Former London theatre owner Brian Daniels has been appointed assistant artistic director of the Leeds J-Fest International.
Leeds-born Mr Daniels, who recently returned to his home city, will help director Ellie Ruhan to revitalise the festival.
“I believe we should be focusing on high quality shows that pull in non-Jewish audiences who can appreciate Jewish culture and what it means to be a Jew,” he said. Bringing in younger patrons would be another challenge for the one-time owner of the Shaw and New End theatres.
“Generally speaking, younger people are not going to visit at the height of summer unless there is an iconic pop group, entertainer or stand-up comedian known to them by television repute,” Mr Daniels observed. “We are unable to attract people of that ilk due to lack of funding, so Mrs Ruhan and I will be looking into new ways to get youngsters involved.”
This year’s festival will be held in early June at local theatrical venue The Carriageworks.
