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Another year has been marked off with our AGM held in March. The dedicated committee were all reelected but since then we
have received the resignation of Allanah James. Allanah has been a committee member for five years and has served as the usher convenor. We are grateful for all her hard work in supporting our ushers over this time. Usher training sessions have all been held and long service awards presented to our wonderful volunteers and I'm proud to say, I was also a recipient, receiving a 45-year service badge.
Looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
Ngā mihi
Annie Bonifant,
Chair - Friends of the Court Theatre
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Generous Donation
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At the heart of our new home lies the largest theatre in the building, an auditorium of some 375 seats over three levels, all designed with our audience in mind. We are delighted to announce the naming of this space following a momentous gift from The Stewart family.
The main auditorium, the jewel in our crown, will be recognised as The Stewart Family Theatre.
This donation, made to honour Dame Adrienne Stewart’s 30-year plus support of The Court Theatre, is the largest donation The Court Theatre has received from an individual or family in its 52-year history. It represents Dame Adrienne’s passion,
investment and advocacy for
The Court Theatre and Christchurch.
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Dame Adrienne Stewart - Farewell
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Twenty-three years as the Patron of the Friends of The Court Theatre. How fortunate we were to have Dame Adrienne Stewart accept the appointment as our Patron back in 2000. She followed her
husband Sir Robertson Stewart who was Patron for 13 years, meaning we had 36 years of amazing support from the Stewart family. Dame Adrienne has always been deeply involved in the whole arts sector, where she is and has been a patron, supporter, board member and philanthropist.
It was with huge gratitude tinged with sadness that at our AGM on 13 March 2023 we said farewell to Dame Adrienne as our Patron. Over the 23 years she attended many of our Friends’ events, entertained us in her home and each year gave us a large donation.
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However, this is goodbye to Dame Adrienne only as the Friends’ Patron for her journey with The
Court Theatre and its new build will no doubt continue in her usual hugely generous manner. Still, we will miss her great enthusiasm and unwavering support.
In recognition of her many years as our Patron Dame Adrienne was made an Honorary Life Member of the Friends.
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Ben Gough - Welcome
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“I have very big shoes to try to fill”. That was the comment from Ben Gough who has agreed to be our new Patron following Dame Adrienne. We are honoured and delighted that he is taking on this role.
Businessman and property developer, Ben and his wife Penny are known for their philanthropic commitment to helping individuals and communities thrive. “The ability to give back to the community is important to us. We are in a fortunate position where we can do so”, says Ben.
Ben is leading the APPLAUSE fundraising campaign for the new theatre and, at the HERO level, he and Penny gave the inaugural private donation. They are truly leaders of their generation in their philanthropy for the arts and beyond.
It is therefore very fitting that Ben leads us as our Patron to our new home in the central city and we welcome him. We hope that in the near future there will be an opportunity for Ben to meet with members of the Friends.
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TAKE YOUR SEAT - Have your own named seat in the new theatre.
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A very festive night was hosted by the APPLAUSE Campaign at Tūranga on the 28 April. Guests looked out over the first stages of our new theatre and with “Little Biddy Gin” sponsoring the evening it had real zing and sense of engagement.
The evening saw the unveiling of the major sponsor and naming rights for the main theatre. The Stewart family with their very generous donation has this immense honour.
Patrons and supporters were given the opportunity to buy seats in the new theatre and 93 seats were sold on the night.
There are still seats left so by giving a donation of $1,500 you can have a personalised bespoke plaque with your inscription fixed to your Court Theatre seats for ten years and become part of its history. This can be a family name, in memorial of someone special or pseudonym – whatever appeals! For more details contact.
carolyne.grant@courttheatre.org.nz
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General
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# In February the committee transferred $45,000 to The Court Theatre Trust for operating expenses with an additional $55,000 provided in March. We have the expectation of donating $10,000 towards the purchase of a replacement van for the theatre. Watch this space for more details.
# Statistics reveal that membership and members have increased slightly since the end of last year:
End of December 2022 - 1,157 memberships representing 1,734 members
End of March 2023 – 1,181, memberships representing 1,770 members (not including twelve life memberships and six 5-year memberships)
# We are looking at strategies to enlarge our membership base but each of our existing members can play their part by inviting family and friends to join us.
# We continue to provide drinks following the opening night of each new production and these are very much appreciated. However, we would like to have a few extra hands for this duty (not at all onerous) and anyone who might like to volunteer is asked to contact our convenor David Winfield at davenjo@xtra.co.nz.
You would not have to attend every opening night, just when it suited.
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