Royal Exchange Theatre hires to create ‘artist-led’ culture

The Royal Exchange Theatre (RET) has announced the appointment of two new associate directors in the lead up to its 50th anniversary next year.

Directors EMMA BAGGOTT and KATIE GREENALL will join the Manchester theatre in 2026-2027, placing artistic voices “firmly at the forefront of the RET’s artistic leadership”.

Baggott has worked in major theatres and drama schools across the UK, including recent credits on A Taste of Honey at RET, Dracula at Lyric Hammersmith and The Wonderful World of Dissociation at Theatre Royal Stratford.

Alongside her directing work, Baggott is co-chair of the James Menzies-Kitchin Young Director Award and a trustee of theatre company Bold Elephant.

Greenall worked as associate director at the Bush Theatre most recently, where she directed productions including As We Face the Sun and ANTHEM.

Her new solo show, BLUBBER, which was runner-up for the Oxford Samuel Beckett Award, will tour in 2026.

As a writer, she was also a member of the Poetry Collective at the Roundhouse and a resident artist there in 2018-19.

RET artistic director SELINA CARTMELL said the appointments would create “a culture of artist-led initiatives across our programme”.

“Embedding artistic voices at the heart of this theatre is vital and essential and they will help us to develop a fiercely distinctive artistic future that is local, national and international in ambition,” she said.

“We look forward to them shaping our artistic programme, creating deeply rooted community engagement projects and influencing our theatre’s commitment to supporting artists and developing new work for our stage.”

EMILY MCLAUGHLIN will continue on as RET’s new work consultant and literary co-ordinator for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwrighting ROSIE THACKERAY will take on the newly-created role of new work deputy.