develop new artistic partnerships and distinctive programming.
Hyde Park Picture House, beautifully restored and reopened in 2023, is one of the world’s last surviving gas-lit cinemas. Its programme brings together independent, international and archival cinema with new releases, documentaries and family film. It is a place for discovery, where audiences encounter different filmmakers, perspectives and stories, and where cinema can open up conversations and connections across our communities.
Individually, these are remarkable places. But for me, the most exciting opportunity lies in what they can become together.
Leeds Grand Theatre. Credit Simon Hulme.
City Varieties Music Hall.
Hyde Park Picture House. Credit Aaron Cawood.
Our Ambition
Our ambition is for Leeds Heritage Theatres to be a hub of creativity, firmly rooted in Leeds while connecting the city with exceptional artists and work from across the UK and internationally. We want our venues to be places of discovery, excitement and welcome, where artists, audiences and communities come together.
We also want to play a more active role in the cultural life of Leeds: championing artists, developing creative partnerships and creating opportunities for new work.
Our Director of Programme will help shape that ambition, providing artistic leadership across all three venues and developing a distinctive, connected programme. We want to bring more contemporary dance and circus to our stages, grow our contemporary music offer, champion outstanding independent theatre and explore opportunities for commissions, collaborations and co-productions.
Our festivals, curated strands and Associate Artist programme provide strong foundations. The opportunity now is to build on these, connecting our venues, artists and audiences in new ways, and developing a stronger artistic identity for Leeds Heritage Theatres.
For me, great programming begins with the relationship between artists, audiences and place. We need to understand who already comes through our doors, who doesn’t yet feel our venues are for them, and what might inspire someone to try something new.
I believe artistic ambition and audience development should strengthen one another. We want to take creative risks and invest in artists, while recognising that financial sustainability is essential to our ability to do so.
Vicky Cheetham. Credit Ant Robling.
Our new Director of Programme
Our new Director of Programme will need to combine artistic vision with audience insight, commercial understanding and strong collaborative leadership. They will have the confidence to make creative choices, the judgement to balance ambition and risk, and the ability to build relationships that open doors to new possibilities.
With Leeds Grand Theatre’s 150th anniversary approaching in 2028, this is a particularly exciting time to join us and help shape the next chapter of our artistic story.
I want Leeds Heritage Theatres to be somewhere artists want to work, audiences want to spend time, and people come to discover something they didn’t already know they would love. I want us to be known not only for the extraordinary buildings we care for, but for the imagination, quality and ambition of the work within them.
The person who joins us will have a real opportunity to influence that future, helping define our artistic identity, develop lasting creative relationships and strengthen our contribution to the cultural life of Leeds.
So, if you are excited by the possibilities of three very different venues, believe in combining artistic ambition with audience relevance and financial sustainability, and want to help shape the creative future of Leeds Heritage Theatres, I would love to hear from you.
War Horse at Leeds Grand Theatre. Credit: Ant Robling
Simon Nock (Widow T) in Aladdin The Rock 'n' Roll Panto. Credit Ant Robling.
Rachael Gillespie in Merlin. Credit Emma Kauldhar.
Support us
Theatre For All
Help us increase our number of Accessible shows and bring the connection of live performances to new audiences.
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Name a Seat
Every seat tells a story. To keep writing the chapters, we’re inviting audiences to Name a Seat at one of our venues.
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Memberships
Join one of our membership schemes today and be the first to hear about forthcoming shows and screenings.
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Gift vouchers
Give the gift of world-class live performance and cinema across The Grand, The Varieties and Hyde Park Picture House.
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