Court Theatre has a new boss
After a tumultuous year, the Court Theatre has finally appointed a new leader to set a new tone and direction.
Gretchen La Roche, 50, is currently a senior manager at Creative New Zealand. She was selected from 116 applicants to take control of the theatre, and will start in early May.
The recruitment was sparked by the resignation of chief executive Barbara George in November 2023, following a series of high-profile problems at the theatre including deep staff unhappiness with George’s behaviour, allegations of bullying and serious financial issues.
The recruitment process was led by the acting chairperson of the theatre board, Steve Wakefield, who also stepped in as acting chief executive when George left.
The new role of executive director replaces that of chief executive officer in a deliberate departure from the theatre’s previous management structure. “Opportunity comes out of adversity, and we feel like we’ve had a bit of a rough time, but we’re in a much better place now,” Wakefield said.
“We were thrilled to receive a lot of interest across New Zealand for this role, and we undertook a very robust recruitment process. Gretchen’s application stood out due to her extensive arts management experience, and her very impressive career in the arts.”
La Roche has previously been chief executive at both Chamber Music New Zealand and at the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and also held a position at The Court coordinating sponsorship. “I’m really looking forward to getting around the company and talking with people to hear about what they’re up to, and what their thoughts are,” La Roche said.
When asked how she would re-engage staff at The Court who might be feeling negative following the company’s recent troubles, La Roche said she would foster “a culture of collegiality, openness and trust”.
“Those are things that are important to me in an organisation.”
La Roche indicated the initial period in her new role would be devoted to fully understanding the organisation she would be leading.
“It’s very unwise to leap in with significant action until you’re really familiar with what is going on within an organisation and understand its own unique culture.”
In January 2023 the Court Foundation – an independent charitable trust set up to support the theatre – granted The Court $700,000 to cover operational costs after the theatre appealed for help.
Despite that, La Roche said she was confident “the organisation is in a stable financial position now”.
“That’s a credit to the work of the board and the foundation,” she said. “But we need to be very careful, making sure that there are sound financial decisions and that we’re demonstrating really good value for money.”
The theatre made an operating loss of $1.5 million in the year 2022-23. Falling ticket sales, which compounded rising costs and faltering sponsorship, were blamed on the departure of unhappy key employees.
“Sometimes productions don’t speak in the way that you had expected and hoped,” La Roche said of the less successful runs. “And so you need to have a swift response to manage a situation.”
Wakefield pointed to positive signs The Court had turned a corner with its productions. Recent musical Something Rotten would return in July by popular demand, and current production Murder On The Orient Express had its run extended by six shows.
The Court Theatre is New Zealand’s largest theatre company. It stages about 15 to 20 productions each year, serving more than 100,000 audience members annually.
Westport residents are living in fear of their next flood because planned flood protection could turn the town into “a bathtub without any plug” if essential stormwater pumps are not included.
The Government is refusing to pay $12 million for a critical and potentially life-saving part of the town’s flood protection plans, leaving the town’s residents extremely vulnerable, Buller mayor Jamie Cleine says.
The former government granted $22.9m last year for flood protection, including a series of walls to ring-fence the town, and said stormwater would be funded through Three Water reforms that have since been scrapped by the current Government.
Almost half of Westport’s 4500-odd residents had to evacuate their homes during flooding in July 2021. Another heavy rain event in February 2022 damaged roads, bridges, Westport’s water supply, and 70 farms.
Hugh McMillan, who lives and works within the planned walls, said the town needed stormwater upgrades too. “It is going to rain inside the walls as well as outside ... and that water has to get pumped out.” He said the stormwater drains were unable to cope and exacerbated flooding in many parts of the town during past heavy rain events. “It needs fixing and the ratepayers can’t afford it. The wall is funded but if we don’t do the stormwater upgrades at the same time it means there is no safety valve. The town will be a bathtub.”
Shared working space co-founder, Tash Barnes-Dellaca, said the uncertainty was a huge issue for locals. “For us and our staff not knowing if our homes are safe, it’s a really big deal. I think having successive Governments go back and forth is confusing to locals.”
She believed the flood protection walls were a short to medium-term solution and the Government should be leading discussion on managed retreat due to climate change.