Leading theatre director, Jonathan Church CBE, has announced the appointment of Becky Barber as Executive Producer at Jonathan Church Theatre Productions (JCTP) – part of Trafalgar Entertainment. Becky will join the company on 17 January 2022 as the successor to Georgia Gatti.
Gatti is joining Neal Street Productions as Theatre Producer to work alongside Founder Director, Caro Newling, on a slate of World Premiere productions.
Previously, Barber worked at Greene Light Stage (formerly Old Vic Productions) from 2007 until 2018. Credits during this time included the global productions of Billy Elliot: The Musical; numerous co-productions with The Old Vic Theatre Company including Noises Off, The Norman Conquests, Hedda Gabler, Kiss Me, Kate, and High Society. Other West End theatre credits included Private Lives, Jerusalem, Sweeney Todd and The Pajama Game.
As an independent producer she was awarded the first Stage One start-up fund for her premiere of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong in 2010 and produced Only the Brave and Fox at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Barber’s recent credits include Associate Producer and General Manager on behalf of Nica Burns, on the multi-Olivier Award-winning play, Emilia, and General Management for Second Half Productions on the development of The Glass Menagerie starring Amy Adams.
Based in London, JCTP produces plays and musicals in the West End, on tour in the UK and internationally and regularly works with both commercial and subsidised partners including The Old Vic, Sadler’s Wells, National Theatre, Almeida, RSC, The Bush, Chichester Festival Theatre, Leeds Playhouse and Bath Theatre Royal. JCTP also provide general management services. JCTP is driven by the writers, directors and actors whose work they produce and are always looking for new work to commission and develop.
Current productions for JCTP include South Pacific, Wendy and Peter Pan, Poirot and More: A Retrospective, Private Peaceful, Two Cigarettes in the Dark, East is East, A Monster Calls and Singin’ in the Rain. JCTP is also general manager for the current UK Tour of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Jonathan Church said: “I’m delighted to welcome Becky on board as Executive Producer for JCTP. Becky and I first worked together on the West End transfer, from Chichester, of Jonathan Kent’s production of PRIVATE LIVES in 2013. Since then, Becky has enjoyed an exceptional producing career, working on an impressive and diverse range of productions. I look forward to Becky joining JCTP in the New Year, alongside the current team, to help lead and expand our work.
“I’d also like to thank Georgia for all her exceptional commitment and support over the past three years nurturing and growing our work and the company throughout the pandemic. We wish her every success in her new role at Neal Street.”
Becky Barber said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Jonathan and the team at JCTP as Executive Producer. I have always admired Jonathan’s work and he leads his company with the same passion and integrity with which he approaches his directing. As our industry moves towards recovery from the Covid crisis I want to contribute to the positive change in our industry, rebuilding it to be better through creating exceptional theatre that embraces values of equality, diversity and inclusion.”
Barber is a member of The Society of London Theatre and The League of Independent Producers, a Trustee of Stage One and sits on the Partners Board at 4Sixteen Theatre Company.
In 2019 she formed Becky Barber Producing Masterclass through which she mentors and coaches new Producers and teaches a module at The Central School of Speech and Drama for their MA course in Creative Producing. Other clients include The Gate Theatre, Dublin, Brighton’s People’s Theatre, The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts, Producer 360 and Alan Brodie Representation.