Eastbourne Theatres - "exciting" opportunities under new operator - video Dailymotion

Eastbourne Theatres are looking to the future with renewed confidence under new operator Trafalgar Entertainment.

Transcript

00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers. Now, it's

00:06really exciting times for Eastbourne Theatres. Eastbourne Theatres have a new operator, Trafalgar

00:11Theatres, Trafalgar Entertainment. Lovely to speak to Helen Emright, who is the COO and

00:16CEO of Trafalgar Theatres. So why is this good news for Eastbourne? Why should we be

00:23pleased? Well, I think the quality of the content that Trafalgar Entertainment Group

00:32can bring to Eastbourne. So for example, things like Fiddler on the Roof, from its sold out

00:38run at the Barbican, will be coming to the Congress this autumn. Things like Lion Witch

00:46in the Wardrobe, which we've produced around the country, is coming to the Congress. And

00:53lots of other content, Rocky Horror Show. So it's about, I think, the numbers, the quality,

01:00as just being able to really bring more content to Eastbourne is really the key.

01:07And these were theatres which were previously run by a local authority. Now they're part

01:11of a bigger group. I mean, they're popular theatres, of course they are, but is it right

01:16to think that they are now more secure, more stable than they were because of being part

01:20of something bigger?

01:21Yeah, yes. Well, I think that's right. I mean, we operate, we own and operate 21 theatres

01:29in the UK and one in Sydney, Australia. And we've entered into a long-term lease, a 25-year

01:37lease with the theatres, with the local authority. And so yes, it is all about securing the future

01:45the future for those venues and for the benefit of current and future generations.

01:52Absolutely. Really exciting times. But from the other perspective, what made Eastbourne attractive

01:57to you?

01:58Well, I think they are three great venues, which each have their own USPs, different sizes

02:06and scales, attracting different sorts of content, in a great catchment. So I think we felt that

02:12it would really complement the theatres that we have already in our group, and the diversity

02:18of the sort of content that we bring. And the other, we should also just mention that we also

02:25have a really thriving hospitality arm. So we do lots of conferences, award ceremonies,

02:32banqueting, you name it. We do lots of hospitality events as well, and all of which really lends

02:39itself to the scale and diversity of the venues in Eastbourne.

02:43Absolutely. It does sound super exciting. And as you're saying, it's not about changing the venues,

02:48it's about developing them, isn't it?

02:51It is. The difference will be in the programming.

02:54But yeah, I think that's right. And it's not that we won't be changing the programme as such,

02:59we'll just be supplementing. We'll see higher utilisation, if you like. In our business,

03:05it's always about the content and the content throughput. So getting as much and as high quality content

03:11as we can through the venues is really our objective. But as you say, it's not about change,

03:18it's about evolution and about continuing to do what Eastbourne already does and has already done so brilliantly.

03:26Brilliant. Well, congratulations on the move. Good luck with everything.

03:30It sounds great news for Eastbourne. Helen, really lovely to speak to you. Thank you.

03:34Lovely to speak to you too. Thank you very much. Thank you.