We were delighted to welcome Janice Charette, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, to our theatre today for a meeting with our CEO and Artistic Director Fiona Allan. The High Commissioner enjoyed afternoon tea prepared by our in-house catering team before she spent some time seeing the Hippodrome’s facilities and auditorium, and learning more about our programming and wider community work.

Ms Charette was in Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference in Symphony Hall.  During her time with Fiona, they discussed many topics including future artistic opportunities between the UK and Canada, a comparison of funding structures, and a sharing of information about common resource and training issues in the arts sector.  In addition to her role here in Birmingham, Fiona is co-chair of The Dance Consortium, President of UK Theatre, and a board member of West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC).