How we run the Company

These are the committees and groups involved in managing the work of the Tower Theatre Company

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The legal entity that runs the Tower Theatre is Tavistock Repertory Guarantors Ltd (TRGL).  Originally TRGL was created so that individuals could guarantee the rent payment by the Tower Theatre Company (formerly Tavistock Repertory Company) to the landlord at the Canonbury Tower.

Since 2015 the Tower Theatre Company and TRGL have been combined.  TRGL remains the formal registered company name, but the trading name continues to be the Tower Theatre. 

All members of the Tower Theatre Company are members of TRGL. They elect the Board of Trustees at the Annual General Meeting. If the company fails financially, members are committed to contribute towards any outstanding debts, but the amount of the guarantee is only £1. TRGL is a Limited Company and a Registered Charity. 
The Board is responsible for long-term strategy, legal compliance, the management of the theatre’s premises and staff, and the overall finances of the organisation.

The Company Board comprises :

Emily Hassan
Sarah Ley
Matthew Ibbotson
Eduardo Pelegrinello (co-opted)
Christiane Rakoto (co-opted)
Anne Watchorn (co-opted) (Chair)
Martin Mulgrew (co-opted)
Janie Goheen

Anne Watchorn (Chair of the Board of Trustees) joined the company in 1990, recruited by Tony O’Brien to sell programmes.  She went on to work on show after show as ASM and Stage Manager, initially making the rookie mistake of turning up to a “get in” in white trousers because I had no idea what “get in” actually meant!  During these 36 years she was Senior Stage Manager, recruiting, and training SMs, Props Mistress working with the lovely Bill Leahy, and subsequently Nigel Martin.  She served on the Management Committee, and the Board over those years, and, most recently, rejoined the Board in January 2025.  As we all know, this company is unique, however it depends on its members to keep the doors open, and the shows running. 
We have a very good Board this year, each with essential skills to support the running of the company.  Each Board member gives their time voluntarily, as does each member of the Management Committee, Technical Team, Building Group, Auditions Secretary, etc. 
Each Company Member or Friend can help by selling programmes, doing front of house, operating lights, or sound, working back stage, offering their professional advice to the committees, or simply supporting the shows and buying a drink at the bar.  I would urge each member to get involved in some aspect of the company.  There are so many ways to be involved, learn, and help keep this company thriving, successful, fun, and happy.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Management Committee is responsible for the day to day operations of the company and contains a mixture of elected, ex-officio and co-opted members. Each member of the Committee focuses on a particular part of the Company’s operations as listed below.

Elected Members :

Ex-officio : Amanda Waggott (Artistic Director)

ARTISTIC TEAM

Until December 2026
Artistic Director : Amanda Waggott
Assistant Artistic Directors : Emma Cornford, Jonathan Reed

From January 2027
Artistic Director : Dom Ward
Assistant Artistic Directors :  Azul Alysum, Holly Causer, Sorrel Brown

Amanda Waggott (Artistic Director) has been a member of the Tower since around 2015. She has appeared in and directed several plays here. She currently works an actor, a producer, a director and a teacher; she was last seen on stage at the Playground Theatre in September playing Cornelia Scott in Something Unspoken. She recently facilitated the Trojan Women Project – a programme which supports displaced people in the UK. She is also involved with an American theatre company Playhouse Creatures. Sports fans may have spotted her promoting LV’s Multi Cover Insurance in her native Geordie accent. She was educated in the North East, followed by a BA (hons) degree from the University of Birmingham – which she thought was in the south of England at the time of going there, the mid 80s. She studied a one-year post grad diploma in performance at Drama Studio London and has an MA in Drama (writing for performance) from Goldsmiths University. Amanda was also a member of the National Youth Theatre of GB from ages 16 through to 22, when Michael Croft the founder was at the helm. She regularly attends workshops, as well as delivering them. Currently she is a member of the Park Theatre Company, the Director’s Cut acting team and a board member at the Playground Theatre in W10. As an actor Amanda is represented by Steve Nealon Associates.

Dom Ward (Artistic Director designate) trained in Musical Theatre at Mountview Academy and has been a member of the Tower since he was press-ganged into a production of The Entertainer in 2001. Since then has been a director, actor, assistant stage manager, set builder, costume designer, sound designer and technical operator, as well as serving on the Management Committee. 
He has directed a number of productions at the Tower from Loot to Coyote on a Fence to the five-star revival of Flare Path, covering everything from classic and contemporary drama to farce and horror. 
As a performer, Dom has appeared in more than 40 roles with the Tower, SEDOS and in professional touring companies, with particular favourites being David in After the Dance (twice), Stanley in The Birthday Party and numerous wildly accented characters in The 39 Steps.

SOCIAL GROUP

Roanne Insley
Sorrel Brown
Sheila Burbidge

The Social Group organises one-off events for Members, Friends, audiences and the community. These include informal social gatherings, the Tower’s Sunday Sing, Q&A sessions with playwrights and experts, quiz nights, and occasional workshops on directing, acting, movement and design.

MARKETING TEAM

Jessica Lockwood (Marketing Manager)
Roanne Insley
Laurence Tuerk (Web Site & Noises Off)
Max Batty (Graphic Design)

The Marketing and Publicity Team promotes all the Tower’s activities. It co-ordinates and manages the Tower’s presence on the web site and all the main Social Media sites (Facebook, Instagram, X, Google My Business and YouTube). It also produces and distributes the Company’s publicity material and handles its Press Relations.

BUILDING TEAM

Michelle Balgobin
Stephen Ley
Samuel Littley
Gary O’Keefe
Jonathan Ringshall

The Building Team meets regularly to look after the Tower’s premises in Stoke Newington and in Leytonstone. It organises cleaning, repairs and maintenance and is the point of contact for Hackney Council and other statutory bodies. It oversees any building work, drawing up specifications and managing contractors.

TECHNICAL TEAM

Jude Chalk (Team co-ordinator and Design)
Phillip Ley (Sound)
Jean Carr (Props)
Kathleen Morrison (Costume)
Nick Insley (Facilities)
Stephen Ley (Lighting)
Laurence Tuerk (Equipment)
Rob Hebblethwaite
Max Batty (Set and Workshop Management)
Sarah Ley (Stage Management)

The objective of the team is to oversee and allocate resources for all aspects of the Company’s Technical and Backstage Management. It provides technical support to the Artistic Team; co-ordinates the crewing (the recruitment of production teams) for productions; ensures that the Tower conforms to safety standards; provides additional support for technical and backstage crews; and encourages new members to become involved in backstage work, developing their skills and experience. The Team meets about once every 6 weeks to co-ordinate our plans, discuss forthcoming productions and cry on each other’s shoulders.

Other Company Officers

Membership and Auditions

Finance and Administration