The latest news from around the Group.

An invite from the Mayor!

Southend Theatre Director Nick Parr was honoured to be invited by Southend-on-Sea City Council to attend last week’s Full Council Meeting and Mayor Making. Nick was introduced to Councillor Ron Woodley the new Mayor of Southend-on-Sea and Councillor Nigel Folkard the new Deputy Mayor.

Over the past year Southend Theatres have developed a great relationship with the Mayoral team and outgoing Mayor, Councillor Stephen Habermel. The team are working on some exciting ideas to support the Mayor’s charities over the coming months – watch this space!

New appointment: Welcome Graham McKnight

Crewe Lyceum Theatre has announced the appointment of Graham McKnight to the position of Theatre Director. 

Graham joins the Lyceum from J&C Joel where, as Head of UK projects, he worked across several theatre improvement projects and redesigns. Graham has previously worked in senior management roles for a number of theatre organisations, including ATG Entertainment in the Liverpool Empire, Manchester Palace & Opera House and also in production roles for National Theatre Productions amongst others. 

As the Theatre Director, Graham will continue to build on the Theatre’s diverse programme of events and wider engagement in the local community, further establishing the Lyceum as a cultural hub for the area.   

Graham said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Trafalgar Theatres at such an exciting time, especially with an amazing theatre such as the Lyceum. I feel very lucky to have such an experienced and dedicated team here in Crewe, and I’m very much looking forward to working with our teams and wider community to give the Crewe audiences the live experiences they want to see. Being from Cheshire myself, I am very excited to be able to bring great productions to the region with the fantastic team at Trafalgar Theatres.”  

Graham succeeds Rhys Hopkin in the role, with Rhys taking up the position of Regional Director for Trafalgar Theatres, after spending two years in Crewe. 

Concert Season set for G Live

G Live has announced its 2024/2025 Guildford International Concert Season. In addition to the usual programming of top UK and internationally renowned orchestras (including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Lviv National Philharmonic of Ukraine), the season has been extended to include a Christmas concert with the National Youth Chamber Choir in a new collaboration with clarinettist Emma Johnson, a performance of Peter and the Wolf for younger audiences (with associated Creative Learning activities), and a series of lunchtime concerts, from Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson to students from The Yehudi Menuhin School, celebrating classical artists of the future.  

And on 18 June, G Live will host The Pantomime Awards 2024. The ceremony’s move from the West End to Guildford’s premiere entertainment venue, is a marker of the UK Pantomime Association’s commitment to celebrating regional theatre.  

Staff Quiz Night in Dartford

The Wellness Team at Orchard West, Dartford held a staff quiz last month. Everyone from permanent staff, casuals and volunteers, were invited onto mixed teams of six, and it was a great way for people to get to know members from different departments.

As well as questions, there was a musical round and a scavenger hunt, which was huge fun as everyone ran around the venue looking for random items from mops, coat hangers, clipboards and “purple things”. Everyone donated £2 to the prize jackpot, which the winning team received, giving them a whopping £21 each! The whole night was great fun and brought everyone together. The next event is already being planned.

The Great Trafalgar Bake Sale

Staff at Trafalgar Theatre donned aprons and rolling pins recently and turned their creative hands to baking! Due to the theatre’s dark period, the team had limited time for fundraising so they decided to hold an in-house bake sale.

The Creative Learning and Community Outreach team selected British Red Cross as the theatre’s Charity of the Month for April. All departments helped to bake and together they raised around £300!

Mental Health Awareness Week in Southend

To mark last week’s Mental Health Awareness Week the Southend team launched a variety of activities with the view for them to continue moving forward.

Cake A Break – Staff Coffee Morning
Staff were encouraged to take a break from their desk, or just pop in! Grab a piece of cake and a cuppa and have a catch up with colleagues and friends.

Tonic Music Charity
Tonic Music are a local mental health charity, who tailor a lot of their work around promoting positive mental health and supporting with recovery in the music industry. Tonic attended the Cliffs Pavilion during the week with charity stands at Paloma Faith, Sensational 60’s and The Dualers to fundraise and offer support for customers and staff.

Staff Breakrooms
Staff Breakrooms are now be available for staff during their shifts to eat lunch or just use the space to take a break. These spaces will be established by rotas which will be shared with everybody.

Our Theatres in Green
To raise awareness of the new Wellbeing at Work initiatives and to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week, the team lit up both the Cliffs and the Palace in green lighting during the week.