Royal Exchange welcomes co-chief executive after flawed leadership report

SHEENA WRIGLEY has been named executive director and co-chief executive at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, marking a formal return to a traditional joint leadership model for the first time in two years.

Wrigley replaces Leicester Curve’s CEO CHRIS STAFFORD, who has been doing double duty as part-time interim executive director and co-chief executive since April, after former boss STEPHEN FREEMAN resigned following the publication of an independent review into a decision to cancel a contentious production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream last year.

Freeman became the sole chief executive in 2024 when the theatre dropped the role of artistic director, instead appointing SELINA CARTMELL as creative director.

After the review found that a “lack of senior artistic leadership” contributed to conditions where “legitimate concerns about artistic developments in the production became entangled with allegations of censorship,” the theatre confirmed it would move to a joint artistic and executive leadership model.

Originally from Manchester, Wrigley is currently executive director of Factory International and was previously director of the city’s Palace Theatre & Opera House and executive director of HOME.

Cartmell said she was “delighted” to be working alongside Wrigley as artistic director and co-chief executive to lead the venue “into its next chapter”.

Wrigley commented: “As a young person growing up in Manchester, I was inspired by the radical intimacy of this theatre’s extraordinary auditorium. The Exchange, for many like me, was the beacon that sparked the possibilities of a career in the arts.

“It is a huge privilege to be part of shaping a new Exchange with Selina as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, ensuring this nationally significant theatre strengthens its place at the heart of contemporary Manchester while building on its brilliant past.”