New partnership with Live Theatre launched

Northumbria University and Live Theatre announce their new partnership, which will bring a range of cultural benefits to the region.

Building on already strong links, the partnership will reflect Live Theatre’s status as a centre of excellence in theatre, performance and new writing and recognises Northumbria University’s commitment to make a powerful contribution to the cultural and economic development of the region.

Northumbria University believes the partnership will further cement its reputation as a centre of excellence within the arts and will benefit its community of staff and students through opportunities such as practice-led research, mentoring, internships and direct engagement with industry whilst also enhancing curriculum development.

Professor Andrew Wathey, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, said: “As a leading centre for energising creative practice and academic study, Northumbria University is committed to supporting the creative and cultural sector in the region. By working in partnership with like-minded organisations, Northumbria seeks to retain ‘home-grown’ talent and boost economic, social and cultural development in the city and beyond, and in doing so, support new and unique learning opportunities as well as cultural offerings.

“Partnership working is at the heart of what Northumbria University does. We believe connecting the right people with the right partners for the right reasons will deliver the right outcomes every time. This is particularly true during these challenging times which demand increasing levels of resourcefulness and innovation in order to make a real difference to our people, organisations and communities.”

Jim Beirne MBE, Chief Executive of Live Theatre, added: “Over the past few years Live Theatre has had a long and fruitful relationship with Northumbria University, working with performing arts and creative writing students. Indeed, a significant number of graduates from Northumbria have been employed by Live Theatre. We are passionate about developing talent, and we know that passion is shared by Northumbria University and to mark that with a formal partnership such as this is great news.

“We look forward to working with all areas of the university, to being enterprising together and giving students of the University a unique and vocational insight to the industry we work in.”

The partnership will be officially launched on Friday, 1 March when representatives from both organisations will attend a performance of White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. This unique play by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour requires no director, no set and a different actor every evening and forms part of Live Theatre’s 40^th birthday celebrations.