The JMK Trust are delighted to be partnering with Leeds Playhouse and Royal Exchange Manchester, with support from the Victoria Wood Foundation, to offer two Assistant Director bursaries to early career directors in the North of England.
For the first bursary we are looking for a West Yorkshire-based early career director to undertake a 15-week placement at Leeds Playhouse to assist on two productions and engage with the Playhouse Artistic Planning teams.
For the second bursary we are looking for a Manchester-based early career director to assist Roy Alexander Weise on their upcoming production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF by Tennessee Williams for a 5.5 week placement.
About the role at Leeds Playhouse:
At the heart of this placement is the opportunity to be the Assistant Director on two Leeds Playhouse productions – Lord of The Flies directed by Deputy Artistic Director Amy Leach and A Passionate Woman directed by Associate Director Sameena Hussain.
This production will take place in the Quarry Theatre at Leeds Playhouse – a 750 seat amphitheatre. This is a co-production with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in association with Rose Theatre, Kingston and will tour to both of these theatres. It will be accompanied by a programme of wraparound education work. Every performance will have creatively integrated audio description available and the cast will include deaf and disabled artists. The Assistant Director will have the opportunity to accompany the show to both Coventry and Kingston, and to be involved in the creation and delivery of the education programme.
A Passionate Woman directed by Associate Director Sameena Hussain.
This revival of Kay Mellor’s classic play will be performed in the Courtyard Theatre at Leeds Playhouse – a 420 seat end-on theatre. The production is in memory of Kay who died earlier this year. Director Sameena Hussain was a a previous recipient of the JMK & Leeds Playhouse Assistant Director opportunity in 2018.
This is a full-time 15 week placement based at Leeds Playhouse, from 13th February 2023 until 26th May 2023. It is intended as an opportunity for a director in the earlier stages of their career.
Read more and apply here: https://www.jmktrust.org/victoria-wood-assistant-director-bursary-leeds-playhouse-info
About the role at Royal Exchange Manchester:
This is a full-time 5.5 week placement based at Royal Exchange Manchester, from 20th February 2023 until 29th March 2023. It is intended as an opportunity for a director in the earlier stages of their career to assist on a show in the module:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by Co-Artistic Director Roy Alexander Weise
Tennessee Williams’ 1955 Pulitzer Prize winning play, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is an astounding family drama, with all the tension of SUCCESSION and the opulence of DYNASTY. Now, Royal Exchange Joint Artistic Director Roy Alexander Weise brings this extraordinary story to the Exchange’s unique stage in a brand-new production for 2023. Almost 70 years on this powerful play remains as relevant today as when it was first written, its universality radiates through Williams’ sharp observations of society, capitalism, gender and love, and through his gripping characters and their complex family dynamics.
Read more and apply here: https://www.jmktrust.org/victoria-wood-assistant-director-bursary-royal-exchange-manchester-info
The successful candidates will be the recipient of a JMK Victoria Wood Bursary, generously supported by the Victoria Wood Foundation.
