Friends Of The Grand eNewsletter - April 24

Dear Friends...

A lot of things have happened since our last newsletter. In the past year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Friends with a number of events including our big raffle at the Grand’s Christmas Concert. On October 5th we had a very special day at The Grand Theatre followed by a wonderful evening at the White Tower at the Pleasure Beach.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this a very enjoyable event especially Theatre Management and Amanda Thompson, Pleasure Beach. We’ve got lots of special Guest Speakers for our Coffee Mornings, held in the Space at the Theatre on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 10.30am with cakes and biscuits and refillable Tea and Coffee, pay on the door tickets £5. The August Coffee Morning will be a week later than usual on the 22nd.

We have 2 evenings at Funny Girls this year which I know some people asked about last year. July 11th is the Summer Show. November 21st is the Xmas Show. The price of the ticket is £15 each show including buffet. These can be booked through the Box Office as before. Finally, I look forward to saying hello to those of you who are able to make it to our Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 24th April at 2pm in the Space with light refreshments on your arrival.

JGrady

John Grady Chair, Friends of The Grand

OUR NEW TREASURER

Introducing Mary Walker

Hi Everyone, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Mary Walker and I became the newest member of the Friends of the Grand committee and also the treasurer at the AGM in 2023. I have been a front of the house volunteer since 2015. During this time, especially pre-covid, I helped to raise funds for the Friends by selling raffle tickets, badges etc.

This is when I realised how necessary to the theatre we are. But during the past year

I have learned so much more about what the Friends do for the theatre and how much more

than just a social network we are. By raising funds through our subs, attending coffee mornings and other social events we contribute substantial amounts to the upkeep and running of the theatre.

I have enjoyed attending the coffee mornings and especially the 50th anniversary celebration. I feel so valued to be a member of the committee and also to be trusted to act as treasurer and would encourage anyone to consider applying to be a member of the committee.

Members and guests celebrating the Friends of The Grand’s 50th anniversary in the White Tower.

FIFTY YEARS ON... ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Christine Watkins Committee member

When the Original Friends of the Grand formed back in 1973 and Saved the Beautiful Grand Theatre FROM DEMOLITION little did they imagine that the group would still be going strong FIFTY YEARS LATER!

Happily on the 5th of October 2023, a group of Friends gathered at the theatre to celebrate their 50th anniversary where we enjoyed a hilarious performance of Noises Off. Following the matinee, we were ushered into the Dress Circle Bar and were delighted when the cast joined us for an impromptu chat! Many thanks to Liza Goddard, Matthew Kelly and Simon Shepherd for this lovely surprise. A big thank

you also to Steve Royle, our Friends’ patron, who came along despite a very busy schedule. Next came a rainy walk to catch our exclusive Heritage tram which transported us to the Pleasure Beach and a warm welcome within the conducive surroundings of the Paradise Room where we enjoyed an extra special meal (with subdued lighting and discreet piano accompaniment!)

It was a great opportunity to chat with Friends old and new and a wonderful event to mark our special anniversary – to look back on what we have achieved and look forward to the Grand’s future.

JOIN THE FRIENDS OF THE GRAND

Ann Royle Secretary

We appreciate the valuable support you give to our theatre by maintaining your membership of our group, enjoying your visits to see a show and spreading the word about the beautiful Grand. As you will see in this newsletter we are asking if some of you would be willing to be a little more involved by joining the Friends’ committee.

We meet formally four times during the year, usually on Thursday mornings where we plan our activities, meet with our CEO and discuss matters of finance arising from meetings of the new fundraising group on which we have representatives. We are involved in organising and implementing social/ fundraising events such as our popular coffee mornings but would like to broaden our scope. We need new ideas to help people to become more socially

involved. Are you someone who could bring a new outlook and ideas to refresh us?

