Our Vision
To be special for everyone.
Inspiring a lifetime of creativity for our audiences, artists and participants, creating memorable experiences for all and being the principal home of the performing arts in the South West.

Our Mission
To develop and deepen people’s engagement with pioneering creativity in Plymouth and the South West, delivering experiences that spark delight, expression and fulfilment.
Why we're here
- Provide a diverse range of high-quality cultural experiences for everyone
- Provide welcoming spaces that people want to visit
- Collaborate with artists and producers locally, regionally and internationally, championing artistic innovation and supporting our fellow theatre makers
- Offer a talent development pathway accessible to wide sections of the community across different ages and levels of experience, talent and skill
- Play our part in raising Plymouth’s sense of ambition, confidence and aspiration.
How we work
- By understanding and influencing the cultural, social and educational needs of our community
- By being bold and decisive in our creative risk-taking
- By engaging and developing creative talent locally, nationally and internationally and adding to the vibrancy of the wider UK theatre sector
- By leading and supporting Plymouth’s civic and ‘sense of place’ ambitions
- By being resilient, adaptable and enterprising, ready to response to change and maximise opportunities for investment to support our creative educational activities.
Our Values
Our values underpin the way we work across Theatre Royal Plymouth, and with our participants, visitors, partners and co-creators.
Collaboration
We communicate openly, listen and make sure we understand people’s needs. We value and respect the relationships we have with colleagues, artists and partners and celebrate our shared successes.
Creativity
We use our knowledge, experience, and judgement to explore doing things differently. We aim to empower everybody in the organisation to adopt a flexible, open-minded, and imaginative approach.
Diversity
We embrace and value difference and individuality; treating everyone as equally important. Together we are stronger and more effective.
Quality
We take responsibility for and pride in what we do; recognising each other’s good work. We consistently exceed expectations in all that we do and ensure that everyone has the skills to achieve excellence.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We recognise that our success depends upon people. Our long-held commitment to diversity and equality sits at the heart of our organisational values and mission. If we are to be truly ‘special for everyone‘ then it is incumbent on us to not only have the best and most representative work on our stages and across all our programmes but also to recognise how we recruit, who our partners are; what we prioritise and how we exercise our influence can have real impact and effect change.
We have been working towards equality, diversity and inclusion for many years but the last 14 months helped us to recognise that the changes we have made have not gone far enough. Whilst there is much to celebrate we believe we have more to do to ensure that we are the most diverse and inclusive organisation we can be. To this end, we have established a sub-committee that reports directly to the Trustees which will add pace and direction to the creation of an Action Plan that will ensure we make robust and sustainable changes across all areas of TRP business. We are committed to creating a culture in which all those who engage with us are treated with fairness, dignity and respect.
Our Vacancies
— Closes 06 Feb 2023
Children, Young People & Families Officer
— Closes 13 Feb 2023
Deputy Technical Stage Manager
— Closes 20 Feb 2023
— Closes 20 Feb 2023
Artists work here
We’re looking to expand our network of theatre creatives for productions now and in the future. We’re particularly keen to hear from people from diverse cultural backgrounds and who haven’t worked with us before, as well as old friends – so if you are a director, designer, sound designer, lighting designer, or movement director do get in touch. We’re available to speak to you before you make your application so, if you’re not quite sure if your skills match the role, want to talk about how flexible working could support you, or just check any of the details, please do email us on recruitment@theatreroyal.com to arrange a chat.
Our Leadership Team
James Mackenzie-Blackman
Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer
Helen Costello
Chief Operating Officer
Mandy Precious
Director of Strategic Projects
Suzi McGoldrick
Director of External Affairs
Annette Earl
Head of Ticketing and Sales
Ben Lyon-Ross
Head of Artist Development
Brendan Cusack
Head of Workshop
Deborah Clinton
Head of People
Edward Borlase
Head of Insight & Revenue Management
Emma Tayler
Head of Governance & Business Support
Hugh Borthwick
Head of Production
Jane Pawson
Head of Artistic Planning, Projects
John Spreadbridge
Head of Estates
Laura Edwards
Head of Artistic Planning, Stages
Lewis Eynon
Head of Finance, Risk & IT
Matt Hoyle
Head of Technical
Phillipa Revest
Head of Marketing
Ross Ayling
Head of Visitor Experience
Sara Rhodes
Associate Director, Co-Curated and Outdoor Work
Savanna Msyzka
Head of Communications (Interim)
Sebastian Soper
Head of Project Development
Our Trustees
Read more about the trustees here
We are thankful to our trustees, staff, participants, artists, audiences and the wider community for their continued support. We gratefully acknowledge funding from Arts Council England and Plymouth City Council.