Sarah Ellis MBE, CoSTAR National Lab's new Director

CoSTAR National Lab is delighted to announce the appointment of Sarah Ellis MBE as its new Director. Sarah joins at a defining moment for CoSTAR and the UK's creative industries. Against the backdrop of the government's new Industrial Strategy, the CoSTAR National Lab is entering an exciting next phase, marked by the imminent opening of its flagship AI-enabled converged production facility at Pinewood Studios.

With the opening of the CoSTAR Stage at Pinewood Studios in Autumn 2026, the CoSTAR National Lab, led by Royal Holloway, University of London, will become a national centre for research, innovation and industry collaboration in converged media production. As part of the UK-wide CoSTAR Network, funded by the UKRI Infrastructure Fund and delivered by Arts and Humanities Research Council, the National Lab helps creative businesses develop, test and commercialise new ideas, supporting SMEs to innovate and scale, accelerating the responsible adoption of AI and emerging technologies, and strengthening the UK's creative technology capability. Through the CoSTAR Network, companies now have access to world-class facilities, specialist expertise, advanced AI compute, routes to market and innovation funding.

The facility will be underpinned by an integrated technology platform combining SMPTE ST 2110 media networking, private 5G connectivity, advanced virtual production systems and one of Europe's largest dedicated AI compute clusters for the creative industries. Together, these capabilities will enable AI-powered production, large-scale collaborative research and the development of the next generation of creative technologies, helping position the UK at the forefront of converged media innovation.

Sarah brings to the role extensive experience in immersive storytelling, audience engagement and creative technology. Most recently Sarah was Director of Creative Innovation at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), where she worked for over 14 years.  

During her time at the RSC, she was Project Director for the Audience of the Future Live Performance Demonstrator, funded by Innovate UK, she led a consortium of arts organisations, research partners and technology companies to explore the future of performances and real-time immersive experiences. That resulted in Dream - a virtual performance to a large scale online global audience during the pandemic.  She led a cross-industry collaboration with the RSC, Intel and the Imaginarium Studios for the RSC's 2016 production of The Tempest.  She executive produced Lili, a convergence of theatre and gaming adaptation of Macbeth by INK Stories in collaboration with the RSC and Alambic Productions, becoming the first ever video game exhibited at Cannes Film Festival in 2025.

Widely regarded as a leading voice in the creative industries, Sarah currently serves as member of DCMS' College of Experts, is a Principle Investigator for an AHRC funded Future of Performance Institute feasibility study and is an Industry Champion for the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, which helps inform academic research to lead to better policies for the sector. Her mentorship and advisory roles include being a board member of Figurative, an independent charity finding imaginative ways to grow the cultural and creative sectors’ financial resilience and social impact and is an advisory council member for the Academy of Live Technology based at Production Park.

Sarah Ellis MBE, incoming Director, CoSTAR National Lab, said:

“I have been incredibly lucky to have developed a career collaborating with some of the best minds across theatre, film, TV, gaming and technology. As we experience the convergence of new forms of creativity and technology powering the Creative Industries and beyond, CoSTAR provides an amazing opportunity to enable our sector to thrive and navigate the future. 

I'm delighted to join such an amazing team at Royal Holloway and work with the CoSTAR community as we all create, build, design and imagine this national infrastructure capability together.  As we open our CoSTAR Facility at Pinewood Studios this autumn, I look forward to championing the work to date and collaborating across the country to realise the scale and ambition of this unique and pioneering opportunity funded by AHRC.” 

Professor Adrian Woolard, Interim Director and Director of Technology, CoSTAR National Lab said:

"We are thrilled to welcome Sarah as our new Director. She is an outstanding leader with the vision, experience and collaborative approach to guide CoSTAR National Lab through its next phase of growth. With the opening of our flagship facility at Pinewood Studios later this year and an ambitious programme of research and industry collaboration ahead, I am excited to see Sarah build on the strong foundations already in place and lead the organisation into its next chapter."

Image credit: Ellie Smith (https://www.elliesmithphotography.co.uk)