Selladoor Worldwide Wins Tender To Run Queens Theatre Barnstaple and The Landmark Theatre Ilfracombe

Selladoor Worldwide, against stiff competition, have won the tender to run the Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple and The Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe from January 2019 for a minimum of ten years. This is further expansion of the company's move into venue, which includes the partnership with the Blackpool Entertainment Company, to bring creative life to the historical Pavilion Theatre, Blackpool.

David Hutchinson, CEO Selladoor Worldwide said, "At the heart of Selladoor has always been making diverse, dynamic and daring theatre. We're delighted to be bringing our mission to create, support, platform and promote quality theatre and artists to our North Devon theatres"

Phillip Rowntree, CFO Selladoor Worldwide said, "Over the last ten years of producing in theatres of all scales and sizes, in the UK and around the world, Selladoor has always been acutely aware of the importance of local theatres in the regional landscape. We could not be more humbled by the trust vested in us by the Council and people of North Devon, nor could we be more excited by this thrilling new chapter in Selladoor's life. We cannot wait to begin delivering our vision for the theatres to the communities in Ilfracombe and Barnstaple."

Mark Kentell, Contracts Delivery Manager at North Devon Council said, "Selladoor are an exciting, dynamic theatre company with fresh ideas and a firm commitment to making both of our theatres successes in their own right. We can look forward to thriving theatres in both Ilfracombe and Barnstaple with shows produced at the Landmark touring internationally. Selladoor are everything I'd hoped for in a theatre operator and I'm so pleased to welcome them to North Devon."

The grand opening of The Landmark, having been under used for a number of years, will be on 25 March 2019 when Ian McKellen will open the theatre with his one man show. The Ballot for tickets is open from today on www.landmark-ilfracombe.com

Sir Ian McKellen said, "My current UK tour with my new solo show is visiting many places I know well but this is my first time playing in Ilfracombe. It's a happy opportunity to celebrate my 80th birthday by relaunching this well loved local theatre."

There will be a focus on growing the theatre as a launch pad for high quality drama and family work. Selladoor Worldwide are looking to build The Landmark into a building with a real focus on family work and engaging young audiences for their first experience at the theatre. The venue, in its picturesque location, and its second space, the Pavilion - lends itself well to other non-typical theatre programming to make the theatre a national destination for youth arts. With this diverse programming, Selladoor Family will be looking to workshop and develop new family work at the venue. They'll also debut work before national and international touring, evolving The Landmark into a hub for developing creative talent, with a specialism for young audiences.

With just shy of 700 seats - the Queens has a history of attracting high profile names and showcasing local talent. We are looking to grow the programme and attract leading touring dramas and musicals - as the top destination for larger scale work in North Devon. The Queens will also house our annual pantomime - and develop links with leading touring and producing hubs to co-partner on presenting high quality work.

Alongside this exciting tender news, the company have made some key new management appointments as part of the companies general expansion.

Stuart Shanks, who was previously at HQ Theatres and Parkwood Leisure, has joined as Director of Venues, Grant Sellen, former Senior Programmer at ATG, joins as Head of Programming and Thomas Betis formerly HR Manager at Le Pain Quotidien joins as Head of People.

Stuart Shanks

Stuart has worked within the entertainment industry for over 20 years, and arrived in the UK from his native Australia in 1996. His career in theatre began with Disney Theatrical Productions in 2002, where he worked on the Beauty & the Beast International tour, and the West End's Lion King and Mary Poppins.

In 2007 he was appointed Head of Administration and Finance at the Hackney Empire, and then in 2010, went to HQ Theatres & Hospitality, where he held the position of Managing Director and C.O.O. In 2015 he commenced a period of consultancy, where he assisted clients in the public and private sectors.

Stuart has a proven track record of successful commercial management and business development in the UK theatre market, in both the funded and commercial sectors. Now Stuart joins as Director of Venues for Selladoor, an organisation he sees as the "future of UK theatre in what is now a very different trading environment for the arts".

Grant Sellen

Grant has worked in theatre for more than sixteen years. His career started in 2002 when he was appointed as the Deputy General Manager of the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil, Somerset. He stayed for seven years, rising to General Manager for the last three.

In 2009 he moved to the Royal Albert Hall in London, before joining the Ambassador Theatre Group in 2010 as Senior Regional Programmer, a position that he has held for the last eight years.

In his time Grant has programmed all genres, including plays, musicals, comedy, gigs and dance.

Thomas Betis

Originally from France, Thomas has lived in London since 2002. After 3 years of management studies, Thomas joined Le Pain Quotidien UK as HR Manager and accompanied their rapid expansion for 10 years, building their department and developing its activity as the business faced multiple challenges in the UK, France but also in the US. Thomas then joined Tinies/ My Family Care in October 2015 as their Head of People and helped them restructure their department.

Following Tinies' supersonic growth, everything had to be reset from payroll to data compliance via internal policies. This was also the occasion to implement a productive company culture based on engagement, teamwork and learning & development. Being a Londoner quickly opened Thomas' eyes to the world of performing arts and he progressively became addicted to the West End, experiencing it at every opportunity.

Thomas is therefore very honoured to join the fabulous Selladoor team and he certainly looks forward to meeting and supporting his new colleagues so that they can all keep growing together.

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