Clare Slater Will Step Down as Artistic Director of Hightide

HighTide has announced that Clare Slater will step down as Artistic Director/CEO later this year. She leaves to join The National Theatre as Head of Play Development, taking up that role on 30 June. HighTide will now start 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.”

Clare Slater’s tenure at HighTide has seen a period of transformation from the company. On her appointment, she redefined HighTide's mission to focus on East of England playwrights, working with and commissioning 26 leading playwrights from across the region. Her programming - highlights of which included two sell-out tours of Ghost Stories by Candlelight which played both traditional and non-traditional theatre spaces; the critically acclaimed world premiere of Bindweed by Martha Loader; and Herring Girls: greater than we are alone a song cycle with an intergenerational community choir - saw audiences increase by 150%.

Other initiatives during her tenure include creating Playwrights East – a network for 616 (and counting) East of England playwrights to develop their craft and connect across this large region;  she began the new HighTide Writer's Group, supporting 6 early career playwrights annually, with leading industry mentors; and she oversaw the launch of HighTide's school literacy and creative writing programme, Story Worlds, so far reaching over 250 primary school children in Lowestoft. 

Alongside Associate Artist Zoë Svendsen, she also embedded climate dramaturgy at the heart of the company's practice, engaging with 763 artists and participants in climate dramaturgy workshops helping to effect industry-wide change.