ARTS & EVENT PROGRAMMING, PRODUCING & MANAGEMENT
“Under Porl Cooper’s programming, the Holbeck Underground Ballroom became one of the most important venues in the UK for new theatre”
DAVID BYRNE – Artistic Director Royal Court Theatre
From there to here…
For coming up to 35 years now I’ve been working in live performance in varying capacities across subsidised arts organisations and venues, commercial theatre and on large scale events.
Back in the 90s, proudly armed with my newly acquired BTEC in Electrical & Electronic Arts, Entertainment and Media from Oldham College / The Grange Arts Centre, and refusing to be intimidated by others coming out of RADA, Central and all those "proper" training places, I embarked on a Stage Management career throughout the remainder of the decade and became a sought-after DSM, working alongside an amazing array of Directors, Performers and Creatives, notably at The Library Theatre Manchester (before it was absorbed as part of what is now HOME) and the West Yorkshire Playhouse (now Leeds Playhouse), as well as occasional sojourns into the commercial / touring sector.
Hitting my mid-30s it was time for a role that swapped evenings for daytimes, and I moved into Technical Administration at The Lowry, before joining their Programming Department. With the arrival of the newly built Studio Theatre and armed with encouragement from the wonderful David Fry and late Robert Robson, I soon got the programming bug, followed closely by a passion for local talent development, sneaking into unused corporate spaces after 6pm and bringing aspiring writers together to “stick a script up the flagpole and see how it flutters".
Endeavours having been recognised locally (Manchester Theatre Award Special Award) and nationally (Peter Brook / Mobius Award ) it was time for new challenges, and an invitation beckoned from award winning maverick theatre company Slung Low to manage and programme their new space the Holbeck Underground Ballroom, where over five years the venue became firmly established on regional, national & international touring routes, attracting an impressive array of companies who travelled across the globe to come and perform in those railway arches at Holbeck, with their reputation for being cold and draughty, but where a warm welcome awaited.
During this time, invitations to join other organisations in talent development and programming roles started arriving, and not wanting to miss out I accepted them all, including roles at CAST Doncaster and freelance Producing with Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield
Which led to a decision to throw caution to the wind and put faith in providence and take the leap into juggling a freelance “portfolio career” where the dividends are that each of the roles complementing and often benefiting each of the others.
And that’s where you find me now. Very proud Senior Producer for Your Trust in my hometown of Rochdale as we prepare to open two exciting new venues, Programmer for Enable US with Performance Venues at University of Sheffield, as Associate Producer at Harrogate Theatre, and most recently Producer at both The Dukes Lancaster and BE Festival in Birmingham.
