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Half Moon announce new Artistic and Executive Directors

Half Moon is delighted to announce the appointment of Bradley Travis as Artistic Director and Louise Allen as Executive Director, in a joint Chief Executive Officer model.

Bradley will take up his role as Artistic Director with Half Moon on 23 January 2025, taking over from current Director and Chief Executive Chris Elwell, who is stepping down after 27 years to pursue fresh new adventures.

Bradley is currently Head of Learning and Participation at English Touring Opera (ETO), where he has worked since 2018 as Associate Artist, Director, Writer and Performer. During his time at ETO he commissioned 15 new shows for young people, four of which were award-nominated and one the winner at the International Young Audiences Music Awards (YAM Awards). Before joining ETO, he was a freelance opera singer, working with various companies around the UK.

Bradley is a Clore Leadership Emerging Leaders alumni, a Trustee for the Learning Disabled charity Soundabout and is an Associate Board member of the Buxton International Festival. He was previously the Vice Chair of Barnet Educational Arts Trust.

Speaking about his appointment Bradley said:

“I am delighted to be joining Half Moon, whose mission to give all young people an opportunity to experience the best of theatre and the wider arts both as a participant and an audience member, is one I have been devoted to in my professional career.

“It’s an honour to have the opportunity to take the baton from Chris and Jackie, and work with Louise to build upon Half Moon’s reputation for developing under-represented artists through Artform Development and making exceptional and groundbreaking work with and for young people across our community in Tower Hamlets and beyond.”

Half Moon’s joint CEOs: Artistic Director Bradley Travis (photo by Matt Jones) and Executive Director Louise Allen (photo by Kaasam Aziz)

Louise will take up her role as Executive Director of Half Moon on 20 January 2025, succeeding current Administrative Director Jackie Eley, who is stepping down after 20 years.

Louise is currently Executive Director of Applecart Arts. Previously she was Executive Director at both Yorkshire Dance and Protein Dance, when the latter won Community Project of the Year at The Stage Awards 2023. She has previously worked with organisations including Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, the BBC Concert Orchestra and Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Louise is a governor and Vice Chair of Princess May Primary School in Hackney, an Arts Emergency mentor, a careers mentor for the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Speaking about her appointment Louise said:

“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Half Moon, a much-loved gem in the heart of London’s East End.

“In parallel with my passion for widening access to theatre and creative experiences for young people, Half Moon champions the best of new writing and proudly gives equal status to participatory and professional programmes.

“I’m excited to be working with Bradley to build on the impressive legacy of Chris and Jackie and taking Half Moon forward into its next phase”.

Chair of Half Moon, Ben Jones said:

“The Board are thrilled to appoint Bradley and Louise as Joint CEOs of Half Moon.

“They both come with a wealth of experience and a passion for working with young people across a range of artforms.

“They will inspire our team and work with our artists, audiences, communities, partner organisations and funders to stimulate, innovate and challenge young people and theatre makers in Tower Hamlets and across the UK.

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome them to the team.”

Half Moon Chairman, Ben Jones (photo by Stephen Beeny)

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