After nearly 27 years as our Artistic Director, Chris Honer has been honoured by the Manchester Theatre Awards panel with the MTA’s Special Achievement Award to mark his departure from the Library Theatre Company.
In front of a packed house at the Manchester Theatre Awards’ annual event at the Royal Exchange Theatre this afternoon, Chris, whose final production at the helm of the company is Anya Reiss’s highly praised version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, was presented with the special award.
“The Special Achievement Award was set up to honour a person, or sometimes an organisation, that the panel believes has made a unique contribution to theatre-going in Manchester, over the past year or longer,” said Kevin Bourke, Chair of the Manchester Theatre Awards panel.
“In the case of this year’s unanimous winner, it’s actually hard to overstate his importance to the cultural scene in the north west. It was 1987 when Chris Honer arrived to take over the Library Theatre Company and during that time, often in the face of some adversity, Chris has made their productions an absolute guarantee of excellence, integrity, intelligence, wit and sheer theatrical pleasure.
“The inheritor in many ways of the repertory theatre tradition in this country, started just across the street from Central Library by Annie Horniman, Chris, in his own quiet way, instilled into the company the belief that anyone – rich or poor, highly educated or street smart – should be able to come to any Library Theatre Company production and be entertained (definitely), informed (probably) and educated (quite possibly).
“A true gentleman and, indeed, a scholar, he has also not only enthusiastically helped to train the future talent of the theatre world, but also tirelessly sought it out in barely-funded venues, colleges, bars, indeed anywhere it might be lurking.”
“I’m very very honoured, and very very touched,” said Chris, clutching his award. “I’ve been blessed at the Library Theatre Company with working with a whole great number of great companies over the years, of which this current company, doing The Seagull, is one of the most wonderful I’ve ever worked with. I’d like to thank all the wonderful people I’ve worked with. I’ve had great support from Manchester City Council, who have been fantastic in their support of the arts, in good times and in bad.
“You might think that the final performances of The Seagull this weekend from the company would be an occasion for great sadness, if it wasn’t for us mutating into this great new hub of the arts called HOME. The Library Theatre Company, under this new name, is going to be the theatre part of it. So we look to them, and to my successor Walter Meierjohann, to carry on this great tradition of making great theatre in Manchester.”
Kevin Bourke, Chair of the Manchester Theatre Awards panel, also confirmed that the Awards ceremony will take place at HOME in spring 2015.
The Seagull ends tomorrow, Sat 8 Mar. You won’t get another chance to see it so book tickets online here or from The Lowry Box Office on 0843 208 6010.