Sophie is the Barnaby Artistic and Executive Director

The Barnaby committee has announced the appointment of Sophie Ivatts as Artistic and Executive Director of Macclesfield Barnaby Festival.

In this role she will be breathing new life into Barnaby as it restarts after the pandemic, producing the creative programme of events for 16-19 June 2023 and leading it into an exciting new chapter.

Sophie brings with her a wealth of experience in art and culture, working across theatre, television, and education. In theatre she has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, working on community co-created productions as well as the West End hit The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. In television she has worked as a creative development executive for Red Production Company, the award-winning indie behind TV dramas such as Happy Valley and It’s A Sin. She is currently Senior Commissioning Script-Reader at Channel 4 Drama, helping to identify the best new talent in scripted drama.

Cultural learning and creating opportunity for skills development is a core value for Sophie. As well as regularly running theatre in education workshops, she is Founder and Executive Director of Beyond The Syllabus, a unique university access programme for schools, focused on cultural capital. She is a Fellow of the prestigious Clore Leadership Programme, which trains leaders for the cultural sector and equips her with a perspective and networks beyond her own specialisms, from visual arts, to museums, dance, music, and more. 

Sophie says, “My mission, across all of my work, is to create art and culture that contributes to the public life of this nation. I share a deep affinity with the vision and values of Barnaby and am hugely excited to work in the service of them- to contribute to a Macclesfield that is enriched, enlivened, and celebrated through the creativity of its people.”