MICHELLE DICKSON looks back on her five years as the director of the Oxford Playhouse

I’ve decided to move on from what is quite possibly the best job I’m ever going to have in my life! Five years ago, when I was appointed director of Oxford Playhouse, it felt like a dream come true.

From arriving in the city as a wide-eyed 18-year-old, I watched shows at the theatre, and wondered what it would be like to work there. When I finished my degree I started volunteering there, and then did casual work in various departments, before getting my first proper job, as directors’ assistant. After moving away and working in other theatres, I came back, and eventually got the chief exec role.

I doubt there are many people who can honestly say that they have looked forward to coming to work every single day of their careers. Working at the Playhouse is constantly stimulating, rewarding, challenging and inspiring.

I’m surrounded by talented, often over-qualified people who have chosen to work in this poorly paid, long hours environment because they share a deep love of what we’re here to do; to put great shows on stage in front of as many people as possible.

That’s always been my reason for getting out of bed every morning, and it’s why I’ve spent untold hours in the dark, watching plays here, across the UK and abroad. I’d hazard a guess I must have seen nearly 2,000 in the 10 years I’ve been back at the Playhouse!

Personal highlights here in Oxford include Théâtre de Complicité’s Mnemonic, The Maly Theatre from St Petersburg performing Uncle Vanya in Russian, which felt as clear to me as my native tongue, and all the productions by the wonderful South African theatre-maker, Yael Farber, including this summer’s searing Mies Julie. They’ve all left indelible marks on me as a person and as a programmer. I’ve been able to bring world-class performers to the Playhouse stage, spanning art forms and talents, from Mark Rylance to Deborah Harry to Daniel Kitson, and I’ve also seen some of the world’s leading contemporary dance companies. This art-form was new to me when I started, and has become a passion of mine over the years, so I’m hugely grateful for that exposure.

I’ve loved taking shows out and about around the city and county with Playhouse Plays Out. From Three Sisters on a barge for an audience of six at a time, to the annual summer treat of the Globe’s Shakespeare at the Bodleian, to a man dancing on a digger on a rugby pitch, this strand of the programme has attracted thousands of newcomers to theatre and the Playhouse’s work.

I’ve also had a lot of fun producing shows here; choosing directors, scripts and actors and realising a vision. One of our shows, One Small Step, was written by our then stage door keeper, David Hastings, whilst he was studying at Ruskin.

We produced it in our tiny Burton Taylor Studio, took it to the Edinburgh Festival, and eventually it toured to over 20 countries around the world. I must have seen that production over 40 times, and know every word of it by heart, but I still love it!

What I remember most clearly though, was the response of audiences. Young or old, reminiscing of the space race or dreaming of growing up to become an astronaut, that show touched people’s hearts and minds, and brought audiences together for a special re-enactment of those glorious first steps on the moon, brilliantly realised through no more than great acting, a fine script, some cardboard boxes, a filing cabinet and some polystyrene. That’s the power of theatre!

But I guess all good things have to come to an end, and when I took over, I was determined that I should hand over the baton to a new director a few years down the line.

The Playhouse belongs to the community, and whilst I’ve done my best to reflect the broadest range of tastes and interests, and to find new ways to make theatre part of more people’s lives, it’s only right that a new person should take over, and bring their own ideas, creative vision and passions to Oxford and to the Playhouse.

Recruitment is under way for the new director, so watch this space for the exciting unveiling!

In the meantime, thank you for all the support that audiences, staff, volunteers, the board, donors, stakeholders and partners in the city and county have given to the Playhouse and to me.

I couldn’t have done anything without you all, and I hope you are as proud of your wonderful theatre as I am.