Hightide Reveals Alan Bookbinder As New Chair Of The Board

HighTide has announced the appointment of Alan Bookbinder as Chair of the Board. Bookbinder will take over from Tim Clark who steps down as Chair this Autumn.

The former master of Downing College, Cambridge, Alan Bookbinder has a long-held passion for supporting new talent. His career includes producing and commissioning documentaries for the BBC, managing many of the Sainsburys' Charitable Trusts, and chairing the Trusts and Foundations sub-committee of The National Theatre's Development Board.

HighTide also announces six new trustees to their Board as they continue to champion new writers in the East of England. Jane Ball, Greg Brenman, Caroline Dyott, Elma Glasgow, Lucy Rowan-Robinson, and Colin Simon join the Board to steer HighTide towards their 2030 vision for the East of England to be a nationally recognised seedbed of playwriting talent.

Bookbinder said today: “I'm thrilled to be joining HighTide's excellent Trustee Board and staff team. It's inspiring to help develop the next generation of playwrights in the East of England and ensure that theatre continues to be a force for good and a source of joy.”

Tim Clark, HighTide's outgoing Chair said today: "It has been a real joy to be the Chair of HighTide for the last eight years. It is a small but disproportionately important part of the UK theatre ecology and I am grateful to the staff, my fellow Trustees, our generous supporters and partners, and the very talented creatives with whom we work, who have all enabled it to flourish through very difficult times for the whole industry.

“I am delighted now to be passing on my role to Alan Bookbinder, an outstanding choice for Chair, who will lead HighTide with our amazing Artistic Director and CEO, Clare Slater. Together, they will ensure that the theatre continues to provide a platform for writers in the East of England and to support literacy in schools in our region."

Alongside these appointments, the writer-centred company announces playwright Lucy Kirkwood (The Witches, The Children, Chimerica) as a new Patron of HighTide. She joins Nicholas Hytner and David Hare in their affiliation with the company.

Lucy Kirkwood said today: “I'm delighted and honoured to become a Patron of HighTide. Their wonderful work championing playwrights in the East of England is vitally important to the artists working here, and to making theatre in East Anglia an art form for everyone, not just the few."

Long-standing arts philanthropist and HighTide supporter, Clare Parsons, is also announced as a Lifetime Patron. She has helped HighTide to flourish since its inception, creating its ground-breaking corporate partnership with Lansons, the company she co-founded with her husband, Tony Langham.

Clare Parsons said today: “From the early days, HighTide has been extraordinary, and Lansons continues to be proud of our unique association and support. It's been an honour being part of an organisation that supports early stage writers from all backgrounds, often seeing their work come to the stage. “

With strong leaders at their helm, HighTide look forward to an exciting Autumn season including More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight touring from 15 October to 2 November (with press night on 17 October) and their one-day HighTide Rising festival of new work on 23 November.

Alan Bookbinder was the Master of Downing College, Cambridge from 2018 to 2023. One of the highlights of his tenure was the college's annual Festival of New Writing, which staged the work of budding student playwrights. From 2006 to 2018 he was Director of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, the largest family philanthropic office in the UK, which made grants to charities in the arts, environment, scientific research and disability. From 2016 to 2019 he chaired the Trusts and Foundations section of The National Theatre's Development Board. Prior to that he was a television documentary producer and commissioner at the BBC.

Lucy Kirkwood's theatre credits include The Welkin (Linda Gross Theatre, New York, National Theatre), The Human Body (Donmar Warehouse), Roald Dahl's The Witches (book and lyrics), The Welkin, Mosquitoes, Hansel and Gretel and Beauty and the Beast (National Theatre), That Is Not Who I Am, Maryland, The Children and NSFW (Royal Court Theatre), Like Rabbits (Brighton Festival), Chimerica (Headlong, Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter Theatre), Housekeeping (Southwark Playhouse and Latitude Festival), The Small Hours (Hampstead Theatre), Bloody Wimmin (Kiln Theatre), It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First but it is Alright Now (Arcola Theatre), Psychogeography (Union Theatre), Tinderbox (Bush Theatre), Guns or Butter (Union Theatre), Hedda (Gate Theatre), Grady Hot Potato (Bedlam Theatre). Television credits include Adult Material, Chimerica, Foreign Skies, The Smoke, Skins and for film, Maryland and The Briny.

Jane Ball is Deputy Head of Schools Engagement at The National Theatre, where she specialises in designing projects and resources that bridge the gap between professional theatre practice and the curriculum. She has a particular interest in writing and literacy projects and managed New Views, the NT's nationwide playwriting programme for schools for 8 years. Before working at the NT, she worked for the Ambassador Theatre Group and Central School of Ballet.

Greg Brenman is the co-founder of leading UK drama production company, Drama Republic Ltd, with over 30 years' experience in the TV and Film Industry. He works with the UK's leading screenwriters and nurtures new talent, producing shows for all the major broadcasters and platforms. He is an investor and advisory board member at start-up Butter and Crust, he also mentors an ex-prisoner who has just graduated from the 2 year screenwriting course at the National Film and TV School.

Caroline Dyott is a theatre professional with over 15 years' experience in a range of companies, encompassing venue-based and touring work, small to large scale theatre, and work across the UK.  At The Donmar Warehouse she produced Blindness, the first piece of theatre to play to audiences' post-lockdown in August 2020, and the Olivier-award winning Constellations in the West End in 2021. Most recently she was Business Development Manager at ATG, the world's largest theatre company, focussing on strategic growth projects.  She holds an Executive MBA from the Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

Elma Glasgow is a national award-winning inclusive engagement, storyteller and communications expert. On a mission to influence positive change, she works with project teams and organisations to discover and share diverse opinions and stories that are authentic, and to deliver content, which is anti-racist, unbiased and representative of society. The catalyst for her work was involvement in the acclaimed and award-winning Power of Stories exhibition, and her related Aspire Black Suffolk community engagement initiative, which became a CiC, between 2020 and 2023.

Lucy Rowan-Robinson is a former teacher and SENCO working with both primary and secondary children. She started and ran a nursery school in London. She left full-time teaching to pursue a career as an independent consultant and teacher specialising in working with children with specific learning difficulties. She is formerly a trustee of The Alistair Roberts Fund, East Feast and Chair of Wonderful Beast; all three charities have connections to young people, education and the community. She is a governor at Framlingham College and on both education and welfare sub-committees. 

Colin Simon has extensive experience in the charity and not-for-profit world, including business and finance leadership roles at Comic Relief, The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and The National Theatre. He has been a trustee of many varied organisations and is currently a Trustee of The Talent Fund, a charity supporting the grant making of new philanthropists.

Clare Parsons is non-executive Director of Lansons, the communications and reputation management consultancy she co-founded over 35 years ago, and was recently acquired by Team Farner. Her career spans business, charities and the arts. Clare was an inaugural trustee of HighTide, and now co-chair of the Advisory Council. She is a member of the Development Council of the Almeida Theatre, and has served on the international development committee of the Royal Shakespeare Company.  Clare is also a patron of the Women's Prize Trust. She is currently on the executive committee of Global Communication Partners (GCP) and was past global chair of PROI Worldwide, the first woman to hold the role in 50 years. Alongside her professional career advising global and UK companies on reputation and brand, and championing diversity and inclusion, she has held a number of not-for-profit roles, including as Board Trustee of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Getting on Board. 

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