Graeme Phillips, Unity Theatre’s Artistic Director will retire this month after 33 years at the acclaimed Hope Place venue. A seasoned well-respected member of Liverpool’s artistic community, director, designer and mentor to many local, regional and national theatre companies, he will step aside at the end of July.
Graeme Phillips said, My temporary stop-over in Liverpool has turned out to be over 30 years. Most of that time has been in a happy association with Unity, and the majority of that time as Artistic Director. It has been a privilege to have the opportunity to shape an organisation virtually from scratch and to have worked with and brought to the City so many talented individuals, theatre-makers, and companies, who in their turn have inspired and provoked our own home-grown artists. Unity’s success has always been an ensemble effort and so I would like to say a big thank you to the current and past staff, board members, friends, funders, and others too numerous to mention, who have encouraged and supported me these past three decades. The current Unity began in the troubled eighties and still stands proud in the present challenging noughties. It is an interesting time to hand over the stewardship into fresh hands. I wish them good luck and trust that they have as exhilarating a ride as I have.
Graeme trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London before working extensively throughout the country including Ipswich, Leeds, London and Crewe.
In 1982 he joined The Merseyside Unity Theatre (which later became Unity Theatre), becoming Artistic Director in the early 1990s. He presided over two capital redevelopments which transformed a leaky-roofed old synagogue into a state-of-the-art small-scale theatre that has established itself as a major asset to both the city and national theatre portfolio.
Core to his leadership has been his unerring support of new companies and artists, including the now acclaimed Told By An Idiot, Improbable, Volcano, Tmesis Theatre and creatives such as Robert Farquhar, Jeff Young and Terry Titter, balanced alongside an innovative, high quality programme of touring and produced work.
His support of LGBT arts in the city led to the creation of the internationally acclaimed Homotopia Festival, now in its 11th year and a key part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio led by Artistic Director Gary Everett. In addition to mentoring, Graeme also sits on the boards and management groups of Homotopia, Tmesis Theatre, Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium and Visit Hope Street CIC and has been a past board member for Told By An Idiot, Lumiere and Son and Loudmouth Theatre.
His past directorial credits include: Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The Maids, River Fever, The Voyages Of Sinbad The Sailor and Krapp’s Last Tape. Recent productions he has overseen as Artistic Director include Tony Kushner’s epic Angels in America, an international co-production of Ibsen’s When We Dead Awaken, a national and international tour of David Yip’s acclaimed Gold Mountain (about Chinese Merchant Seamen in Liverpool) and the sell-out success co-production of Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.
Graeme was awarded an MBE for services to the arts in Liverpool in the 2015 New Year’s Honours.
Sue Williams, Executive Director of Unity Theatre said, “It’s hard to imagine the Unity without Graeme. I’ve worked alongside him for 18 years and his quiet determination has influenced all aspects of the city’s cultural landscape. He’s brought us amazing companies, exciting artists, weird ideas and wonderful moments. Actors, writers, directors, dancers and performers have all found that Graeme’s encouragement has helped them to be more daring, imaginative and ambitious. His leaving really will be the end of an era, but we look forward, with some excitement, to what comes next at the unity.”
Unity Theatre’s board appointed Matthew Linley as Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer in February 2015.
Matthew was previously General Manager with Eastern Angles – an acclaimed touring theatre company based in Ipswich. He also led venues in Leicester (Phoenix Arts), Reading (21 South Street) and Bath (Michael Tippett Centre).
Matthew Linley said on his appointment, “I am thrilled to be invited to become the new Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Unity Theatre. To be asked to lead this remarkable venue with its reputation for challenging and edgy work is a dream job for me. Independent theatre, supporting new/ home grown talent and venues rooted in a strong sense of community have always been key passions of mine.
In the last few years I’ve been making regular visits to Liverpool and I’ve always been struck by the way the city holds culture close to its heart. There is a very real sense of collaboration, pride, ambition and optimism and I’m looking forward to being part of that, and working with the artists and audiences of this brilliant city.
Most of all though I want to build on the legacy of Graeme’s 34 year tenure and work with the whole Unity team to ensure the theatre continues not just to thrive but to punch way above its weight in the city, regionally, nationally and beyond.”