Executive Team
Chris Stafford
Chris Stafford was appointed CEO of Curve in 2015 and in partnership with Nikolai Foster, he is responsible for the artistic and business leadership of the theatre.
Since taking up post, Curve’s annual turnover has increased by over £10m and audiences have risen by over 30% for performances in Leicester. Under Chris’ leadership, Curve has also developed a reputation as a leading producing theatre in the UK and a destination venue for producers to open major touring productions, with recent productions launched at Curve includingCOME FROM AWAY, LES MISÉRABLES and Matthew Bourne’s ROMEO AND JULIET. In addition to launching work, Chris has led the development of Curve’s work on national and international tour, with productions playing to over 600,000 people a year. In the last eight years, eight Made at Curve co-productions have played in London’s West End, including THE WIZARD OF OZ(London Palladium), Sue Townsend’s THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE AGED 13 ¾ – THE MUSICAL (The Ambassadors Theatre) and GREASE (Dominion Theatre). Chris was also Executive Producer on Curve’s critically acclaimed streamed productions of SUNSET BOULEVARD and THE COLOR PURPLEwhich were watched by audiences in 45 countries during the pandemic.
Throughout his career Chris has overseen almost 100 productions and co-productions, and prior to joining Curve he worked extensively internationally, touring and making work in the Middle East, South Korea, Japan, Barbados, North America and Europe. He was Executive Director of dreamthinkspeak, one of the UK’s leading producers of site responsive theatre for two years and prior to that he worked in the education department at Shakespeare’s Globe, where he led on producing work for children and young people. Chris was also Acting Head of Development at Bristol Old Vic.
He is a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a 2009/10 Clore Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme, an Alumnus of the Windsor Leadership Programme, listed in the ‘Who’s Who’ Directory and named with Nikolai Foster as 18 in The Stage 100 most influential people and partnerships in theatre.