19,803 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 22, 2018 18:35:06 GMT
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5,073 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 22, 2018 18:36:52 GMT
I would have thought the Gillian Lynne Theatre would be more appropriate!
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Post by waybeyondblue on Jun 22, 2018 18:36:57 GMT
What did this Leeds person do to become famous? Is it something to do with tripe?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 22, 2018 19:14:50 GMT
Surely it is better to appeal to as broad a demographic as possible - West Yorkshire Playhouse gave them a regional presence, a regional appeal.
Leeds Playhouse might more precisely locate them - but it seems like an exclusionary move. No doubt their sales data gives them the justification for such a move, but it just seems slightly backwards to me.
They should promote themselves as the cultural hub for their region, not their city.
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Post by d'James on Jun 22, 2018 19:26:40 GMT
I don’t know anything, but West Yorkshire Playhouse sounds more prestigious. Don’t know why, I love Leeds, so it’s no prejudice to do with that.
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Post by learfan on Jun 22, 2018 19:48:35 GMT
Surely it is better to appeal to as broad a demographic as possible - West Yorkshire Playhouse gave them a regional presence, a regional appeal. Leeds Playhouse might more precisely locate them - but it seems like an exclusionary move. No doubt their sales data gives them the justification for such a move, but it just seems slightly backwards to me. They should promote themselves as the cultural hub for their region, not their city. Disagree im afraid, could never understand why they changed in the first place. Who knows where West Yorkshire is? Leeds is a big enough place. This is well overdue imo. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2018 20:23:17 GMT
Leeds is better. More importantly, they seem to be trying to make it a more welcoming place, at the moment it feels as though you are in walking into a car park.
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19,803 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 22, 2018 21:47:28 GMT
Surely it is better to appeal to as broad a demographic as possible - West Yorkshire Playhouse gave them a regional presence, a regional appeal. Leeds Playhouse might more precisely locate them - but it seems like an exclusionary move. No doubt their sales data gives them the justification for such a move, but it just seems slightly backwards to me. They should promote themselves as the cultural hub for their region, not their city. Should the Southwark Playhouse change to the South East London Playhouse then? Broaden the demographic? Crucible Sheffield.... South Yorkshire Crucible. Royal Exchange Manchester.... Royal Exchange North West... Its not working for me! |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 22, 2018 22:37:56 GMT
That wasn't the thrust of my point. They have an existing brand and profile. To change it back to something more closely geographically defined seems limiting.
That is not to say that other venues should change to represent larger regions unless it is right for them.
Tricycle becoming Kiln was an attempt to be more closely identified with Kilburn and that seems somewhat of a stretch.
Changing your identity as a theatre is a risk. I think becomimg more limited adds to that challenge.
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Post by d'James on Jun 22, 2018 22:48:18 GMT
Surely it is better to appeal to as broad a demographic as possible - West Yorkshire Playhouse gave them a regional presence, a regional appeal. Leeds Playhouse might more precisely locate them - but it seems like an exclusionary move. No doubt their sales data gives them the justification for such a move, but it just seems slightly backwards to me. They should promote themselves as the cultural hub for their region, not their city. Should the Southwark Playhouse change to the South East London Playhouse then? Broaden the demographic? Crucible Sheffield.... South Yorkshire Crucible. Royal Exchange Manchester.... Royal Exchange North West... Its not working for me! Completely irrelevant argument. Are people suddenly going to be searching Google Maps for a place called Gillian Lynne? No. The fact that two of the examples you’ve given can be named without the name of the city/town, proves the point that the brand is more important. If I hadn’t read this thread I would’ve assumed the Leeds Playhouse was a new Theatre not a renamed one. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2018 23:12:24 GMT
That wasn't the thrust of my point. They have an existing brand and profile. To change it back to something more closely geographically defined seems limiting. That is not to say that other venues should change to represent larger regions unless it is right for them. Tricycle becoming Kiln was an attempt to be more closely identified with Kilburn and that seems somewhat of a stretch. Changing your identity as a theatre is a risk. I think becomimg more limited adds to that challenge. West Yorkshire isn’t really a large region so West Yorkshire theatre and Leeds are pretty much interchangeable descriptions. Apart from the Bradford Alhambra there’s no other similar theatre outside Leeds so it makes no real difference and at least Leeds isn’t a relatively recent concoction, as with the very unloved Humberside or Cleveland. |
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Post by n1david on Jun 22, 2018 23:16:34 GMT
The name I think is not so important, after all it was the Leeds Playhouse before it moved to the current location. The people who already know the WYP will know it's in Leeds and those that don't won't have to check where it is (given that West Yorkshire no longer exists as a local authority anyway). When I was growing up in what was then Strathclyde I knew that I went to Glasgow for theatre, I wouldn't have felt more "included" if a Glasgow theatre had been named after Strathclyde rather than Glasgow.
What I am pleased to see is that they are restructuring the theatre to 'face' the city - I went to WYP for the first time last month and was staggered at how unapproachable it was from Leeds City Centre - the whole theatre is oriented towards the car parks. Seems to have been a common theme in theatres of a certain age - Pitlochry Festival Theatre's main entrance faces the car park not the town or river, Chichester's Festival Theatre leads you through a huge car park if you're walking from the town centre...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2018 10:38:04 GMT
From the AD quoted in the Guardian article
I can - Theatre Clwyd
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2018 11:04:00 GMT
From the AD quoted in the Guardian article I can - Theatre Clwyd No googling folks but guess where Theatr Clywd is situated. {Spoiler - click to view}A mile north of Mold, I always thought it was in Wrexham! |
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Post by TallPaul on Jun 23, 2018 13:54:53 GMT
It's not very often I get the opportunity to be either serious or factual on TheatreBoard, so if I may, I'm going to make the most of my moment in the sun.
There was a very good reason why, almost 30 years ago, the 'new' West Yorkshire Playhouse was named the West Yorkshire Playhouse, rather than Leeds Playhouse. I suppose in modern parlance, it would be called naming rights.
When West Yorkshire County Council was abolished in the mid-1980s, most of its assets and liabilities were transferred to the five West Yorkshire local authorities, but those that weren't became the responsibility of the West Yorkshire Residuary Body. Once everything had been wound down or disposed of, the Residuary Body found itself with a pot of money of several million pounds, which it gifted to the West Yorkshire Playhouse to cover some of its construction costs.
The last Chairman of the West Yorkshire Residuary Body was a lovely gentleman called Sir Tom McDonald, who I knew professionally in his later years, so my facts were acquired first hand, as it were.
So, to cut a long story short, the West Yorkshire Playhouse was named the West Yorkshire Playhouse because it was funded, in part, by all the residents of West Yorkshire. Living in South Yorkshire, I'm not really entitled to an opinion, but for that reason, it should perhaps remain the West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Now you know!
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