Chris Stafford and Nikolai Foster to guest edit WhatsOnStage

Chris Stafford and Nikolai Foster will act as guest editors of WhatsOnStage from 11 to 17 November.

The pair currently lead the senior team at the Curve in Leicester, where Stafford is chief executive and Foster is artistic director.

For their week-long tenure at WhatsOnStage, Stafford and Foster will be commissioning a variety of features, videos, interviews and more, highlighting the brilliant work being done on stages both in Leicester and across the UK.

The intention behind the scheme is to offer more theatre creatives the chance to produce pieces for the WhatsOnStage audience and bring their wealth of experience to people via the website, as well as highlight the vital and innovative work being done at theatres up and down the country.

Stafford was appointed CEO of the venue in 2015, and has spearheaded initiatives to transform the theatre into a regional powerhouse – since he began attendance at the Curve has risen by up to 60,000 with many major tours including Les Misérables and Matilda opening in Leicester. Foster, who was made artistic director in 2015, recently oversaw the stage production of Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette, with previous credits including the hit revivals of Annie, Grease and Sunset Boulevard, as well as White Christmas, which is about to transfer to the West End.

Stafford and Foster said: "We are thrilled to have been invited by COO Sita McIntosh and her terrific team to guest edit WhatsOnStage.

"Over the course of the week, we will be proudly celebrating everything Curve does, discussing the issues that matter to us most, sharing stories from some of theatre's leading practitioners, as well as giving a glimpse behind the scenes of life at Curve."

McIntosh added: "13 months ago I was approached by Chris about the possibility of me joining Curve as a Trustee. I have to admit that I was slightly concerned about the time constraints given that I live in London so to commit to being in Leicester on a regular basis on top of my day job and other commitments took some consideration. However having met Chris and then Nikolai I was immediately struck by their passion, dedication and vision for Curve and their unashamed ambition to keep regional theatre thriving, relevant, inclusive and accessible.

"Witnessing first hand the behind the scenes energy and commitment to ensure that Curve not only receives iconic productions such as Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, or Six etc but to balance that with curating new productions of classics (The Color Purple, West Side Story) and their recent Made At Curve brand new shows including Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual, An Officer and a Gentleman and My Beautiful Launderette. I formally joined the board in February this year so have got to know the venue more intimately since then and I can assure you that they have some cracking work lined up. I'll let them tell you all about it when they take over the helm at WhatsOnStage next month."