Management and Officers of the Company

Rob Ellis is a theatre producer and director, originally from Yorkshire, who joined the Tower in 2016. For the Tower he has directed Clybourne Park, The 39 Steps and The Merry Wives Of Windsor, which toured to Paris. For his day job, Rob is the Executive Director at Relish Theatre, a sustainable new-writing production company that platforms LGBTQ+ artists and stories. He was previously Producer at the Actors’ Church in Covent Garden. Rob looks to continue the excellent work of previous Chairs, and solidify the Tower Theatre’s presence within the Stoke Newington landscape.

Ruth Sullivan

Ruth has been a Tower member for 15 years and has been involved in many productions as performer, director, choreographer and sound designer in that time. She has been a member of the Management Committee and had a brief stint as an Assistant Artistic Director, also winning the Frank Smith award in 2009. She is an active member of the Tower’s Marketing Team, looking after the Tower’s Social Media and compiling the Tower’s newsletter which she did for 6 years, only recently stepping down. As a director she enjoys large scale productions which offer opportunities to create ambitious set pieces, such as the clashing of the broadswords for the Hurly Burly in Macbeth (which performed at St. Leonard’s Church before touring to Paris) and the protest scene in King Charles III (performed at the new theatre). During lockdown she was a member of the Virtual Tower steering group, taking part in many VT events, and she also directed Wild Life for the Tower’s podcast, written and performed by Lynne Davis. Ruth works as a Foley Artist, making sound effects for TV drama and film (as well as an occasional foray into radio) and regularly works with theatre directors such as Katie Mitchell and Simon McBurney, creating and performing live theatre sound.

Simona Hughes

Simona completed her MFA in Advanced Theatre Practice at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated (with distinction) in 2019. She has been a Tower Theatre Company member for 20 years, during which time she has served on the Management Committee and both acted and directed. Directing credits at the Tower include Little Nell, Brontë, Love Love Love, Table, A Passage to India and Labour of Love. She has also directed short pieces at Theatre 503, Vault Festival, The Bread and Roses and The Pit (Barbican) and has written and directed her own play About 500, which is nominated as an OnComm finalist.  Simona has also executive produced a feature film, County Lines, which was recently released on BFI player/Curzon Home cinema. Simona is particularly interested in using movement and in deep exploration of text/subtext and character in her work. Her original training was in psychotherapy and this has definitely influenced the way she explores the layers of meaning and motivation in drama. She views the director’s role as that of facilitator/midwife, helping to release all the potential and talent in the room.

Landé Belo

Landé has been involved in various Tower productions since 2016 as an actor, assistant director, director, light and sound operator, costume designer and most recently as producer of In Hiding, a critically acclaimed show which premièred at Tower Theatre in June 2023 and sold out its entire run, making it one of the most successful productions in Tower history and the first production as part of Landé’s initiative to promote black, female voices in theatre.  She has contributed to The Tower Theatre in various areas, including as Assistant Artistic Director, a member of the Management Committee and she also launched and headed up the Community Engagement Committee.   She currently sits on the Board of Trustees.   She is an advocate of socially engaged and inclusive programming and has spearheaded various initiatives to bring about more diversity and inclusion to Tower Theatre programming and its management structure.  

Jacqui first stage managed at the Tower in 2000 and since then she has worked on a variety of shows at the old Tower Theatre in Canonbury, and at the three theatres which were our artistic home until we arrived in Stoke Newington in 2018. She has also operated sound and recently put her knowledge of QLab to the test by designing sound for the first time. Her intention as Chair is to support and enable the Tower’s position as a community theatre in the area – reflecting and including the local community in Hackney with a focus on training and opportunity.

Nick has been a member of the Tower Theatre for over 30 years. He generally works backstage, particularly designing the lighting for many shows, although he was once known to utter a few lines on tour at the Minack Theatre.
Outside the Tower he has lit many shows over the years including productions directed by Kenneth Branagh and Katie Mitchell and featuring Pete Postlethwaite. He has lit venues including the Almeida Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and the Minack Theatre.
He has been Company Manager of the Oxford Theatre Group, Technical Director of the OUDS and was a member of the National Youth Theatre.
During the daytime he is a management consultant and has an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.