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Around Town Meets...
Murray Edwards
 Scottish born Murray Edwards, is a man with a driving passion both for the future of local theatre and for his ‘adopted’ homeland of Yorkshire.
Exciting times are ahead for Murray Edwards and his team at Wakefield’s Theatre Royal and Opera House. Planning permission has already been approved for a major extension to the theatre and there is now just the ‘small’ matter of raising several million pounds to enable work to begin.
Although it sounds very daunting, Murray, the theatre’s executive director, is confident building work will be started by next summer and hopefully all work finished by the end of 2009. Work must be completed and ready in time for the Wakefield Year of Culture in 2010.
He said: “Now that we have planning approval, we can begin to seek out grants from organisations such as the Lottery etc. We have already received £1 million from the Council and need a further £7 million to bring the scheme to fruition.”
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Murray, who will have been executive director of Wakefield Theatre for 10 years this coming January, now lives at nearby Thornhill Edge but hails originally from Edinburgh. Very much a familiar face in theatres across the UK, he trained as a chemist but discovered drama and the theatre while studying at university.
“I became involved with the uni dramatic society and towards my last year at university, I applied for funding to the Arts Council to allow me to pursue my love of the theatre. I was lucky enough to receive a six-month placement with Oxford Playhouse under the direction of the late Elizabeth Sweeting, a very astute and marvellous woman who helped me enormously,” he said.
Over the next few years Murray spent time working in various theatres including The Octagon Theatre in Bolton, Eden Court in Inverness and The Mermaid Theatre in London. Later he went to work in marketing for the local authority in Reading and then in 1991 arrived in Yorkshire to work for York City Council, where he helped open The Barbican Theatre in 1991.
Finally nearly 10 years ago Murray arrived in Wakefield and says, at that time, the city’s theatre was in a pretty bad way.
“There was a lack of public interest, the theatre was empty and everyone had left. Since then we have gradually turned it around and the theatre is once again well supported. The theatre has moved forward and I believe the city of Wakefield has changed noticeably in the last four years. The theatre is following the progress of the city and this end of town is beginning to come together as the city’s cultural quarter.
“As a city Wakefield is continually developing and more and more people now want to live here. Personally I love this area and feel quite at home here. Living at Thornhill Edge, I have great views out of my window and am close to both the city of Wakefield and to open countryside.”
The current Wakefield Theatre building dates back to 1894 and was built by the Sherwood family. Prior to this a previous theatre stood on the same site, dating back to 1776.
Now another chapter in the history of this famous old theatre is about to unfold as plans move ahead to build on land next door to add modern foyers and spacious bars for theatregoers, along with an extra110-seater auditorium for smaller, more intimate productions.
Murray said: “Now that the plans have been approved, it’s all systems-go to raise the necessary funding. Our plan is to start building work next summer and be finished by Christmas 2009, certainly in plenty of time for the 2010 Year of Culture.
“People in this city are ready to become more involved in the creative arts and culture and we want to put theatre and the arts at the heart of Wakefield and develop people’s interests. Many people in this city have very little experience of arts and culture and it is up to us, here at the theatre, to encourage them to visit us and become interested in what’s happening here.
“Already, as a theatre, we do a lot of work with local schools, youth services and disadvantaged young people. We need to give a wide choice of theatre productions to get all potential audiences interested.
“At the moment we are looking forward to All The Fun of the Fight, a world premiere set during the Miners’ Strike which is coming to the theatre from October 11 to 19. It tells the story of three women from the Yorkshire community from the washing line to the picket line. This is exactly the kind of play which can encourage new audiences.”
Murray said the annual pantomine is also becoming both a great moneyspinner for the theatre as well as an audience puller.
“This year we are doing Jack and the Beanstalk. This annual production is at long last starting to make money for us. A few years ago audiences during the run would be about 20,000 but in the last few years this figure has risen to 26,500. This means we increase our profits and more Wakefield people are enjoying traditional theatre.”
Because of the growing success, the 2007 pantomine production has been extended by five performances and Murray is hoping audience numbers will top 30,000.
“Once people have been to the theatre and enjoyed it, they are more likely to keep coming back. We also work closely with Wakefield Youth Music Theatre who have just enjoyed a great run with High School Musical. Up to a third of all our productions are staged by local organisations, dramatic groups, operatic societies, schools etc.”
Looking to the future Murray is very optimistic about Wakefield theatre. Now that the public phase of planning approval is over for the new extension, he can approach organisations like the Lottery, local business, groups and individuals for help with fundraising.
He said: “We are about to start the detailed design drawings for the development but it is all very real now and once we have some more funds, building work will start. As a city Wakefield is moving forward all the time and this theatre is going with it.
“The theatre trust, which bought this land next door in 1985, is committed to completing this much-needed extension as soon as possible and therefore making a major contribution to the regeneration of the Westgate area. Once complete we will have the existing 500-seater theatre, a smaller theatre and a great complex with much better facilities for Wakefield theatregoers.”
For Murray and his team, the next few years will hopefully be great ones in the history of Wakefield theatre.
Published Autumn 2007. All information correct at time of print
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