Featured Image: Claire Walker and Hannah Essex by Philip J.A Benton
Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre have announced the restructuring of their organisations, with roughly 10% of staff leaving as a result.
In a report from The Stage, joint chief executives Claire Walker and Hannah Essex said that there will be a greater focus on advocacy, membership and theatre audiences.
The restructuring means that 11 positions have been made redundant, but Walker and Essex explained that some in those roles will be able to reapply for positions elsewhere in the organisations.
Both SOLT and UK Theatre will retain their individual boards according to the report, and Sebastian Cater, who was head of UK Theatre, has left the organisation as part of the changes. SOLT and UK Theatre will be run by Essex and Walker, marking the first time that the latter has not had its own direct head.
Essex told The Stage: “We have some amazingly talented people here and are trying to retain as many as possible, but we have to focus on what we think the organisations need to look like to be successful against our goals.”
Walker added: “We are not cost-cutting, we are realigning. Arguably, the costing is around the same. This was never about taking money out, but realigning and being more efficient than we have been.”
The Stage, which has seen documents surrounding the restructuring, reported that the new structure will cost around £2.84m (€3.3m/$3.6m) based on salaries only, compared to £2.95m previously.
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