Curtain call for retiring theatre 'legend'
SuppliedA theatre manager described as "one of the legends" of a town's cultural scene is retiring after almost 27 years.
David Lindsey, 78, joined Middlesbrough Theatre in 1999 and is the longest-serving manager in the venue's history.
His day-to-day work involved everything from booking shows to making sure the loos worked, and he said the town was a "great place to work" because of people's enthusiasm for the arts.
Officially retiring in July, he said his garden had been "rather neglected" for the last two decades and he was "looking forward to getting on top of that".
Lindsey, who is originally from East Anglia, said he ended up on the technical side of things "by accident" and had initially hoped to become an actor.
He once donned a mask and walked with two sticks while playing a donkey who carried a drummer boy to his lady love.
"Some charming child on the front row leant over and pulled my head off, which leaves a whole new meaning to the term audience participation," he recalled.
GoogleLindsey's highlights in Middlesbrough included the booking of the prestigious Birmingham Royal Ballet, and John Challis of Only Fools and Horses playing Captain Hook in the pantomime.
However, he said his greatest achievement was "keeping the theatre afloat in the face of ever increasing budgetary pressures and under constant threat of closure".
Another of his battles was trying to get people to stop calling it the "Little Theatre", after the name relating to it being part of the Little Theatre Guild was dropped almost 30 years ago.
He said: "With a stage some 70ft (21m) wide by (12m) 40ft deep and 500 seats, it ain't that little."
'Hard act to follow'
He said he was proud of the theatre's tradition of letting school children take part in shows.
"It's all about building those life skills; communication and self-confidence and listening to other people so you know when to come in with your line," Lindsey said.
"I'm constantly having teachers come back to me after they've taken part in productions at the theatre, saying they've noticed a marked improvement in the overall quality of their pupils' achievement in the classroom afterwards."
Lindsey said he hoped the theatre would "keep the flag flying for drama" programmes, which were his "great passion".
"It's become harder and harder over the years to get a professional drama programme into theatres because it's so expensive."
He said it was a unique venue because it had 500 seats but felt like an auditorium of half that size.
"I've had 27 really happy years at Middlesbrough and I can't think of I can't think of anywhere better to finish off my career."
The town's mayor Chris Cooke also paid tribute, saying: "David has been a brilliant custodian of one of the jewels in Middlesbrough's crown, and he will be a hard act to follow."
