Governance of the Arts is long overdue for a complete re-vamp. Middle class middle aged enrol as volunteer Theatre Board members for all the wrong reasons – mainly their own irrelevant agendas and joining a cosy social group with assumed status! Then they do just that – lurk in their risk-averse shadows, avoiding taking any responsibility, let alone accountability, or making any serious effort to engage helpfully with the right approach.

Board composition is often determined by Chief Exec’s and Chairs who look for safe and benign – no boat-rockers! I so agree that, also having sat on boards, been employed by boards and talked to others about their relationships with boards, I have come to the same conclusion – this whole voluntary, hierarchical model is utterly flawed and perpetuates privilege, cronyism and corruption. They very rarely seek to refresh with younger new blood prospective Board members and they stay on ad infinitum. Theatre Royal Board in Plymouth even felt so ineptly cosy that they chose to change the Mems and Arts to allow three terms of three years rather than two! – and that was a knee-jerk reaction when realising that five of their cosy number were about to have to step down! Another self-appointed, smug elite, in continuation!

Unfortunately theatre-makers have condoned this system to date, however daunting the excessive demands in terms of presented paperwork, rather than harnessing that collective energy of audiences/communities. TRP even had a Chair who openly declared no interest in theatre, and a Board member recently retired form Local Authority who declared this was her new replacement job – which she was totally unsuited for, not having a job spec other than her creation and not having had a job interview!

We are long overdue for that overhaul and yes, some kind of democratic, representative, accountable structure is needed to replace the present system.

And it is an absolute priority to start with attracting more of the right people to become Chairs, to start this change! “consensual risk-taker” is an excellent first line of a Chair’s job description. I have long thought about writing a consultation paper about democratising our theatre governance structures, and it is time that the profession put thinking caps on!!

Thanks David for you kind hearted words – and for sharing your experience.

I agree Lisa there is a risk that something like this could change the process and have unintended consequences. But perhaps it might also help attract more of the right people to become Chairs. Nick Starr described the role of the Chair to me as a “consensual risk-taker” which I think is a pretty good first line of a Chair’s job description. I agree with your thoughts about democratising our organisation’s structures, interesting to think about how to do that. D

I will do that Debbie, it will be a pretty simple list – and I suspect some of the things on it will be things that they did not do, as well as things they did. D