The Stage

NToS seeks ‘superman’ director

Published Tuesday 13 April 2004 at 09:10 by Sally Bramley

Board members of the National Theatre of Scotland have launched the search for a director, saying they are looking for a “superman” with a variety of business and artistic skills.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing a programme for the new company as well as managing a budget of £7.5 million over two years.

Peter Cabrelli, one of the members of the board, said he was confident the post offered a good enough package to attract the right candidate.

He added: “We need someone with a mix of skills. Someone who is both artistic and a creative business entrepreneur. A superman with a knowledge of theatre. We are not restricting our search to Scotland, we shall be looking throughout the UK and, possibly, overseas as well.”

Speaking about the loss of several high-profile artistic directors from Scotland due to lack of funding, Cabrelli said: “We should reverse the brain drain. I think someone of the highest calibre will be attracted to the position. If there was the feeling that the purse strings were going to be tight, we wouldn’t attract the right person and I don’t think any of the members would have been attracted to sitting on the board. You have to be careful with money but we have enough to have a really good stab at getting the right candidate.”

The NToS will commission work existing companies and will not be building based, although there will be an administrative office in Glasgow’s Arts Factory.

It is believed the post, which is being advertised from the end of this month, will be initially for a fixed term of two to three years.

After the board’s first meeting last week, chairman Richard Findlay said: “This is a great moment in the history of Scottish theatre and I am very excited to be working with such an enthusiastic group of people. We are developing our strategy very quickly.”