 |
|
|
|||
|
Interviews
|
|||
|
|
Dominic Stokes We Are Local! - Peter Lathan interviews the general manager of the Sunderland Empire. The Sunderland Empire Theatre was one of the first in the country to be taken under the wing of the local authority and become a Civic Theatre but, like many of its type (a 2,000 seater, built as a variety house), its upkeep became hugely expensive and, in 2000, its programming was taken over by Apollo Leisure, which has since been taken over by Clear Channel Entertainment. The city council, through the Empire Theatre Trust, still owns the building but the day-to-day running is in the hands of Clear Channel. One matter of serious concern to local people, not just in Sunderland but anywhere where the local theatre has been taken over by a national concern, has been just how responsive such a theatre can be to local needs and aspirations. I put this concern to Dominic Stokes. "Very responsive," was his reply. "As the man on the ground, the one who knows the local people and reads the local press, I have a great deal of input into the programming. There is no imposition from 'on-high'. That may have been the case under Apollo Leisure, but it certainly isn't with Clear Channel." Everything, of course, depends on the product that is available: if he believes it will work at the Empire, then he will book it; if not, he won't. In the last year, he said, the Empire has broken its box office records twice, with the King and I and Cats. "Drama has always been difficult here," he admits, "but we are trying again this year, and I am convinced that the Belgrade's production of The Twits and the ATG production of Bouncers with John Altman and Nigel Pivaro will both be a success." He believes that the theatre is getting it right: "We launched our Theatre Card scheme in May of this year," he says, "and it now has 900 members. The old Friends of the Empire scheme, which ran for years, only ever had about 130 members." Another very positive development, he believes, is that there is no longer the bitter rivalry between local theatres that there was at one time. "Peter (Peter Sarah, general manager of Newcastle's Theatre Royal) and I talk regularly. The idea is that we should avoid clashes, which do neither of us any good. Occasionally clashes still happen, like when we both booked versions of the Nutcracker at the same time, but that was because we were both so busy that we didn't have time to talk. "We have very good relationships with the other theatres in the area, not just the Theatre Royal but also the Customs House in South Shields. It's much better for all of us to co-operate, and much better for the region's theatregoers." But this does not stand in the way of his ambition for the Empire to be a major provincial (as distinct from regional) theatre and to be the North East venue for West End musicals!
|
||
|
|