The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury has appointed Thabo Stuck-Mekela as its first Director of Vocational Strategy, a new director-level post created to expand the theatre’s vocational training and to build fresh routes into the performing arts.
The Marlowe Theatre has appointed Thabo Stuck-Mekela to a new senior role, Director of Vocational Strategy, with a brief to develop the theatre’s vocational training programmes and to create new pathways into the performing arts. He joins the theatre this month.
The Marlowe was named UK Theatre of the Year at the Stage Awards in 2022 and is the largest performing arts employer in Kent, which is the standing from which it now proposes to address the skills shortages facing the creative sector, and technical roles in particular.
The post builds on provision already in place. That includes an award-winning apprenticeship programme, more than 800 hours of work experience for college students each year, and the Marlowe Academy of Performing Arts, which delivers a UAL Level 3 Performing Arts course co-created with East Kent Colleges Group.
Stuck-Mekela joins from Chelsea Physic Garden, where he was Head of Learning and Public Engagement. He has previously worked as a Learning Producer at Historic Royal Palaces and as a teacher at the BRIT School, and he was the first Lambeth Baylis Trustee at the Old Vic.
Deborah Shaw, chief executive of the Marlowe Theatre, said: “With Thabo joining us, our strategy will be to grow the number of opportunities we offer, target them where they are most needed and link them to real job opportunities in the creative industries - one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy, which is suffering from major skills shortages.”
She added that bringing the work under a single strategic lead would allow the theatre to “develop partnerships, create new programmes and build on the success of our award-winning apprenticeships and further education programmes”, and said vocational training would be a major focus of the theatre’s next business plan.
Stuck-Mekela said: “I’ve never believed that talent is in short supply, but access to opportunity often is.” He added: “What’s particularly exciting about the Marlowe Theatre is its commitment to placing vocational training and workforce development at the heart of its future vision. The foundations are already incredibly strong, with a range of partnerships and programmes that are making a real difference to young people across Kent.”
Alongside its touring and producing work, the Marlowe is the national home of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Cygnet School and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Associate Theatre in the South East. We last reported on the theatre when it released rehearsal images for its production of A Tale of Two Cities in August.