Latest news with #CyrilWhelan


BBC News
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jersey Opera House's new chair rejects 'poison chalice' concern
Jersey Opera House's interim chairperson says she does not see the role as a "poisoned chalice" after becoming the third person to take it on in Robertson took on the position at the St Helier venue on Thursday, 24 hours after the resignation of Cyril Whelan, who stepped down two months after taking over from Dave venue - which has undergone a £13m renovation - has also been dealing with other resignations, with interim director Andy Eagle stepping down in April and Bruno Santos-Costa also leaving his role as a board Robertson said all the resignations were due to personal reasons and a lot of hard work was ongoing to get an exciting programme on at the venue. The Grade II listed held its first concerts in five years in May, with two Liberation Day concerts ahead of the official reopening, which is expected to take place in October. Ms Robertson said she was "desperate" to get a strong programme of shows and looking forward to being the interim said: "I'm certainly not personally viewing the job as a poisoned chalice."Why I joined the board in the first place 18 months ago is because the building is the first real experience I had of theatre as a kid."When Cyril chose to leave for his own personal reasons, having been on the board for 13 years, which is an amazing stint, I really wanted to help push us into the new, exciting chapter for the opera house and get the community back in there." Ms Robertson said the venue was facing some technical challenges ahead of its reopening, but its managing board was facing those head added the venue was committed to making sure it had everything it needed to provide an exciting programme of shows."We'll be making some technical upgrades to things like lighting and sound in very short order so we can keep delivering what the public would like," she said.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jersey Opera House gets third chairperson of 2025
Jersey Opera House has appointed a new interim chairperson, in the latest chapter of a story which has seen multiple resignations since the start of 2025. Laura Robertson, a lawyer, has stepped into the position having already served as part of the board of directors. The decision comes after Cyril Whelan announced on Wednesday he was to resign having only just succeeded another outgoing interim chairperson in April. Jersey Opera House's Grade II listed building in St Helier reopened after five years in May following a major £13m refurbishment scheme. More news stories for Jersey Listen to the latest news for Jersey Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Jersey Opera House's interim chair steps down Opera House reopens for Liberation Day concerts Jersey Opera House


BBC News
19-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Jersey Opera House gets third interim chairperson of 2025
Jersey Opera House has appointed a new interim chairperson, in the latest chapter of a story which has seen multiple resignations since the start of Robertson, a lawyer, has stepped into the position having already served as part of the board of decision comes after Cyril Whelan announced on Wednesday he was to resign having only just succeeded another outgoing interim chairperson in Opera House's Grade II listed building in St Helier reopened after five years in May following a major £13m refurbishment scheme.


BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Jersey Opera House's interim chair steps down
Jersey Opera House's interim chairperson has stepped down two months after taking on the venue said "growing pressure" from Cyril Whelan's other commitments meant he had decided to dedicate more time to those Whelan - who is a coroner, Employment and Discrimination Tribunal judge and the Gambling Commission chair - became interim chair of the St Helier venue in April after Dave Chalk stepped down from the Grade II listed building reopened after five years in May following a major £13m refurbishment scheme. A spokesperson for the venue said Mr Whelan was "born in the shadow" of the building and had been associated with the Opera House for 13 added Mr Whelan's efforts had helped secure £12.5m of public money for the renovation work."We thank him for his dedicated service to the Opera House - his efforts have contributed to the building celebrating its 125th birthday in grand style and have secured its future," the spokesperson Opera House said a "diverse artistic programme" was in place for the autumn season.