Do you enjoy working with others? Are you good at fundraising? Do you have IT skills? Do you have spare time? Do you not really have time but like to join in anyway? Are you an ideas person? Your best contribution will be the love of theatre you have already shown by your present involvement with our beautiful Grand.

If you wish to join the committee, please complete the Nomination Form which can be either collected from the Stage Door Reception in Matcham’s Court or downloaded from The Friends’ section of The Blackpool Grand Theatre website.

MEMBERSHIP

If you have any questions about your membership the box office will be able to help: Tel: 290190.

THE FRIENDS’ CONSTITUTION

2024

As we all know, the Friends of the Grand have a long history of supporting the theatre that we all love – from its rescue in the face of the threat of demolition, through both good and tough days into its new post-pandemic world.

The Friends of the Grand have been part of the Theatre throughout its challenges and changes; the Friends – like the Theatre itself – have a great future ahead of them. Every organisation needs to adapt and develop and the people that Members of any organisation choose to guide that are crucial to the organisation’s success. For the Friends of the Grand, that is the Chairman and the Committee who are elected by the Members at General Meetings.

At the last Annual General Meeting, the Members approved a new Constitution for the Friends of the Grand. In line with the Charity Commission’s advice to all charities, one major change was to put a limit on how long any one person can serve as a member of the Committee (as the Friends

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

of the Grand are a charity, Committee

Members are also Trustees of the charity); the new limit is four years (renewable once, in normal circumstances). The aim is to find the right balance between continuity and experience on the one hand, and new ideas and a fresh approach to ways of thinking from new committee members on the other. The new Constitution includes transitional arrangements, so that the Committee does not lose all its long-standing members at the same time. In line with that, John Grady will be stepping down as Chairman after one more year. Three other Committee members will step down in two years (Geraldine Porter, Ann Royle and Christine Watkins) and the remaining two (Trevor Denton and Mary Walker) have three years more to serve of their four year terms.

What this means for the Friends of the Grand is that we now need to encourage Members to think about joining the Committee of the Friends. The Committee plays a vital role for

Coffee Mornings 10.30am | AGM 2pm | Funny Girls 8pm

Thursday 18 April

• Richmond Neale Theatre Miscellany and Memories

Wednesday 24 April

• Friends Of The Grand Annual General Meeting In The space with tea and coffee on arrival

Thursday 16 May

• David Cam

1,000 Year history of High Sheriffs of Lancashire

Thursday 20 June

• Martin Scott Price

Mr Punch and Judy

Thursday 11 July

• The Friends’ Summer Evening Out at Funny Girls

Thursday 18 July

• Beryl Johnson Presents the Golden Years of variety

Thursday 22 August

• Bryan Lindop From Ealing Studios to Blackpool’s Mr Tram man

Thursday 19 September

• David Coupe Past Chair of the Grand Theatre Trust

Thursday 17 October

• Hillbilly Heaven With Musical entertainment

Thursday 21 November

• Pat Abram 200 years of RNLI

• Friends’ Funny Girls Xmas Spectacular (8pm)

the Friends and for the Theatre and works closely with the Theatre management, the Grand Theatre Trust that owns and maintains the building and the Arts and Entertainments Company (“the A&E”) that runs the theatre. Each of the two charities – the Trust and the A&E – have ‘Friends’ as Directors and Trustees and there is a fund-raising group with representatives from all three bodies to help work out what the Theatre’s needs are and how each group can best support that.

The current Committee members were elected at the last Annual General Meeting and there is no need to re-elect them at the upcoming AGM. What we do need to do is to encourage Members – old and new – to think about joining the Committee; if you, or someone you know, would be interested, feel free to speak to any of the current Committee members.

Finding new Committee members is vital for the future of the Friends – can you help?

FUNNY GIRLS

SHOW & BUFFET

These Special Tickets are only available to buy from Blackpool Grand Theatre

Put on your glad rags and come with us to our ever popular events at Funny Girls on Dickson Road, Blackpool. We always have a great time and have exclusive use of the balcony (access via staircase) with our own private seating, buffet and bar.

