Following the formal decision earlier this year, an independent charitable trust has now taken over the management of Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre.
The trust is to lease the theatre building, which underwent a multi-million pound refurbishment in 2011, together with a second venue, the Marlowe Kit in the former Poor Priests Hospital, from the City Council for a period of 25 years.
The charitable trust and private company will be chaired by Jonathan Church with Deborah Shaw in the role of chief executive, and should enjoy greater artistic and creative freedom.
In handing over control, the Council will save on the running costs and building maintenance, whilst the trust will be able to benefit from gift aid, donations, charitable grant funding and legacies.
The Marlowe's staff will be employed on existing terms by the trust.
The Marlowe, one of the UK's principal regional theatres, has two spaces. Its Christmas production is Cinderella with Harry Reid, known for playing Ben Mitchell in EastEnders, CBeebies' Mister Maker Phil Gallagher and Sally Lindsay known to television viewers for Coronation Street, The Royle Family and Fat Friends.
In The Marlowe Studio, the world premières of The Naughty Fox and …If We’ve Never Been To The Moon? run in repertory. They are both by the theatre's literary associate James Baldwin.
All performances of The Naughty Fox will be relaxed. …If We’ve Never Been To The Moon? has integrated captioning.