Lancaster theatre boss thanks supporters for help through "challenging" two years

Monday, 4 April 2022 13:25

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

Karen O'Neill, chief executive of The Dukes in Lancaster

The chief executive of a Lancaster theatre has thanked everyone who has supported it during an "extremely challenging time".

Karen O'Neill said The Dukes could not have got through the Covid lockdown period and its aftermath without the support of the theatre's loyal audiences.

Karen was speaking as The Dukes launched its annual 'Play in the Park', which this year will be 'The Jungle Book'.

The annual Williamson Park play is part of a full programme of events planned for 2022 as the theatre continues its 50th anniversary celebrations, which were shortened in 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic.

LISTEN NOW to Karen O'Neill talking about the challenges The Dukes has faced and plans for the theatre in 2022:

"It has been an extremely challenging time for The Dukes and for many arts organisations across the country, and also other businesses," she said.

"We have been extremely lucky at The Dukes and I have to say our audiences and supporters have been amazing. We couldn't have got through it without them, and the support of Lancaster City Council and the Arts Council has been huge. But it has been a challenge.

"This season we really want to focus on bringing great stories that will encourage people to come back.

"We've tried to make a programme full of fun, laughter and storytelling, what makes life great.

"But it has been extremely difficult getting back on our feet. We're just about there but we're not all the way and we still hope that people will continue to support us over the next 12 months, which we think are going to be challenging again."

This year The Dukes' summer Play in the Park marks its 35th anniversary.

"It's exciting and we really enjoy doing it," said Karen.

"It's a chance for us to get out into a really wonderful space in Williamson Park and use all the different spaces there to create a really magical tale for families.

"Every time we walked around the park, we kept seeing new places and thinking, is this where the wolves live? Is this Shere Khan's lair?

"It's a brand new re-telling of The Jungle Book, so we're working with Andrew Pollard who has taken the Rudyard Kipling book and reimagined it for 2022.

"We've commissioned a fantastic songwriter who's going to be creating a brand new set of songs for the show."

Karen also said she appreciated that people are finding times tough due to the cost of living crisis, and said The Dukes was committed to making theatre affordable.

"We're really committed to looking after our audiences during this time and understand that everyone's budget is going to be really hard hit, but families, communities should still be able to come out and enjoy fantastic live theatre and cinema.

"So we've committed to a pricing structure now that allows that to happen. All our big shows have a starting price of £10, all our family work is priced at £8, and our cinema starts at £4.50.

"So there's a real sense that people can come and enjoy a wide variety without it stretching their pocket too much."

For more on The Dukes' season and the Play in the Park see the theatre's website here.

And for Beyond Radio's story on the Play in the Park see here.