Doors Open 7pm, DJ 8pm, Show Start 8 30pm then routines every 20 mins alternating with the DJ and dancing and of course our Fun Friends’ Raffle. The Show Finale is 11pm. Closing about 11.30pm.

Geraldine Porter Vice Chair

11 July and 21 November

Tony Depledge Vice Chair, Arts And Entertainment, Blackpool Grand Theatre

A WORD FROM OUR CHIEF EXEC

As I reflect on the last six months, I’m empowered by the hive of creative energy that Blackpool Grand Theatre represents, and it has been hugely exciting to celebrate the role of The Friends of The Grand in supporting the huge array of activity that The Grand is able to offer to residents of Blackpool and beyond.

In October, we celebrated the 50th Birthday of your incredible organisation with a special performance of Michael Frayn’s legendary theatrical comedy Noises Off, a windswept Heritage Tram journey down the prom, and a fantastic three-course dinner in the spectacular surroundings of the White Tower Restaurant at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It was wonderful to meet so many Friends, old and new, and to share reminiscences and memories across the years. It was a powerful reminder of what people can do when united behind a common cause and a shared love of the theatre. And what a legacy the founding Friends have gifted to Blackpool in securing our wonderful Matcham theatre for future generations to enjoy.

I’m delighted to say that the future of The Grand has been very much in the national spotlight over the past six months, with the awarding of the prestigious UK Theatre Award for Excellence In Arts Education and the Children & Young People Now Award for Arts & Culture, in recognition of our work with children, young people and families and, in particular, the extraordinary impact of our Story Led Resilience programme to enable positive transformational change in some of Blackpool’s most socio-economically deprived communities. This award-winning work has been commissioned to accompany the Children’s Theatre Partnership UK tour of The Boy At The Back of The Class (7–11 May 2024) and Bristol Old Vic and PW Productions UK tour of WonderBoy (8–12 October). These brilliant new productions are designed to appeal to those young, and young at heart!Looking forwards we also welcome new Chairs of both the Arts & Entertainments company (responsible for the operation of the theatre and programming of shows) and of the Trust (who own and upkeep our Matcham heritage building). My sincere thanks go to Anthony Stone and Roger Lloyd Jones, who’ve given so much time, expertise, and energy to championing The Grand over so many years.

Officially stepping down in January of this year, we welcomed talented successors in Alistair Armit (who has a background as an opera singer, in venue and ticketing operations) to chair the A&E and Bryan Lindop (who will be familiar to many as Head of Heritage at Blackpool Transport) to chair the Trust. Both are passionate about then future of The Grand and we look forward to introducing them to you over the months ahead.

Writing this article fresh from the standing ovation that welcomed the opening night Curve/National Theatre production of Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Launderette to The Grand, I am reminded that I’m enormously enthused by the thriving programme of exciting new work we’re presenting on our stages and proud of the wonderful team of staff and volunteers that make this work possible. More and more we’re reflecting the stories and experiences of local people in the work we share with audiences, in and amongst the plethora of West End drama, musicals, dance, opera and comedy you’ve come to love and enjoy on our stage.

This August, you have a wonderful opportunity to come and celebrate the future of The Grand as we present our first annual Summer Youth Musical Project. Responding to a need in the community, we will be professionally producing a cast of over 100 local youngsters ranging in age from 8 to 18 as they, and the young technicians who will be supporting them, transform The Grand into “Fat Sam’s Grand Slam” for the arrival of Alan Parker’s much-loved, family-friendly musical, Bugsy Malone. Having attended the open auditions where over 250 hopeful young people came to impress with their outstanding singing, dancing, and acting skills, I’m hugely excited to see the cast in action on our fabulous Matcham stage between 15 and 17 August. I look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you for your continuing support of Blackpool Grand Theatre and I very much look forward to seeing you soon.

Adam Knight Chief Executive