Sarah Rushton - Read

The Fifth Estate is a PR and communications agency. Her eclectic career spans over 30 years. Having started out as an actress, she moved into stage management and then lighting design and management at venues including The Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne Opera. After a brief stint as a production manager at PRG Sarah swerved into garden and architectural lighting design, whilst also co-running an events lighting company. In 2002, Sarah became assistant editor at Lighting &Sound International. Two years later she started PR agency - The Fifth Estate Ltd, which continues to thrive today. In 2004 Sarah embarked on a masters in Energy and Environment and founded Eco-Theatre, which had a mission to help theatre buildings and practitioners to operate more sustainably. In 2005 she co-founded, alongside Paule Constable, WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment). The organisation created a global support network for women working in the backstage tech disciplines. For the last ten years The Fifth Estate developed, produced and managed The Knight Of Illumination Awards in the UK (and more recently in the USA). Sarah has also been an active contributor to SiPA (Sustainability in Production Alliance). Today, Sarah continues to work with entertainment technology manufacturing brands, rental companies, designers, and creatives, supporting them to effectively communicate with their audiences, across all relevant communication channels.