Actors Touring Company welcomes ’emerging leader’ as associate director

The Actors Touring Company (ATC) has announced the appointment of SARA ANIQAH MALIK as its new associate director for 2025/26, starting from 8 December this year.

Theatre and film director Malik will join ATC artistic director and CEO MATTHEW XIA in developing and touring new projects by the UK’s leading producer of international plays.

Most recently, Malik was associate director on the West End transfer of Just For One Day and held the position of resident assistant director at the Donmar Warehouse from 2020-2022.

She is an associate artist at Bangor’s Watermill Theatre, and her associate director credits include Tammy Faye: The Musical at the Almeida and on Broadway, Why Am I So Single? at the Garrick Theatre and The 47th at The Old Vic.

Malik said she was “thrilled” to join the company under the “inspiring leadership” of Xia.

“ATC’s core values resonate deeply with me: the commitment to fostering cross-cultural dialogue, amplifying international voices, and responding to the world around us with honesty and integrity,” she said.

“I have long sought a role that unite the political and the creative, and I am grateful to have found that opportunity here.

“I look forward to a year of championing ATC’s vision while cultivating my own leadership skills under the guidance of the brilliant Matthew Xia.”

The ATC associate director programme is a 12-month position designed “to provide greater opportunities to those who have encountered barriers to employment within the sector”.

Xia said he was “delighted to welcome” Malik, adding that she was “exactly the kind of emerging leader this programme was built for”.

“Her ambition, sharp creative instincts and commitment to sharing cross-cultural stories align powerfully with our mission,” he said.