Theatres Trust Announces Bursary In Honour Of Late Colleague Ruth Eastwood

Theatres Trust, the national public advisory and advocacy body for theatres has launched a bursary in the memory of its much-missed colleague Ruth Eastwood, who died in May. 

Ruth served on Theatres Trust's board for nine years and was Vice Chair for her last six. She joined the staff team at Theatres Trust in February 2024 as Theatres Adviser, a role which enabled her to share her knowledge from a long career in regional theatre.

The Ruth Eastwood Bursary will be awarded to a theatre management professional working in their first senior leadership role in a regional theatre building, who embodies Ruth's spirit of collaboration, support of junior colleagues and passionate advocacy for regional theatre where Ruth spent most of her career.  The award is open to chief executives, artistic or management leads, or other members of the senior leadership team e.g. department heads, who have been in their role for no more than three years. 

The bursary recipient will be invited to Conference 24: Making Theatres Thrive as a guest of Theatres Trust, including travel and accommodation and the opportunity to share their reflections in a blog published by Theatres Trust.  The conference takes place on Tuesday 8 October at The Lowry in Salford.

Jon Morgan, Theatres Trust Director says, Attending the conference will be an excellent opportunity for the recipient to be part of important conversations about theatre, which Ruth was passionate about.  However, more importantly, there will be the prestige of being recognised as following in the footsteps of Ruth Eastwood, a theatre superstar who had a huge impact across the sector and is sorely missed.

Roger McCann, Ruth's partner, says, Ruth was committed to professional development and was always looking for opportunities for people to stretch themselves and try new things. She would have been immensely moved to have this opportunity awarded in her name. So am I.

The simple application process involves sending a CV or similar and answering two questions, one of which was Ruth's preferred icebreaker “What is your superpower?” The Ruth Eastwood Bursary recipient will be selected by Theatres Trust with the help of Ruth's partner Roger McCann.

The deadline for applications is noon on Tuesday 10 September. Find out more on the Theatres Trust website www.theatrestrust.org.uk.

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