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Interviews
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"Unique" Council-University Partnership Points the Way Forward Steve Orme talks to the three men in charge of a Derby programme in a class of its own As many venues ponder cuts to their funding from both Arts Council England and local authorities, one organisation feels its unique business model means it's better placed than most to maintain its artistic programme. Twelve months ago Derby City Council's producing division Derby LIVE and the University of Derby reopened the city's old Playhouse which had been dark for almost two years. The renamed Derby Theatre is now home to locally-produced theatre, touring productions and amateur and community work as well as being the base for 85 full-time theatre arts students. Other venues whose future is under threat are looking at the tie-up to see whether it can be adapted elsewhere. The problems for Derby Playhouse Ltd have been well documented: it went into administration after the city council withdrew its funding which led to Arts Council England transferring its annual grant to Derby LIVE. After signing a 99-year lease on the Playhouse building, the University of Derby decided Derby LIVE was ideally placed to be its partner because it had a model in place which could be implemented at short notice. World firstPeter Ireson, director of Derby LIVE, believes the model is unique to this country if not the world. "It creates efficiencies but it's not just about money - it's about the whole artistic policy that we've got for Derby LIVE. "It's perceived as a model which has not only secured the future of produced theatre and the different venues within the city but is also taking it to new levels. There's certainly a lot of interest in it not just as a model to consolidate and to protect things but actually as a model that can generate more and better art." Peter Ireson points out that it was more difficult than he expected to bring back audiences who frequented the old Playhouse. A lot of people had lost trust in the venue and Derby LIVE didn't have the previous management's mailing list. "It was a uniquely difficult circumstance when we reopened in the middle of the worst recession in living memory. We reopened the venue with the university at incredibly short notice, having to put together and market a programme in that time." He says it's been slow and steady progress to persuade people who'd got out of the habit of going to the theatre to return. Peter Ireson's work was recognised earlier this year when he picked up the TMA manager of the year award. "I was absolutely stunned," he said. "It was a great vote of confidence from the industry for what Derby LIVE is doing. "Although it was an individual award, I thanked all the team at Derby LIVE and at the university. It's a team effort. I felt extremely pleased and proud that the industry felt confident enough with what we're doing and what we're achieving to give us the award. Best fit"It was great because we've been under the cosh; it's been a hugely difficult time for us and to get that recognition was absolutely fantastic." He points out that Derby LIVE isn't just Derby Theatre. Produced theatre is presented at the Guildhall Theatre and the Assembly Rooms too, depending on where it will fit best. The city council's head of arts and events, Pete Meakin, is also Derby LIVE's artistic producer, although he doesn't want the artistic policy to be described as his vision. "This sounds like pompous gobbledygook but we want our artistic vision to be owned by all the people who work for Derby LIVE, all our partners - particularly key players within the university - and of course our audiences." Derby Theatre opened with the premiere of Tim Elgood's musical play The Pros, the Cons and a Screw. The first year also featured Lucy Gannon's first theatre piece for 20 years, Broken Hearted, and Robert Lindsay's performing in Onassis - his first professional appearance in his home town - which has since transferred to the West End. Pete Meakin admits some people might describe the programming as bold while others would call it stupid. "There is this thing, particularly in the early stages of a venture, that you don't just have to be bold, you have to be loud. "Had we actually started with programming which was tentative or 'safe', if anything can be safe in these troubled economic times, I think there would have been a sense of disappointment. People would have criticised us for a lack of adventure and a lack of nerve and a lack of identity. "We have this connection with our locality but we've also been bringing in some of the greatest artists from across Britain working in British theatre today. "We're not hermetically sealed off - we want the best people to come to us and we want our work to go to the best places out there as well. "There are things in the repertoire that we could have done and which have been done many times before in the region and in the city. But that becomes a law of diminishing returns and eventually we're going to die if we do that. "There was a time when Shakespeare was writing new plays and having world premieres himself. And not all of those were instantaneously successful. We can say the same with Mozart and Beethoven. "The established repertoire now was once brave and risk-taking. Finding the balance between financial imperatives and artistic risk-taking is something that we get paid to do." Pete Meakin describes the process of getting Robert Lindsay to appear at Derby Theatre. "The actual negotiations began with me and Jonathan Church (artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre) meeting in London over a cup of coffee and discussing what may or may not be possible. "That was a long time ago and we've had to jump through all kinds of artistic and logistical hoops to get where we are. But again that's part and parcel of the job and part and parcel of the excitement. Appreciative audiences"And then when you see all these audiences coming and people like Robert actually thoroughly enjoying performing on the Derby stage - it makes the job worthwhile." Robert Lindsay obviously enjoyed the experience. "It was important for me to come home," he said. "I've neglected my roots for too long. "I also wanted to bring some quality and I knew Onassis was the right vehicle. The Derby audiences have been superb, receptive, honest and appreciative. I feel proud that in some way we have helped to revive this important regional venue. The regions are the life blood of British theatre." The University of Derby is quick to point out that it's very involved in the partnership with Derby LIVE and its students have benefited enormously from it. Theatre manager Gary Johnson, a university employee, says, "The first students have just left us who did the last year of their BA Honours course with us (at the theatre). The feedback from them has been absolutely fantastic. "I don't think any other universities are offering something similar at the moment. There are lots of university on-campus theatres, but in terms of a major city centre venue offering those opportunities, we are the first and there are a number of others who will be following us I predict over the next few years." As for the future, Peter Ireson says Derby LIVE is "more resilient than many other arts organisations" to survive any cuts. "We've already pulled off a lot of things that people might have thought were impossible. I've got such a strong team here, we have such a strong business model and we have such a strong partnership with the university that we'll get through it."
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