5 June 2025
Marcus Davey CBE announced today that he will step down as CEO and Artistic Director of the Roundhouse after 26 pioneering and transformational years leading the organisation.
Under his leadership, the Roundhouse has become the leading non-formal creative learning centre in the UK, working with over 11,000 young people aged 11-30 every year.
Marcus has also curated an extensive artistic programme, commissioning leading international artists, hosting major music acts and festivals and appointing Daniel Kaluuya as Associate Artistic Director.
He has developed key partnerships, including those with the Royal Ballet and Opera, led the Roundhouse to achieve Gold by Attitude is Everything and developed a robust mixed-matrix funding model. His enduring legacy includes making the Roundhouse ‘London’s most loved music venue’ and consistently empowering young voices through the arts.
Marcus has spearheaded major building projects including the redevelopment and reopening of the Roundhouse and Roundhouse Studios in 2006, the Roundhouse Container building, and the award-winning Roundhouse Works, a dedicated creative centre for freelancers and entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 in 2023.
He was first appointed Chief Executive in 1999, working with Founder and then Chair Sir Torquil Norman to lead the redevelopment and reopening of the iconic Grade II* listed London venue as a world-class performing arts venue and revolutionary youth charity in 2006.
Since reopening, he has been at the forefront as the Roundhouse has opened up its spaces to the biggest artists in the world, the boldest events and installations and grown its historic estate to work with over 100,000 young people. He was recognised for his services to the arts and young people with an OBE in 2012 and a CBE in 2019.
He steps down with the Roundhouse working with a record-breaking number of young people in 2024 and in April delivering the innovative and ground-breaking brand-new Roundhouse Three Sixty festival.
He will continue in his role as CEO and Artistic Director until the Roundhouse has recruited his successor.
Marcus Davey said: “It has been the honour of my working life to have led the Roundhouse over all these years. I have been hugely privileged to work with an exceptional Chair and Board and a great leadership team – and I mean great – with a clear vision. Having opened Roundhouse Works in 2023, delivered our first Roundhouse Three Sixty festival and appointed Daniel Kaluuya as Associate Artistic Director, I felt – that if there was a time to move on – then this would be it. I am looking forward to staying in touch and seeing how the Roundhouse develops into the future as I take on new ventures and experiences. I want to thank our Chair Simon Turner, the Trustees, the artists and young people, funders and donors, audiences and volunteers and my exceptional colleagues as they have made my time here the most wonderful opportunity anyone could wish to have had. ”
Simon Turner, Chairman at the Roundhouse, said: “It has been a privilege and an honour to work with Marcus over the past eight years since I became Chair. He has dedicated his life to the Roundhouse and in particular its transformational work with young people. The works he has commissioned from leading artists and the productions he has presented have shaped a generation, from immersive theatre to spoken word and installations. He embodies the heart, spirit and soul of the Roundhouse and has taken the place from a redundant building to a world renowned and greatly loved cultural institution with young people at its heart. My fellow Trustees and I are extremely grateful for everything Marcus has done for the Roundhouse and we wish him all the very best for the future.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair at Arts Council England, said: “Under the leadership of Marcus Davey, the Roundhouse has become a pioneering model for the future by creating opportunities for young people to shape their own involvement in the arts. Last year more than 10,000 young people took advantage of the opportunity to explore their creativity alongside international names in an iconic building that is once again at the centre of cultural London.”
Sir Antony Gormley, artist, said: “Marcus Davey for over two decades has run the Roundhouse with vision, energy and an infectious sense of purpose. From its total reconstruction in the late 90s to its present position as an inspirational venue for audiences across all ages and demographies and a beacon of creative support to a whole new generation of artists. Here poets, musicians and performers thrive. Put simply under Marcus’s leadership the Roundhouse has become a powerhouse of creative energy.”
Baroness Genista McIntosh, Vice President and former Trustee at the Roundhouse, said: “Torquil “Norman’s vision for the Roundhouse was as brilliant as he was: he needed someone unusually gifted to help him carry it through. It was clear from the moment Marcus arrived in 1999 that he was that person. He brought a rare combination of optimism, charm, humility and steely determination to the project, leading it from a building site to one of the UK’s most important cultural organisations, presenting a brilliant programme in a unique venue and touching the lives of thousands of young people every year. He will be hugely missed, of course, but he leaves an amazing legacy for his successor to take forward.”
Lorna Clarke, Director of Music at the BBC and Roundhouse Trustee, said: “When the Roundhouse reopened in 2006 Marcus was determined it would build on its fantastic history and be more than amazing performances. Its pioneering schemes and workshops for young people hoping to turn their creativity into careers is one of the most impactful in the UK. Many students from the Roundhouse radio scheme now work for the BBC. My early partnership with Marcus as Director of the BBC Electric Proms saw exceptional performances attract five-star reviews. Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach – and a very young Adele – with the BBC Concert orchestra, James Brown and Oasis with the Crouch End Festival Chorus, The Streets and The Heritage Orchestra are just some of the highlights of a unique run of shows we worked together on. For many Marcus is the Roundhouse – creative, courageous, authentic and kind. It’s a unique space and he’s a unique creative leader, driven to make things much better than you could ever imagine. He leaves a genuine legacy.”
Daniel Kaluuya, actor, writer, producer and Associate Artistic Director at the Roundhouse, said: “It’s been a privilege to work with Marcus as Associate Artistic Director and, to see first hand the sincerity and enthusiasm he has for providing opportunities and spaces for a hundred thousand young people in the creative industries. In a world where actions and words rarely align, Marcus is an exception to the rule. I have benefitted from this as a teenager looking for a space to grow my skills and, 20 years later, that same admirable trait has been shown in his support and encouragement for the creation of Centre 59 – a testament to his longevity and integrity. Marcus leaves the Roundhouse with an incredible legacy and foundation to continue the impactful and urgent work that is needed in the world.”
Sir Wayne McGregor, choreographer and director and Vice President and former Trustee at the Roundhouse, said: “For the past two decades plus, Marcus has led the Roundhouse with such dynamism, passion, commitment and integrity. Always finding a way to achieve the best for the young people he serves and the artists and teams he collaborates with – he is a human of grace and creativity. The Roundhouse has been transformed by his magic.”
Photo credit: John Williams