Cinema boss Mark Dobson appointed exec director of Manchester Royal Exchange

Manchester’s Royal Exchange has appointed Mark Dobson as its new executive director.

Dobson, who has been chief executive of Tyneside Cinema for 16 years, replaces Fiona Gasper, who is leaving to join Manchester International Festival.

Dobson takes up the new position in July and said he had been thinking about a return to the theatre sector “for years”, having previously worked for Northern Stage in Newcastle in marketing snd general management roles.

He joined Tyneside Cinema as its first chief executive in 2000. Dobson is married to Sue Emmas, associate artistic director of the Young Vic in London.

“I always imagined trying to pilot a journey back and I suppose, because Tyneside now is in very good shape, I have started to wonder and look around and begin that process of ‘I wonder if, I wonder where…’ The Exchange job is one I could not not try for, because of what it is and what it stands for,” he told The Stage.

Dobson said his skills were in marketing and audience development, and added that he had done a lot of work with the cinema to diversify its income streams.

“I helped make it become much more resilient than it was when I first got there and I think all cultural organisations face that challenge. The Exchange is in remarkably robust shape, but it’s a challenge that is there and real and you can never take the process of public subsidy for granted. I think arts organisations have got to be on the front foot,” he said.

He added that both the Tyneside and the Exchange were historic buildings and said he was interested in how to make spaces “live for people, not just in the moment of performance but all of the time”.

Dobson also said that part of the appeal of the job was working alongside artistic director Sarah Frankcom in a joint leadership role.

“I have never been part of a combined chief executive and I find the idea of that very attractive. I am very excited about working with Sarah. It’s about how we play to each other’s strengths to make that notion of a combined chief executive role as effective as possible for the theatre,” he said.

Frankcom praised Dobson’s experience and passion, and added: “Mark has an instinctive understanding of the journey we are on, of our building, location, and the opportunities a producing theatre can offer to its community.”