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Dateline: 11th April, 2005
Peter Sarah (1946 - 2005) Peter Sarah, general manager and chief executive of the Newcastle Theatre Royal, has died at the age of 58. He had a heart attack just minutes before the start of a Theatre Royal Board meeting and died immediately He was appointed general manger of the theatre in 1998 and was made chief executive in 2004. In 1998 the theatre was in a worsening financial situation. City councillor John Shipley, chairman of the Board of the Theatre Royal, said, "Peter achieved many things as first theatre manager and then chief executive from 2004. The first thing was to put the theatre's finances on to a stronger foundation and the second was to broaden the artistic offering while laying down a mark of quality at the same time. "We now have the highest seat occupancy of any theatre outside London." Ironically the meeting of the Board which he was about to attend on the day he died was to give final approval to an £4.2m scheme, on which he had been working for two years, to extend the theatre into the old Barclays bank building at 5-7 Market Street, thus providing more wing space and a bigger box office, which would serve other venues in the city as well as the theatre itself. Born in Perth, Australia, Peter Sarah was a music graduate of the University of Western Australia, specialising in piano, and undertook graduate studies at the University of London. He returned to Australia in 1977 and was appointed assistant director of the Western Australian Arts Council, setting up the touring programme for Western Australia. In 1981 he was appointed general manager of the Arts Council of South Australia and also became a member of the Australia Council, the federal government’s arts funding body. In 1985, he became director of arts and entertainment for the Australian Bicentennial Authority and was responsible for directing the national and international arts programme, for Australia’s bicentenary celebrations in 1988. Highlights of the programme included the first visit to Australia by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Sir Georg Solti, Twyla Tharp Dance and Peter Brook’s production of The Mahabharata. In 1989, he was awarded the Order of Australia, for services to the arts. He returned to London in 1990 and was appointed chief executive of the Contemporary Dance Trust. In 1995 he was appointed chief executive of the Year of Opera and Musical Theatre in the East of England (1997). A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, he was a director of The Touring Partnership, a director of the Dance Consortium, a member of the Newcastle Committee of the North East Chamber of Commerce and a governor of Newcastle College. One of the first things he did on taking up his appointment in Newcastle was to tackle both the financial problems and the problem of low staff morale. He negotiated with the RSC for a better financial deal for their Newcastle season, which led to lower ticket prices, and tackled the staff morale problem simply by being himself. The theatre's marketing associate David Brookbanks said of him: "Peter was so personable and forthright with people. He didn't just sit upstairs in his office. He was up to speed with everything." In his desire to present the very best at the Theatre Royal, he was prepared to take risks, which more often than not paid off. One such was his desire to bring the best in contemporary dance to the theatre, presenting performances by a range of the very best companies: Mark Morris, Matthew Bourne, NDT2, Rambert, the Australian Dance Theatre, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Akram Khan and a host of others. He was deeply involved in the cultural life of the city and the region, being a leading light in the bid for Newcastle/Gateshead to become European City of Culture. Leader of Newcastle City Council, Councillor Peter Arnold said, "It is with great sadness that we have heard of the sudden death of Peter Sarah, who was a great ambassador and asset to the city. Peter worked tirelessly for the arts during his time in Newcastle. His leadership of the Theatre Royal was truly outstanding. Peter took over as General Manager at the Theatre Royal at a time of some difficulty, and with enormous flair and experience Peter consolidated the Theatre's reputation as the best of its kind in the country. "His links with the RSC, the National Theatre, and with other major arts organisations were vital to the theatre and the city. Equally, he was responsible for a huge expansion in the Theatre's community and education work, involving everyone in the day to day life of our great theatre. He will be sadly mourned and sorely missed." It is not usual for an obituary to include the writer's personal reactions, but I intend making an exception in this case. I met Peter on many occasions while reviewing at the theatre and came to admire his zest and enthusiasm for every aspect of theatre. Just two weeks ago we had a chat and a drink together at the interval of Wee Stories' Treasure Island and he was full of enthusiasm for the show itself and for the theatre's summer programme, and even had some very kind words to say about my book. He was always welcoming and cheerful, and his deep love for and knowledge of theatre informed everything he said. He undoubtedly not only saved the Theatre Royal and elevated it to new heights, but, as the announcement of his death said, he was very definitely a "cherished member of the Theatre Royal staff." Peter Sarah's funeral will be held at the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday 14th April at 2.30pm, prior to a private, family-only committal. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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