Fuelling Change

What does it mean to lead a national institution today? Join prominent cultural leaders for a candid conversation about balancing history with innovation and holding the tension between tradition and change. How do personal values sit in relationship with the responsibilities of institutional leadership? With John McGrath, Factory International Artistic Director & Chief Executive; Devyani Saltzman, Barbican Director of Arts and Participation; Professor Michael Smets,  Senior Research Fellow of Green Templeton College and Professor of Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Chaired by Kate McGrath. 

What role do values play in setting the course towards a new vision and ensuring it resonates over time? In this episode, we explore how principles can map a path for enduring organisations, exploring how pioneering leadership breaks new ground whilst staying true to core values. Guests include Deborah Frances-White, stand-up comedian, screenwriter and The Guilty Feminist podcast host; Farooq Chaudhry OBE, Akram Khan Company Producing Director; Eero Vaara, Professor in Organisations and Impact, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Chaired by Kate McGrath.

How do producers see themselves?Featuring Interviews with Rachel Bagshaw, Pauline Mayers, Khalid Abdalla, Alan Lane, Ed Collier, Louise Blackwell, Christina Elliot, Kate Scanlan, ESKA & Anthony Gray.Read transcript here.

CollaborationFeaturing interviews with, Louise Blackwell, Ed Collier, Kathryn Bilyard, Inua Ellams & ESKA.Read transcript here.

What is a producer?Producers make things happen: what is it about good producing that not only makes things happen, but makes those things happen well?” Featuring interviews with Anthony Gray, Inua Ellams, Christina Elliot & Kathryn Bilyard.Read transcript here.

Looking back to look forward: SankofaFeaturing interviews with Louise Blackwell, Kate Scanlan, Kathryn Bilyard, Anthony Gray, Christina Elliot & Ed Collier.Read transcript here.

Values.Featuring interviews with Khalid Abdalla, Anthony Gray, Kate Scanlan, Kathryn Bilyard & Louise Blackwell.Read transcript here.

What to expect from Fuelling Change.Read transcript here.Fuelling Change is a podcast series created and presented by Fuel’s Artistic Director & CEO Kate McGrath, which explores the role of the producer. Through interviews and conversations with artists including Khalid Abdalla, Rachel Bagshaw, ESKA, and Alan Lane, and producers including Louise Blackwell, Anthony Gray and Kate Scanlan, Fuelling Change looks at the evolution of the role of producer in live performance over the last twenty years, and what artists need from producers now and in the future.  Fuelling Change was produced by Fuel and edited by SLAP – Sounds Like a Podcast. The research was co-commissioned by Clore Leadership and the Arts and Humanities Research Council and was supervised by Aoife Monks and Molly McPhee from Queen Mary University. Music by Dave Price. Transcription by Alice Roots. Special thanks to all of the research participants: Khalid Abdalla, Rachel Bagshaw. Kathryn Bilyard, Louise Blackwell, Ed Collier, Inua Ellams, Christina Elliot, ESKA, Anthony Gray, Alan Lane, Pauline Mayers, Kate Scanlan, Hannah Smith and Sarah White-Wilson. 

Independent leaders are crafting culture on their own terms, challenging conventions and redefining what’s possible. This conversation explores how independent leaders bring their values to their work, and how these values shape those collaborating with them at the forefront of change. With David Lan, Writer, Director and The Walk and The Herds Producer; Professor Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, University of Oxford; Tobi Kyeremateng, BAFTA-winning independent producer. Live from Oxford Playhouse. Chaired by Kate McGrath.