ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR NEW CHAIR: BOB LAST
This week has been no ordinary week for Leith Theatre: we are delighted to announce that Bob Last has been appointed as Chair of the Board!
Bob Last is a widely known and highly respected creative leader and commercial consultant, particularly in the fields of music and film. In a career spanning over 40 years, his expertise is recognised across the creative industries in Scotland and the UK, spanning public policy, education, intellectual property and cultural service.
His early entrepreneurial spirit in the music industry brought him success as a producer, designer and manager, and was celebrated recently as part of the award-winning documentary ‘Big Gold Dream’ (2015). His career also featured in National Museum of Scotland’s ‘Rip It Up’ exhibition (2018).
His influence as a member of the Scottish Government Creative Industries Framework Agreement Implementation Group oversaw the laying of the early foundations of Creative Scotland; his involvement informed public policy at both an educational and government level.
His wide-ranging experience includes Chair of Cultural Enterprise Office (2002-2013); Chair of Edinburgh International Film Festival and Edinburgh’s Filmhouse (2012-2015); Co-Chair of Scottish Government Industry Advisory Group, alongside Fiona Hyslop (2016-2020); and member of the short- lived Board overseeing the creation of Screen Scotland.
Bob is co-owner of Leith’s FirstStage Studios, the largest film studio in Scotland, with business partner Jason Connery. He has been at the forefront of championing Scotland’s growing TV and film industry and is an Oscar nominated and BAFTA award-winning film and TV producer, with credits including ‘The Illusionist’ (Sylvain Chomet, 2010) and ‘She Will’ (Charlotte Colbert, 2021), due for imminent UK release and starring Alice Krige, Malcolm McDowell, Kota Eberhardt and Rupert Everett. It won the Golden Leopard for best first feature at last year’s Locarno Film Festival.
An early foray into architecture and structural engineering saw several years of study before being drawn into the creative industries, and Bob brings his breadth of building knowledge - as well as his cultural, business start-up and capital project experience - to Leith Theatre.
Bob’s appointment as Chair represents a decisive moment in our vision for the theatre, and we are ready for the momentum and opportunity that this new Chair appointment heralds…
What words are better to leave you with than those of our Chair (well, that feels good to say out loud), Bob Last:
“I’M EXCITED TO TAKE ON THE ROLE OF CHAIR OF LEITH THEATRE AT A PIVOTAL TIME. THE TRUST’S WORK HAS POSITIONED THE SPACE READY FOR A VIBRANT FUTURE ACROSS PERFORMANCE OF ALL KINDS, BUILDING ON THE SITE’S LEGACY AND THE AFFECTION OF PAST AUDIENCES TO FULFIL ITS POTENTIAL WITHIN EDINBURGH AND THE LEITH COMMUNITY’S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE. FIRST AND FOREMOST, HOWEVER, THIS IS A WONDERFUL BUILDING IN NEED OF A NEWLY NEGOTIATED LEASE, CAPITAL FUNDRAISING, AND CONTINUING REFURBISHMENT AS THE VISION BLOSSOMS. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE COMMITTED TEAM AT LEITH THEATRE TO ENSURE THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS PROJECT CAN BE MANAGED INNOVATIVELY TO DELIVER AN ICONIC EVENT SPACE.”