The Grand Theatre has been a huge success this year.
Executive Director Lyndee Hansen reflected on the success of the 2024/25 season, crediting both bold artistic programming and innovative audience-focused strategies.
At the 2024/25 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Monday, Hansen announced a year of financial success, marked by a $94,111 surplus.
Hansen was the first to speak of the new programming under Artistic Director Rachel Peake as a reason for the Grand Theatre’s success.
Grand Theatre Artistic Director Rachel Peake (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
“This was her first year of programming the work that was on our stage and I think that our audiences have responded really positively to it,” said Hansen.
The Grand Theatre had a great mix of recognisable titles and shows that people know and love and new pieces that people really enjoyed and loved once they got to know them.
One example is the Frozen, and the highest-grossing musical of the Grand Theatre is The Sound of Music, last year’s holiday production.
Hansen explained that familiarity plays an important role in the musical’s success.
“That a lot of musicals are in the canon, so to speak, and have been around for a while, have made a name on Broadway so people know what they are, and they’ve listened to the music and know the songs, and so feel like it already has a place in their heart, even if they haven’t seen the show,” said Hansen.
“And for some of these pieces, like a Sound of Music or Frozen, they have films that go along with them, so people are familiar with the music and the story and know that they’re going to come and see something that their family will love.”
In addition to programming, Hansen highlighted practical incentive to increase attendance.
Executive Director Lyndee Hansen (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
The Grand Theatre has partnered with Old Oak Properties to offer free parking to subscribers when they come and see their shows.
“I think that had a big impact on people wanting to come back downtown and feeling like they had a great place to go, and that there was free parking to go along with it, so I think that was an incentive,” said Hansen.
Also, the Grand Theatre has been working hard on since coming back from the pandemic is having greater connections with the London community.
“We have different community nights,” said Hansen. “We’ve had an Indigenous community night, a Black community night, and we have a teacher’s night and a student club night.”
“So, we work to bring in different members of the community to come and see our shows, and we continue to work on that by going out into the community and meeting with people to let them know about our work and making sure that they know that the Grand is a place that is accessible to all,” added Hansen.
The Grand Theatre (Credit: Emily Kim/XFM News)
For Hansen, the proudest moment of the year was she had an Indigenous community night on production of The Secret to Good Tea by Rosanna Deerchild.
“It was really incredibly wonderful to have hundreds of Indigenous community members not only just in the building but in the building and talking about the fact that they felt connected to the Grand and welcomed to the Grand and enjoyed seeing their stories being told on our stage.”
“It made me really proud to share it with that section of our community,” added Hansen.
With record-breaking productions, innovative strategies, and a renewed focus on inclusivity, the Grand Theatre’s 2024/25 season stands as a testament to the power of theatre to entertain, inspire, and unite a community.
