As the recession bites harder and budget cuts shrink everyone’s pockets further, live entertainment venues around the country are struggling to survive. Grants have disappeared, funding reduced to a minimum and the ticket buying public are increasingly choosing to save whatever disposable income they possess. Theatres and arts centres are universally complaining of hardship and out of necessity cutting back on the diversity of entertainment that they have on offer.
However, amongst all this gloom, there is one Wiltshire town hall which is determined to buck the trend and prove that with imagination and tenacity a full and eclectic program of live events can be offered to its local population at prices that break nobody’s pockets.
Louise Arkley, the vivacious, enthusiastic and determined manager of Malmesbury Town Hall has allied herself with Cheltenham based theatre and live music promoters Beyond Eternity Promotions to ignite an entertainment program in this recently refurbished venue that will cover most, if not all tastes. The Jerry Lee Lewis Story will be rattling the rafters with piano pumping rock ‘n’ roll (Saturday 29 October), vintage comedy comes in the form of An Evening with the humour of Bob Newhart & Tom Lehrer (Thursday 17 November) and for jazz fans the venue will be turned into a monthly jazz club every second Thursday of the month – starting on November 10 with The Hot Fingers Trio. The youth of Wiltshire are not forgotten with the promise of a week-long Rock School being held in the town in October 2012 culminating in a concert to be held at the Town Hall.
These are brave steps that Ms Arkley is taking, something that she is all too aware of. But she has the support of the town council who own the building and she has an infectious enthusiasm that has made her a popular local figure. Her belief and passion for this superb venue and her love of live entertainment gives Malmesbury Town Hall the potential of becoming the social hub of the town - from dawn til after dusk.
There could well be a lesson here for venues around the country that are feeling depressed by their loss of funding. With some belief, passion and entrepreneurial skill the arts can survive this recession – they are certainly doing so in Malmesbury.
For ticket enquiries to Malmesbury Town Hall events telephone: 01666 822143
Helpful links: www.beyondeternitypromotions.com , www.malmesbury.gov.uk/townhall.html
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