BWW Interviews: Artistic Director Tim Ford On The Future Of Lichfield Garrick

Artistic Director Tim Ford has been invaluable for many arts venues across the UK over the last twenty years, having held roles at Leicester Curve. Birmingham Repertory Theatre and most recently at Reading Repertory Theatre as Associate Director. He is now absolutely thrilled to be taking the artistic helm at Lichfield Garrick in his home town. He hadn't been at Reading for a vast amount of time when the position in Lichfield arose but it was an opportunity "too good to miss".

Ford has recently taken over from Adrian Jackson who has relocated to Wolverhampton Grand to be their Chief Executive. There has been a management restructure at the Garrick whereby there has been a separate role created for the Chief Executive and Artistic Director. This way Ford can concentrate on making the Garrick more "artistically intelligent" and number one on his list is to make the theatre a "learning centre of excellence".

Meeting with Ford on a grey afternoon is a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. His clear vision and passion for the theatre seeps from every pore and the excitement he generates is infectious. He has a predominantly musical theatre background and intends to assist new producers of smaller musicals by giving them a platform to showcase their work. Ford has been inspired by the model at the Curve whereby they produce a community musical for local talent to perform in; this is something he wants to introduce at the Garrick following its success there. He is incredibly keen to get young people into the performing arts by giving them opportunities that are definitely fewer and far between in the region. For one, Ford also would like to re-establish the Garrick Rep Company. As an extension to this, he is planning to build a small stage on the top floor of the theatre outside the dress circle entrance to the main 550-seat theatre. Here, musicians and theatre groups can use the stage at their leisure to test out their material. The aim is to create a hub of activity in the building to draw people in.

Lichfield Garrick has recently become a charitable theatre trust meaning that they can now seek external funding. Ford's dream is to receive support from the Arts Council to assist in his ambition to put such a beautiful city on the map. There are elements of the programming that Ford would like to expand on such as their Comedy 42 season and he is currently throwing himself into their in-house pantomime which he believes will be terrific. The Bill star Graham Cole is starring as the evil 'Hemlock' in Jack and the Beanstalk alongside dame Ian Adams who also writes and directs the annual show. They completed the casting last week and Ford is very excited about their casting decisions. The Garrick's next season brochure is released in November and this will all be "Tim's fault"! He gave me an insight into some shows he is planning and programming for next year and they are inspired decisions.

Ford has already begun to sprinkle his magic over the venue close to his heart and this will become apparent over the coming months. With a new website planned and a slight steer in direction, there are big plans for Lichfield Garrick and with Ford's leadership, this is a very exciting prospect.

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