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The Nuffield's AD to depart as company restructures for the future.

After 25 years as Artistic Director of the Nuffield Theatre Southampton, Patrick Sandford is to step down in June 2013. During Patrick's tenure, the Nuffield has grown and developed from a company that produced new plays and neglected classics on its main stage, to operate at many different scales, in different venues, and with a number of developmental partners.

With the on-going establishment of the Cultural Quarter in Southampton, including the recently opened SeaCity Museum, and plans for an arts complex in 2015 with two new performance spaces, the Nuffield continues to play a significant role in these developments. Regularly producing large scale outdoor events in Guildhall Square, they recently produced a commemorative installation for the Titanic disaster in East Park that attracted thousands, and also take work to numerous unexpected venues in the city.

The University of Southampton is unique in supporting three leading Arts Council funded venues on campus, and is taking considerable strides in developing its arts on campus, of which the Nuffield is a central player.

With Patrick Sandford's departure, the company is to adopt a new model of working, with a Creative Producer leading the artistic work, supported by a strong in-house team. This, it is hoped, will enable the Nuffield to respond to a changing environment with increasing flexibility, and to engage with a range of distinctive artists to animate all the spaces in which it works.

Early in his tenure, Patrick Sandford won the Theatrical Management Association Award for Best Director for The Winter Wife and Much Ado About Nothing, setting a standard for the quality of the Nuffield’s work, which has since won further awards, critical acclaim, and international invitations. Patrick is said to be looking forward to celebrating the company's past, present, and future achievements in his final season at The Nuffield, which commences in September.

- by Simon Cole

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