LATEST NEWS: Kate Bannister wins at 2024 Off West End Awards

The ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AWARD was presented to KATE BANNISTER, Artistic Director at the JACK STUDIO THEATRE. In her acceptance speech Kate pointed out the importance of small theatres to the theatre ecology and paid tribute to Karl Swinyard who runs the theatre with her. Our huge congratulations to her, on receiving this recognition for her work.

The OFFIES Awards are designed to celebrate the best of independent, alternative and fringe theatre across Greater London and at selected fringe festivals around the UK. The 2024 Awards took place at the Woolwich Works (25 February).  50 awards were presented and the ceremony was attended by over 850 people.

Interview with Kate and Karl in the Brockley Jack pub

Brockley Jack Theatre is celebrated as one of the most welcoming theatres, but audiences are also impressed with their range of extraordinary shows. From in-house Christmas shows which never fail to please (last year it was a highly creative one-man adaptation of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol), to astonishing new writing (such as Áine Ryan’s Kitty in the Lane) and drop dead gorgeous technical elements (recently seen in Joe Malyan’s lighting design for The Sun, The Mountain and Me by Jack Fairey). But with rising costs and still feeling the pinch from fourteen months of lockdown, how will Artistic Director Kate Bannister and Theatre Manager Karl Swinyard weather the storm?

If there is one thing in particular that they both love about running a pub theatre, it is supporting creativity, “that’s what makes it exciting” says Kate. It’s her role to support incoming companies on a daily basis, whilst Karl is the technical expert. The pair are always on hand to help and give advice when requested, whether that be issues with rights, funding applications or working on PR (the Jack always has a really good presence on social media). At the current time this is a lot of extra work for them both because the theatre now has more shorter runs than used to be the case. Many theatre companies aren’t confident enough to have longer runs, considering rising costs. However, this has led to opportunities for newer companies with new work to get a foothold which has a knock-on effect. “A number of people come back to see three different shows in a month” they explain.

In answer to the earlier question about how the pair are able to keep the doors open, they have always continued to move forward and sometimes opportunities can be found in surprising places. They got through the Covid closures with the help of two recovery grants and the local council also stepped in to help. “On both occasions we were able to offer projects to freelancers working on filming and new writing” they explain. The mantra at the time was “not always what you want but what do you need to do.”   The money also helped them to re-open with Covid safe measures such as spraying and ventilation (they even released a video showing all their safety measures). “Theatres were almost the last to re-open” Kate recalls, “…then we had Omicron, which brought our productions to a halt once more.” They are both so proud that the community helped and sent words of support.  They had a triumphant reopening with Trestle by Stewart Pringle with multiple four and five-star reviews.

“It’s fantastic to have our own shows throughout the year” says Kate, “but running a venue is often more about supporting other people’s work and having a variety of productions in our programme.” They make it easy for incoming companies, offering free rehearsal space and box office splits. “We see this as a way of helping to make their productions happen, as it can be challenging for companies to get their work off the ground” says Kate.  The Jack has beautiful facilities for company rehearsals, and they also have props and set which can be reused and recycled. In addition, they offer technical expertise as needed, handle front of house, box office and marketing.

With so much extra work, it is more important than ever to have a team of readers to help them with programming which results in a very varied programme.  “We have a variety of voices on stage at the Jack, from new companies bringing their first show, to people returning to the industry, and companies who come back to us time and again” explains Kate. The pair always meet with prospective companies to discuss the practicalities: “What can we offer to audiences, how can we help the project to develop, and do the company want help with script meetings?” Sometimes the process can take two years from the initial enquiry. It would be easy to imagine Kate and Karl rolling their eyes, as they mention that the Arts Council is changing its application process towards the end of the year. It’s all extra work for them.

With shorter runs, Karl’s had to streamline, using “a semi-permanent rig rather than derigging every show.”  It helps that they upgraded their lights to modern LED, better for the environment and there’s no need to change the gels. “Just pick a colour” says Karl.  Unlike the early LED lights, these don’t jump when fading out, they behave more like the old Tungsten lights. (Ask Karl if you want the full technical details … he is a wizard). 

One thing which Kate and Karl are a little secretive about, is their Christmas show. It’s usually their best seller and completely sold out, but they have something a little different planned and don’t want to give it away until it’s “signed off”. The pair work on the set design together and this is important because it’s where Kate starts her process as a director. 
Kate: “Where is it set - what does it look like?” 
 Karl: “As well as what do you need.”   
Kate: “He is actually really good at creating sets with a lot of recycling.” 
Karl: “At other times it has to be a beautiful black box. No set, no formal environment, just bringing in other elements. For some plays, it’s all about relying on performers, and the story telling is supported using sound and lighting.”
Kate and Karl: “We totally understand that resources are limited for some companies, but then they do a brilliant job despite limited funds.” 
Karl: “A good effect can still be achieved with an Illustration chalked on a back wall; you don’t have to have big budgets to give an audience something visually interesting.” 

When choosing a piece, it has to be pragmatic. “We have to consider practicalities, such as technical requirements and production costs, as well as really wanting to work on the piece” says Kate. They’re thinking of a Christmas show which is “joyful but might have some sad moments, a really human, really theatrical journey” but Kate still won’t commit. Getting it right is essential as people who “might not come throughout the year will still book for our end of year show.”   The popularity is certainly a credit to the director and actors, and, of course, Karl’s technical expertise. “We see how we can make it happen, it will work after two or three attempts, often through something remarkably simple” says Karl modestly.  “Measure twice, cut once, and recycle … but I sometimes say ‘why doesn’t this fit’,” he adds with a laugh.

“There often feels like there isn’t enough time, but you always make it work within the time you’ve got” they both agree. We’re coming to the end of our interview and heading into the theatre. “It’s a lovely hot day” says Karl, “once the aircon is on in the theatre you don’t want to come out”.  It has to be assumed that they have been winning new audiences with so much of the local workforce now working outside of London and niceties, such as this, are important.

Upcoming shows at Brockley Jack Theatre can be viewed here