The new theatre now has the capacity to stage more ambitious, large-scale productions
This was an opportunity to create an unashamedly modern 21st Century building - a chance for this generation to leave its mark on the city
What has been you role during the new build? I was part of the council’s Core Team from the outset, helping with plans, working through problems, assisting the city architects with the original brief. By the time we came to tender, there was a feel- ing among lots of people that this was a great opportunity to create an utterly unashamedly modern 21st century building – a chance for this generation to leave its mark on the city.
What were your hopes for the new theatre? We have to remember that it’s owned by the community. We want to create a programme that offers enough vari- ety so everyone wants to visit at least once a year. We did a brief analysis a few weeks ago and found 40 per cent of the people who had booked at that point were people that we didn’t know – they were not on our original data- base of 65,0000, which is promising.
ISSUE 1 2012 © cybertrek 2011
Mark Everett Director Marlowe Theatre
What are the challenges of running a much larger venue? It enables us to be more ambitious with our productions in a way that we couldn’t be before – but at the same time it’s terrifying. If things go wrong, then the scale of the fi nancial implica- tions is much greater. The old Marlowe turned over £5m a year, while the new theatre should double that. We have a lot more permanent staff and are run- ning our own catering for the fi rst time. The Marlowe family has become much bigger. I’m a hands-on manager, but I’m learning to delegate!
What has the feedback been like? We are still in the honeymoon period,
and realise that some people will be visiting purely because they want to see the new building. But overall the feedback has been hugely positive. I’m a great believer in talking to people, and if some- one takes the time to send an email I will always reply. It’s impor- tant for people to understand why we do what we do, and why we might choose to stage one production over another. There is always a reason for the choice, be it cultural, fi nancial, etc.
What about future plans? We have some great signings already – such as the Northern Ballet and Glyndebourne. I also have about half a dozen major touring organisations on my hit list. We also want to build up our Friends list, as these people offer great continuity of support. A month after opening we broke our old mem- bership record, going from 10,500 to 11,000. If we can hit 12,000 then we’ll be doing fantastically well. ●
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 53
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