Chris Stafford, CEO of Leicester's Curve Theatre, will join Manchester's Royal Exchange temporarily as part-time Interim Executive Director and Co-CEO.
Selina Cartmell, who was appointed Creative Director a year ago after the theatre announced it would drop the role of Artistic Director for the first time in its history, is now referred to as "the recently appointed Artistic Director and Co-CEO".
Stafford will remain CEO of Curve, but day-to-day management of the Leicester theatre will fall to Artistic Director Nikolai Foster and Executive Director Claire Ward while he is on secondment in Manchester.
He said, "The Royal Exchange is one of the finest theatres in this country and I am delighted to be working with the Board, Selina and the team until a new Co-CEO is appointed. Although I’m not fully stepping away from Curve, I am indebted to Nikolai, Claire and the brilliant team at Curve who will keep Leicester firing on all cylinders whilst I’m in Manchester."
Cartmell added, "I am delighted that Chris will be joining us at the Exchange and look forward to working closely with him as we bring new programmes and ideas to life in the coming months. Chris brings with him a wealth of invaluable experience that I know will greatly benefit our team. Chris will join us here in Manchester for three days a week as we work towards our 50th anniversary in 2026."
This management shake-up follows the resignation of Royal Exchange Theatre's Chief Executive Stephen Freeman last month following a report into the cancellation of last year's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream which blamed "the lack of senior artistic leadership and properly documented producing processes".