POLICE CALLED IN
Police have become involved in the row over the
running of the theatre after a complaint was
made. Officers have intervened over claims the
city council and Arts Council worked together to
force Derby Playhouse into administration.
The council's chief executive has been
interviewed as police decide whether a full
investigation is necessary. The Playhouse's
board, who have denied filing the complaint, are
working on a £300,000 rescue plan.
he city council's Chief Executive, Ray Cowlishaw,
said accusations of illegal interference were
false and the council had nothing to hide.
He said, "I think the complaints are part of
a vexatious series of complaints that we have had
to answer under freedom of information, under
complaints to the Ombudsman and this latest
complaint to the police."
Prof Jonathan Powers, chairman of Derby Playhouse
Ltd, responded by insisting the theatre need not
have stood empty.
He said, "I absolutely deny that these
complaints are vexatious. We are trying to get
these matters resolved in the public interest and
we have been working now for 14 months to try and
rescue this company from something which we
regard as having been completely unnecessary,
which could have been avoided and has been
disastrous for Derby and its cultural life."
(Source: BBC News, Feb/09) |
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DERBY PLAYHOUSE
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The
University of Derby has come to the rescue of the
Playhouse after agreeing to buy the lease for the
building. Vice-chancellor Professor John Coyne said
amateur and professional theatre companies would be
encouraged to stage productions at the theatre. Mr Coyne
said he also wanted to use the building as a
"learning theatre", so that performing arts
students could hone their skills. The university would
not reveal how much it would be paying for the 90-year
lease but a spokesman said it was a "substantial
sum".
Chairman of the Playhouse board Professor Jonathan
Powers, a former pro-vice-chancellor of the University of
Derby, said he was delighted with the deal, which would
enable Derby Playhouse Ltd to continue. Mr Coyne said,
"I am delighted that the university has been able to
reach an agreement that can keep the Playhouse in the
public domain as a valued performance space. It is an
important cultural asset in the city and while it has
been closed there has been a definite void in Derby's
cultural scene."
Prof Powers said the deal was good news for everyone. He
said, "This is good news for theatre, it is good
news for the creditors and it is good news for Derby. We
welcome the spirit in which the university wishes to move
beyond the difficulties of the past and we look forward
to opportunities for future collaboration." City
council leader Hilary Jones said, "This is fantastic
news for Derby and I'm absolutely delighted that the
university intends to buy Derby Playhouse." (Source:
Derby Evening Telegraph, Feb/09)
The Playhouse
theatre will be re-named "Derby Theatre" under
a management deal between the University of Derby and
Derby City Council. The two organisations have agreed a
partnership which will mean the council's Derby Live will
work with the university to organise the theatre's
programme during the year. The university will pay the
council to manage the programming for Derby Theatre and
the council will pay the university for rental space.
For 42 weeks of the year, the programme of the main
theatre will be organised by Derby Live. The council's
assistant director for culture, Helen Osler, said that,
within that period, 10 weeks would be set aside for
amateur groups. A further four weeks on top of that 42
would be set aside for the university to stage its own
productions and there would be a period when the theatre
was closed.
In addition to four weeks of main theatre space, the
university will use the smaller Studio Theatre throughout
the year. Professor Michael Gunn, university pro
vice-chancellor, said that students doing theatre arts
studies would move into the building at the start of the
next academic year. He said it made sense for the
university to concentrate on its students while the
council managed the theatre programming. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, May/09)
Derby
Playhouse, now renamed Derby Theatre, will reopen for
business in September with a new season of shows that
includes the world premiere of a rock musical and a
Christmas production of the fairytale classic The Snow
Queen. Derby Live has already staged homegrown
productions at the Guildhall Theatre, Assembly Rooms and
in the new outdoor performance space at Cathedral Green
but its first full season will include bringing shows
back to the old Playhouse.
Pete Meakin, artistic producer of Derby Live, said he was
particularly looking forward to seeing home-produced
theatre back at the former Playhouse when the musical The
Pros, The Cons and a Screw opens in October. He said,
"I think it's a brilliant piece and exactly the
right thing to be starting with. It's a real coup to have
Steven Dexter directing it, who gave us the hugely
successful Stepping Out at the Playhouse."
As well as the star panto at the Assembly Rooms, with
Neil Morrissey as Buttons, there will be shows at The
Guildhall and at Derby Theatre where Hans Christian
Andersen's The Snow Queen will be on offer. Mr Meakin
said, "We wanted to programme three shows that would
be in harmony, not in competition with each other, and we
think we have done that. It's a lovely pack of aces. Some
people will see all three but the breadth of shows means
we are appealing to most people in Derby."
Further ahead, Derby Live will stage Shakespeare's The
Merchant of Venice in 2010 and a new play from Derby's
Lucy Gannon, who has written TV scripts for Soldier,
Soldier and Peak Practice. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jul/09)
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