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I went to the meeting tonight and I noticed quite a bit. More cars than i have ever seen parked down the hill. A theatre full of people all wanting to know that the theatre was regarded as important by those who 'rule'.
A panel of mostly suited men who spoke the same language as each other. Lovers of theatre wanting to know that 'their' theatre was safe.
A lot of questions asked with vague answers. A meeting that was put on due to pressure by the public via sites like this but NO mp's, am's, councillors, or whoever - even though they knew it was important. ( The minute the first announcement was made about the loss of jobs I contacted ALL concerned and had 4 answers from a few of the above and nothing else - no further information even though I was told it was going to be sent to me)
A very limited time to ask any questions. As a woman beside me pointed out most of those picked to ask questions were men.
I think we had some very straight talking by some of the 'panel' - what was said was that there is a lot that went on, there is a lot that has to change, there is a lot that will change.
The audience seemed receptive to openness but didn't like the fact that there was not enough time to answer any questions in depth.
The main focuses seemed to be the constellation project, the appalling funding for the upkeep of the theatre, the mismanagement of the lift and its consequent blocking of larger theatre company vans, the Rutherfords and their offers of potential help for the theatre and whether these offers were based on quid pro quo's, the lack of in depth communication with Harlech residents and theatre users regarding the last few years and the next few years of the theatre's future.
What is now needed is a Wiki type space for the history of the theatre decisions from when it started to go wrong to present so that everyone can have their say and see what is going to happen .
Harlech Way forward was asked to ask its members for a rep to add to the theatre board - I suggest that this is actually put to all of Harlech and is to include a young rep as well as a person from the adult species.
Maybe a new group should be formed that includes voices from all sectors that then feeds into the reps on the board.
There were some seriously trite answers given - a bit patronising considering that those that gave those answers are only in their positions to represent the users of the facilities under discussion.
I was always taught that, when talking to a group you never say that anything is likely to be too complicated for them to understand or any comments that imply that they are of a lesser intelligence than the speaker. a couple of the panel members did make such comments - a bit of a reflection on the way the whole interaction between users and management has gone over the years.
It did feel like the panel were a little shell shocked at the numbers, and possible a little surprised at some of the angry reactions from the audience.
The lack of heating for those who were paying to use the theatre in the past was another sign of the lack of understanding, or even caring, of those who controlled the budget in the past, as were the lack of simple things like light bulbs for rooms that had already been booked.
The staff added sense when they could, even adding the actual answers as opposed to those offered by the panel, thanks Dave (-:
I was surprised at how few younger people were there - most there were middle aged or older. Maybe this is what the constellation project is about - pity that the theatre couldn't have been a haven for younger thespians and lovers of theatre already. A coffee shop open to all would add to a feeling of the theatre being 'our' space, not a select few's place.A mate of mine pointed out that he and his family had supported the theatre every week for years now and that it was a pity that those who sat on many of the seats tonight were those that rarely used it - as with the first man to speak - TV being easier than theatre, especially if its a dark wet night!.All in all it was actually a positive start but needs to be followed on by MORE openness from all concernedAs an English man I would love to say thank you to all the Welsh speakers who spoke in English so that I could understand (-: you Welsh are so nice I would almost say you could be honorary Norfolk people (-: alright then, forget the almost!This is only my point of view so ..............Good luck and fair windshttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/topic.php?uid=134365219920750&topic=389
