Kenton loses its sixth manager in six years

THE Kenton Theatre in Henley is searching for its sixth manager in six years.

Simon Spearing, who joined in January last year, has resigned suddenly.

Julie Huntington, who chairs the trustees of the New Street venue, has publically thanked him for his efforts.

Mr Spearing was responsible for the everyday running of the Kenton, which is the fourth oldest working theatre in the country.

His duties were to help with the programming, the box office, technological aspects and welcoming audiences. Mr Spearing’s first challenge was to respond to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic and then get the theatre back on its feet once these were lifted.

One of the initiatives during the theatre’s forced closure was the Kenton Summer Roadshow, a series of outdoor performances, which returned this year.

Mrs Huntington said: “We would like to thank Simon for his work in steering the theatre back into the light, following its closure during covid.

“He has brought his professional knowledge to drive the future agenda for the Kenton and to safeguard it for future generations.

“We wish Simon well and the board will seek a replacement to continue the development programme of the theatre.”

Mr Spearing, who lives in Winchester, could not be contacted for comment.

He applied for the role after being made redundant from the town’s Theatre Royal in March 2020 because of the pandemic.

When he got the job, he said: “The Kenton Theatre is my home away from home and I am working towards making it safe to re-open.

“It’s a lovely building but it can’t do what it needs to do without people in there — theatres need people.”

At the time, Mrs Huntington described Mr Spearing as “exactly what the theatre need”, adding: “Simon kept coming out on top of all our deliberations in all aspects of the job. We feel that we have placed our precious theatre in a very safe pair of hands.”

The high turnover of managers followed the departure of Wendy Bowsher in 2016 after 15 years.

Zsuzsi Lindsay took on the role for four months before leaving to spend more time with her family.

The role was then shared by Paula Price-Davies, then a part-time town council officer, and Tom Ryan, programming director for the Henley Literary Festival.

Mr Ryan stepped down in July 2018 to focus on the festival, which was founded by his mother, Sue.

Ms Price-Davies resigned from the role in May last year when the job was divided into two separate artistic and management roles.

Max Lewendel then took on the role but he left in March 2020 after just eight months with the theatre saying it was by mutual agreement.

He had not been at work since the beginning of the year and the Henley Standard revealed that he had been told to leave.