NEW CHAIR OF THE BOARD FOR CPH STAGE

After nine years as Chair of the Board, Pia Allerslev has decided to step down, and Signe Lopdrup, CEO of Roskilde Festival Group, has been appointed the new Chair of the Board of CPH STAGE. She takes on the role at a time when the festival is continuing its significant development as a national and international meeting point for the performing arts.

Over the past 14 years, CPH STAGE has developed into one of the most important platforms for Danish performing arts, both nationally and internationally. This year, the festival attracted strong audience support, with more than 30,000 guests, while the organisation also strengthened its international efforts. With an extended allocation under the Danish Finance Act, the festival stands on a solid foundation and is now entering its next chapter with Signe Lopdrup as its new Chair of the Board. Together with Deputy Chair Jesper Nymark (CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Danwatch) and the rest of the Board, she will help ensure the continued development of both the festival and the organisation behind it.

Signe Lopdrup brings many years of experience from some of Denmark’s largest cultural institutions and looks forward to contributing to the festival’s next phase:

"CPH STAGE has established itself as a showcase for Danish performing arts and an important meeting place for both audiences and international industry professionals. The festival plays a significant role in raising the visibility, supporting the development and strengthening the impact of the performing arts.
The festival format has a unique ability to bring people together around artistic experiences, while also offering a special opportunity to inspire audiences with new perspectives and make the arts accessible to more people. CPH STAGE must continue to be a meeting point for its existing theatre audience, but it is equally important to create relevance for those who have yet to discover the performing arts – not least future generations. I look forward to working with the Board and the secretariat to strengthen the festival’s significance and further develop its role in Denmark’s cultural life."

We look forward to working with Signe Lopdrup to strengthen CPH STAGE’s position both in Denmark and internationally.

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A strong and sustainable foundation

When CPH STAGE was established in 2013, Pia Allerslev was among the first to support the festival, in her role at the time as Mayor for Culture of the City of Copenhagen. She subsequently joined the Board and, over the past nine years, has worked to develop the festival into a national platform for the performing arts with growing international impact.

Pia Allerslev looks back on a period in which CPH STAGE has evolved from an ambitious idea into a central player in Danish cultural life:

"We have professionalised the organisation, transformed the festival from an association into a commercial foundation, and secured a place on the Danish Finance Act. This has created a strong and sustainable foundation for the future. From the outset, the ambition was to create a meeting point for the industry while also opening up the performing arts to a broader audience. Today, CPH STAGE has become both. I therefore feel completely confident handing over the baton to Signe Lopdrup, who has both the strategic experience and the cultural perspective needed to further develop the festival."‍

Pia Allerslev will remain on the Board as an ordinary board member. The Board also consists of Deputy Chair Jesper Nymark (CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Danwatch), Natasha Al-Hariri (Project Manager at TrygFonden), Peter Westphael (Artistic Director of Randers Teater), Per Nylykke (Deputy Head of DIF Public Affairs), Maja Ries (Administrative Director of Mungo Park), Theis Petersen (Director of Fundraising at the Danish Muscular Dystrophy Association) and Camilla Mordhorst (CEO of the Danish Cultural Institute).