In association with
The Roses Review Spring 2019
Welcome...
we will set a date shortly for a social event so all our members can get to know our new board.
A very Happy New Year to you and welcome to the first Roses newsletter of 2019.
Over the years, I have managed a number of venues experiencing substantial reductions in their funding and repeatedly I have been amazed at the creativity and resilience of the arts and those that love, work in and support them. Though no longer in receipt of ACE funding, we remain committed to their values of arts for all, inclusion, diversity and promoting new works and artists. Having run venues in London, Wales and Bristol the contribution theatres make to their communities is invaluable, drawing in visitors, increasing employment and promoting safer neighbourhoods – in 2017, the UK’s cultural and creative industries made a record contribution of £1billion for the first time to the national economy showing significant and continued growth. Culture also brings all ages together – there is also ongoing overwhelming evidence of the positive links between the arts and wellbeing, particularly in the older generation and these areas will continue to strongly form our values and mission. With creative subjects increasingly being withdrawn from the national curriculum it is also vital that The Roses continues to give young people the opportunity to perform and participate in arts activities and we will continue to run our own Youth Theatre Company.
This marks six months since I took up post as Director! It has been a busy winter season putting in place plans for this year and beyond – as well as, of course, producing our annual panto. I have been made to feel very welcome by the Roses and wider Tewkesbury community. However, I joined just weeks after the theatre had received the news that it would no longer receive core funding from Arts Council England (ACE), despite only months before being told it would for the period 2018 – 2021. This was quite a blow and a disappointment, as it was also for the other venues who also received the same news including the Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter and Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre. For us, this represented a loss of funding of £85k per annum for the next 3 years - ACE have supported us a with a smaller transitional grant through 2018 but from 2019 we will be entirely dependent on our own fundraising and the support of our patrons and friends. We have a great staff team supported by an enthusiastic team of volunteers – a number of new trustees were also recruited over the summer to continue to support the management team. We continue to have a close working relationship with Tewkesbury Borough Council with a new lease signed over the summer and I look forward to ensuring that the Roses is a key asset for the town. A number of new trustees joined the board in September – Colin Smith, Nick Wilkes, Eleanor Teasdale, Jessica Brewster, Maurice Gran and Gerald Hawke will be bringing their energy to the board and their biographies are available on The Roses’ website. After 5 years committed service, Keith Norton stepped down as Chair and Suzy Hillier also stepped down as a trustee in December - we would like to thank them both for all their hard work and wish them both well. I am delighted to say that Gerald Hawke and Jessica Brewster have been appointed the new Chair and Vice Chair respectively and
Booking Dates Booking dates for this brochure are as follows:
Patrons: Monday 18 February Friends & Seat Donors: Thursday 21 February General Public: Monday 25 February There are plenty of events within this brochure that are brand new to sale. Highlights include: • • • •
All films from late March onwards (pages 25 - 33) The Bohemians Queen tribute (page 10) Ballet Cymru’s Romeo a Juliet (page 19) Events further ahead in 2019 (pages 20 - 21)
Following the success of last year’s panto, I am delighted to announce we will continue to produce Tewkesbury’s very own pantomime which this year will be Peter Pan! A firm favourite across the generations, it will be the first time JM Barrie’s story will have been performed in The Roses’ history and we cannot wait! We will be going on sale very soon so keep an eye on the website so you can ‘hook’ your tickets early! As always, we are very grateful to all our friends, patrons, volunteers and supporters – thank you. We will soon be planning another social event where I hope you will be able to join us and I can update you on the exciting plans we have for 2019 and beyond!
Hannah Kester Director
JUST ADDED!
Andre Rieu: Shall We Dance? This year André Rieu invites you to put on your dancing shoes for his spectacular 2019 hometown concert from Maastricht.
Saturday 27 July 7pm Sunday 28 July 3pm
A B C £20