The Round Company Ltd
Mangement and Productions

Lotte Wakeham is currently the Artistic Director of the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, a position she has held since 2019. Prior to the she was Associate Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre and an Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Under her leadership, the Octagon and its productions have received numerous awards and nominations, including the Leading Arts and Culture Venue award (This is Manchester Awards 2023). The venue was also a finalist for The Stage’s ‘Theatre of the Year’ 2023.

As Artistic Director, Lotte programmes bold, adventurous and popular work. Her productions as director include the world premiere musical adaptation of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, adapted by Jodi Picoult and Timothy Allen McDonald, with songs by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel. The production was shortlisted as ‘Musical Production of the Year’ at the UK Theatre Awards and ‘Best Regional Production’ at the WhatsOnStage Awards. Lotte’s production has since transferred to the Coventry Belgrade and Leicester Curve, where it continued to receive glowing reviews (“It’s like magic…Director Lotte Wakeham has made a gracious and respectful adaptation of Zusak’s profound words… [the production] stole my heart” - 5 stars - Whatsonstage).

Lotte’s other recent production include an acclaimed revival of Spring and Port Wine starring Les Dennis and Mina Anwar (5 stars, The Stage) and the European premiere of The Book of Will (Octagon Theatre Bolton/ Queens Theatre Hornchurch/ Shakespeare North Playhouse), for which Lotte was nominated as ‘Best Director’ in the 2023 Off West End Awards. She has previously been nominated for this award for her productions of The Hound of the Baskervilles (Jermyn Street), which transferred following a sell-out run at the English Theatre Frankfurt, and The Kissing-Dance (Jermyn Street).

‍Lotte trained at the National Theatre Studio and spent the early part of her career as an Assistant/Associate Director for directors including Richard Eyre, Roger Michell, Jeremy Sams and Matthew Warchus. For the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda (Stratford/ West End/Broadway), Lotte was Associate Director for a decade.

@LotteWakeham