Tributes paid to Stephen Wood, former executive director of Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre

Stephen Wood who championed the SJT 'through thick and thin' - Image credit: Tony Bartholomew

Tributes have been paid to Stephen Wood, former executive director of Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre who ‘championed the theatre through thick and thin’.

A spokesperson for the SJT said in a statement: “The Stephen Joseph Theatre is deeply saddened to announce the death of its former Executive Director, Stephen Wood.”

Mr Wood first joined the theatre, then known as the Library Theatre, as press officer in 1976, just months before its move to Westwood, where it became known as the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round.

He left in 1982 to join the National Theatre as Head of Press, moving back to Scarborough in 1996 to become Chief Executive of the theatre in its permanent home at the town’s former Odeon cinema, where it took the new title of the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

He retired in 2015.

Helen Boaden, chair of Scarborough Theatre Trust, said “Stephen was an irrepressible force of nature who loved cricket, newspapers and the SJT.

"He championed our theatre through thick and thin and we send our sincere condolences to his family.”

The SJT’s Director Emeritus, Alan Ayckbourn, said: “Stephen had long been associated with the company throughout its various incarnations ever since its Library Theatre days.

"Throughout his association with it, initially as press officer and finally as executive director, he played a huge part in its growth and development.

"He is someone I always considered a guardian of the company’s founding principles, innovation, originality and excitement, pursued through the highest achievable artistic standards.”