As I find myself spending another afternoon on a train, I was reflecting on how great it was to be at the Theatres Trust Conference in Manchester 2 weeks ago.
Travelling out of London on the Monday evening, was an opportunity to look up from the virtual drawing board for a couple of days, travel by train to a different part of the country, and meet up with a broad church of the theatre community at the Lowry in Salford.
The Theatres Trust conference format manages to avoid the trade-show vibe pitfalls of similar events.
Essentially arranged over two days,
day 1 was a vibrant and well curated programme of presentations and discussions, creating forums for the earnest sharing of experiences and knowledge amongst the gathered collective. The topics covered all aspects of operating, repairing and developing theatres, with an emphasis on resilience, and an overwhelming sense of folk just trying to help each other out.
We were privileged to be asked to speak about the Cambridge Arts Theatre Project, in the afternoon session 4: Capital Lightning Round.
Day 2 focussed on group building visits by coach, to several newly built and more established venues in the city. We were granted behind the scenes access and gained valuable insights into some quite remarkable venues. Allowing us to begin to understand the thriving arts scene in the city, and how the excellent staff operate the buildings and engage with the city and their communities.
The can-do attitude of the theatre industry is exemplified by the Theatres Trust, so
Bravo for producing an excellent event.
It’s good to lift our heads up sometimes and be reminded why we all work so hard!
Get in touch if you would like to hear more / learn about the Cambridge project.
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