Jonathan Church Steps Down as Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Director

Sydney Theatre Company announced today that Artistic Director Jonathan Church has stepped down from the role.

Jonathan Church said: "It has been a great experience working with this wonderful company and getting to know its network of extraordinary artists over the past nine months. I expect to maintain close contacts with Australian theatre makers over the coming years, although, regrettably, it has not proved viable for me to continue as STC's Artistic Director while balancing my other interests as we had hoped. I wish the company and the whole team well for the future."

STC Chairman Ian Narev said, "Since September last year, Jonathan has led the development of an exciting season for 2017. Over these nine months, he has been balancing his time in Sydney with his ongoing commitments in the UK and elsewhere, and it has become apparent that the combined workload and travel will be unsustainable.

"We understood when we made the appointment in August last year that Jonathan was much in demand and we agreed that time would be made for him to remain engaged in other opportunities around the world through his company Jonathan Church Productions. But ultimately, both parties have decided that this arrangement won't be in the best interests for either in the long term.

"The board thanks Jonathan for the contribution he has made to the company, in particular his role in the development of the 2017 program. He has built many strong relationships in his time here, and we look forward to staying in touch as he continues his work."

Programming for the 2017 season will be completed by the company's in-house artistic team, and will be launched as planned in early September this year. Mr Narev said the search for a new Artistic Director would commence after the 2017 season has launched.

Photo credit: Julian Andrews