Zoë Waterman is to join Newcastle-under-Lyme’s New Vic Theatre as associate director.
Over the next year, she will direct three plays, the first of which is April De Angelis’s drama Playhouse Creatures in spring 2018.
The New Vic will share with her its expertise of working in-the-round, offering development opportunities, management experience and insight into how a theatre impacts on its community.
Waterman directed The Kitchen Sink by Tom Wells for the New Vic in September 2016. A past winner of New Wimbledon Theatre’s emerging director award, her directing credits include Laura Eason’s Remarkable Invisible at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick in 2017 and The Rubenstein Kiss by James Phillips at Nottingham Playhouse in 2015.
New Vic artistic director Theresa Heskins said, “Zoë has an excellent reputation and, having worked with her on The Kitchen Sink in our 2016 autumn season, I know she has a great talent for creating work in-the-round. I’m looking forward to welcoming her to our artistic team and to working with her on many projects as we prepare for a very busy year.”
Waterman said, “I greatly enjoyed directing The Kitchen Sink and can't wait to build a stronger relationship with the building and audiences.
“I trained on the theatre directing MFA at Birkbeck College, which was set up by (former New Vic artistic director) Peter Cheeseman. He interviewed me for the course and then did some teaching on it—including speaking with great passion about the New Vic and theatre-in-the-round. It’s always been a theatre I aspired to work at, and it feels particularly special to be taking up the post of associate director.”
Playhouse Creatures runs at the New Vic from Friday 2 until Saturday 24 February 2018.