
Jesse Jones on Leading Royal & Derngate
From Theatre Audience Podcast by Natalie Maher & Darren Murphy
March 12, 2026 · 26 min · Season 6 · Episode 13
About this episode
Jesse Jones discusses bold programming and new writing in theatre, emphasizing the importance of dividing opinion.
Our guest this week is director and theatre-maker Jesse Jones , Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate , who joins Darren to talk about bold programming, new writing, and why theatre should never be afraid of dividing opinion. Jesse’s career spans devised theatre, new writing, large-scale adaptations and West End hits. He co-founded the award-winning The Wardrobe Ensemble and previously served as Associate Artistic Director at Paines Plough. In this episode we discuss leading a regional producing theatre, protecting risk in new writing, and his latest production Top Gs Like Me by Samson Hawkins, a provocative new play exploring masculinity, identity and online culture. A thoughtful conversation about bold programming, new voices, and why theatre that divides opinion can sometimes be the most exciting kind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Darren
Guest: Jesse Jones
Topics covered
- theatre
- programming
- new writing
- masculinity
- identity
- online culture
Keywords
- Royal & Derngate
- Top Gs Like Me
- Samson Hawkins
- devised theatre
- Paines Plough
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Top Gs Like Me
Books & works: Top Gs Like Me
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