Darlinghurst Theatre Company (DTC) has appointed creative and cultural leader and former board member Suzanne Pereira as its new Executive Director. “DTC has always been my artistic home,” says Pereira, whose association with the company began in 2014, and has continued throughout a career that has capitalised on a fusion of creative and business experience.
Pereira made her mainstage directorial debut with the Company’s production of Mary Ann Butler’s The Sound of Waiting, and has served as a DTC Ambassador and Board member since 2018. Thrilled to be leading the company alongside Artistic Director Amylia Harris, Pereira says, “Amylia and I share a vision that compels us to drive change in the sector, to champion artists and arts workers that want cultural safety to be at the forefront of any work they engage with. It’s why I, and so many others, feel at home when we walk through the doors of the Eternity Playhouse.”
Pereira, a first-generation Sri Lankan Australian, believes her appointment will be a signal to artists and arts workers. “The significance is not lost on me. It’s what so many of us have been calling for – diversity in arts leadership. You cannot be what you cannot see, and I hope my appointment heralds the ever-growing possibility of diverse Arts Leadership in Australia.”
DTC Board Chair Joydeep Hor says, “We are delighted that Suzanne has taken up the role of Executive Director, given her considerable expertise in the sector, including in various leadership roles, and also her particular familiarity with DTC as a theatre maker and member of our Board for the past four years.”
Augmenting her career in the arts, Pereira’s cross-industry professional experience includes roles in marketing, investment and governance. She has served as Chief Creative Officer of impact investment firm Global Impact Initiative, a LEAD company in the United Nations Global Compact; General Manager of Contemporary Asian Australian Performance; as the inaugural Chair of WITS (Women in Theatre and Screen); and is currently serving as Deputy Chair of Theatre Network NSW.
Along with his fellow Board members, Hor is confident the company’s 31-year legacy will thrive under the leadership of Harris and Pereira. “The industry has a number of challenges and opportunities at present. The DTC Board is confident in its strategic vision and the value proposition of our unique brand. We are confident that Suzanne’s appointment will allow us to consolidate this position as we look to an exciting future for DTC.”
Pereira also believes the future of theatre-making at DTC is entirely dependent on the company remaining responsive to the artists and audiences it champions – centring lived experience through the company’s core values of creativity, courage and equity.
“The Darlo team lives and breathes our Company values,” Pereira says. “They’ve made brave and innovative choices to create bespoke engagement and audience development models. These choices are undeniably the motivation for DTC’s next phase of growth. The demographic walking through the doors of the Eternity Playhouse is not what it was pre-pandemic. DTC committed to the required work to ensure cultural safety for all, and that will continue to be a foundational pillar for the Company”.
Speaking of Darlo’s future, Pereira says, “Our Founder, Glenn Terry, wound transformative evolution into Darlo’s DNA. We’ve become adept at going where our DNA leads us and the job ahead for me is to keep doing that compassionately and sustainably – and to set us up for the DTC of 2053.”
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