In Conversation with Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director
Jesse Jones has been Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director since July 2023.
Before this, he was a successful theatre director based in Bristol and a founding member and co-artistic director of the award-winning Wardrobe Theatre. He played a key role in establishing the theatre as the city’s premier fringe venue and staged plays in prestigious venues such as The Old Vic, the Bristol Old Vic and the National Theatre.
He talks to Sarah Becker about his first eight months as Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate, his passion for community spaces, inspiring and developing local talent and how theatre gave him a safe space to find his voice.
What does your role as Artistic Director involve?
The artistic director collaborates closely with the broader management team to define our artistic vision and oversee the selection of works presented on our stages. A significant aspect of this role involves directing plays, evaluating scripts and making key decisions about our productions, including which artists and creative teams to engage.
My role extends to community engagement – thinking about how we connect with, support and develop people, communities and artists. Building partnerships is crucial; we actively seek collaborations with other arts organisations, schools, universities, and cultural groups. And of course working with teams to deliver the artistic programme.
What have you enjoyed about the last eight months in your role?
Beyond directing shows, thinking about what the next five to ten years might look like for our theatre.
Working in a theatre is generally a very exciting and dynamic place to be and over the last eight months, I’ve had the pleasure of talking to audiences, to the many great organizations and artists we work with.
One of my favourite aspects of this job is hearing extraordinary ideas from creative individuals and organisations, deciding which projects we take on and the stories we want to tell and how we can best present them.
I love the bubbling of ideas that comes into the melting pot. Conversations about these creative proposals mimic the rehearsal process, though on a broader organisational scale and working out how best to execute them as a unified organisation.
There’s a buzz that comes from creating a great programme whether that be work we produce ourselves, a show that we take on tour, or an amazing documentary that’s shown at the filmhouse.
Can you share your vision for the future artistic agenda of the theatre?
For it to continue to be the number one home for people to engage with extraordinary art.
One of my ambitions is to explore how we tell stories about Northamptonshire that resonate on a broader scale. This could involve staging a new play focused on a specific demographic within our local communities, bringing to life an untold story of a local figure or commissioning a play by a Northamptonshire-based writer. I would also like our organization to remain a vibrant hub for new and extraordinary theatrical work.
For me there are two main reasons we attend theatre; to be entertained and to be challenged – to question the world around us. Ideally, the best theatre manages to do both of those things at the same time.
I am particularly passionate about engaging with young people and the broader community, aiming to inspire and nurture the next generation of artists.
It’s also important for me that local talent – actors, musicians, designers and directors- find representation on our stages and see our theatre as a home where they can develop their craft and career.
What inspired the move to Artistic Director?
It partly stemmed from my experience of leading one of Bristol’s top fringe theatre companies, the Wardrobe Theatre company. We produced shows that were staged at the National theatre, the Old Vic and Bristol Old Vic. At that time, I decided I wanted to run a regional theatre which is one of the reasons behind my decision to pursue the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme.
The scheme facilitated the opportunity of working here at The Royal and Derngate theatre in 2015, as resident director.
I fell in love with Northampton and this theatre. During the residency I I had the pleasure of working on fifteen shows produced here, directing six of them. When the opportunity arose to apply for the artistic director position, I knew it was something I really wanted to do. The theatre was not only a place I felt connected to, but also a venue I felt I could contribute a lot to. It felt like a natural next step.
How did you yourself discover theatre?
I was only five when I discovered the theatre. I fondly refer to my parents as ‘do-gooders.’ My mother worked in social housing and my father set up adventure playgrounds. Both came from lower middle-class backgrounds and instilled in me the value of community-orientated spaces.
These community spaces I found myself growing up in have remained important to me. I believe in holding these spaces because I firmly believe in the arts’ capacity to transform young people’s lives – as they did for me.
Growing up with dyslexia, I found mainstream education challenging; it was through theatre that I was able to find my voice as a human being and my identity.
That is a world in which I want to live; and to lead an organization on and off stage that celebrates difference and acceptance.
What are your guiding principles as a director?
As a director I am really passionate about creating a safe space for people to freely explore characters and in which mistakes are not only allowed but celebrated. Recognizing this approach enriches the story telling process.
Celebrating different approaches to the way we tell stories and encouraging bold risks is an important part of who I am as an individual.
I feel this ethos is important not only for the artistic community but for society. I also like to encourage audiences to step out of their comfort zone and to experience performances that may be unfamiliar to them. While you might see something you aren’t initially a fan of, there is the potential to discover new tastes and perspectives.
In terms of what I like to create, my artistic tastes are quite eclectic. For instance, I directed, ‘Death Drop,’ a lively comedy in London’s West End showcasing drag artists in a ‘Dragetha Christie’ murder mystery. On a different note, I also helmed ‘Riot’ a thought-provoking exploration of consumer culture based around an incident that took place in an Ikea store.
In contrast, this year I’ll be directing the Royal’s Christmas offer serving really young audiences from the age of three upwards, in an adaptation of The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allen Ahlberg.
There is ample opportunity within our auditoriums to create an eclectic programme that caters to the entire Northamptonshire community.
We will continue to showcase remarkable musicals, extraordinary dramas, performances by world-class devising companies, dance recitals, and orchestral concerts. The journey ahead fills me with excitement, and I eagerly anticipate the path ahead.”