Shakespeare North Playhouse Chief Exec steps down

Shakespeare North Playhouse’s first Chief Executive, MELANIE LEWIS, is to leave the organisation at the end of June.

Lewis, who has been Chief Executive since 2021, is taking on a new leadership role at Historic England.

During her time at the theatre in Prescot, Merseyside, Lewis oversaw the opening of the £38m venue and developed a sustainable business model for the organisation. 

Among the 26 awards the Playhouse has won since opening in 2022 are Theatre Building of the Year 2023 and the New Tourism Business of the Year at the Liverpool Tourism Awards.

Lewis said she was "immensely proud of the part I have played in [the theatre's] success" but that it was "the right moment for me to step away from my role at Shakespeare North Playhouse as it embarks on its next phase of growth".

MIKE HARDEN, Chief Executive of Knowsley Council, said Lewis's leadership “has firmly helped to place Shakespeare North Playhouse on the national cultural map and brought inspiring live events and performance to many thousands of people – many of whom may never have even set foot in a theatre before".