Dame Judi Dench becomes Ensemble Reza patron

Mid-Sussex based Ensemble Reza have gained Dame Judi Dench as their patron as they celebrate their tenth anniversary year

Transcript

00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil Kewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Always lovely

00:06 to speak to Hannah, who is Hannah Carter, who is the Managing Director of Ensemble

00:12 Resa. And you have fabulous news, you have a very, very significant new patron, don't

00:18 you?

00:19 Yeah, it's very exciting. We're very excited about this, Phil. We have got Dame Judi Dench

00:23 has agreed to be the Ensemble Resa patron, and it means an awful lot to us.

00:28 How did you manage to get Dame Judi?

00:31 Well, do you know what, actually, we've been thinking about Dame Judi for many, many years.

00:38 And we are now associate artists at the Hawthorne Theatre. And last autumn, she came to one

00:44 of our concerts. And even then, we were thinking, gosh, we really need to ask Dame Judi, but

00:49 didn't quite feel brave enough at the time. And then in the spring, she came back to one

00:53 of our concerts. And I just had a little bit more courage that day and sat with Dame Judi

00:57 and we talked about the work that Ensemble Resa were doing, especially the work in schools,

01:03 which she really admired and is something she feels very passionate about. And after

01:08 a little bit of gentle persuading, she agreed.

01:13 What does that now give you to have her as your patron?

01:17 Well, I think, I mean, of course, Dame Judi Dench is an exceptionally busy, busy person.

01:23 So I, unfortunately, I don't see her being able to attend all our concerts. But for us,

01:29 it gives us a real sense that someone, you know, of Dame Judi Dench's standing, really,

01:35 you know, the fact that she admires what we do, helps to put a notable name and an association

01:42 with Ensemble Resa, will make a big difference in helping raise the profile of our group.

01:47 And it must also be incredibly encouraging.

01:50 It is incredibly encouraging. It is, it really is. And definitely to see the sparkle in her

01:55 eyes at the end of our concerts. She never wants to leave. And Ensemble Resa concerts,

02:00 if you don't know, are always very infectious. There's always plenty of hugging and plenty

02:04 of joyous moments at the end. And often we find it difficult to encourage the audience

02:08 to leave. So, and she's definitely one of those who likes to stay to the bitter end.

02:13 So, yeah.

02:14 And all this comes as you are contemplating your 10th anniversary, doesn't it?

02:18 Yeah, it does. Yeah, it's an exciting time. You know, I think for any arts organisation

02:22 to be able to celebrate 10 years at the moment is quite a big feat. So, yeah, we're thrilled.

02:27 It's been a good, good few months for us. Yeah.

02:30 Fantastic. Well, congratulations and really lovely to speak to you. Thank you.

02:33 Thank you. Always good to talk to you. Thank you.