Convention co-chair Valerie Tyler reports that, "Lunchtime Keynotes provide an opportunity for attendees to take a break from the hectic Exhibition Hall and concentration-intensive workshops, master classes, platinum and educational programmes and relax as acknowledged industry leaders provide the benefit of their years of experience in a quiet and informal environment. Last year's Lunchtime Keynotes benefited from extremely positive word of mouth, and we're confident that this year's programme will draw appreciative audiences."
Kicking off proceedings will be Dave Rat, founder and president of Rat Sound, who will share his insights on frequently overlooked needs and challenges facing the live sound touring industry. While his style is light-hearted and humorous the issues he raises are always thought-provoking, says the AES.
Theatre Finance (1) - The founder of Travelex, Lloyd Dorfman has donated £10m to the National Theatre which will now rename the Cottesloe Theatre after their benefactor, whose gift will kickstart the £70m redevelopment of the Grade-II listed building. Hayden Phillips, the National's chairman, described the donation as a "supremely generous gift". Mr Dorfman described himself as a "huge fan of the energy and innovation the National has achieved in recent years".
Theatre Finance (2) - Andrew Lloyd Webber is selling four West End theatres to a consortium led by former ITV chairman Michael Grade. The composer and impresario said it had been a "gut-wrenching decision" to let the Palace, Her Majesty's, Cambridge and New London theatres go. "However, following my illness last year, I was advised to reduce the debt in the family company," he said. The 62-year-old's Really Useful Group will retain the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the London Palladium. It will also maintain its 50% interest in the Adelphi, currently home to Lord Lloyd-Webber's Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies. The deal is believed to be in the region of £50m, according to reports.
Dirty Business - Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage is to launch a UK tour next year. The stage musical, which opened in the West End in 2006, will begin its tour in September 2011 at the Bristol Hippodrome, before visiting Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin, Aberdeen, Southampton and Milton Keynes. The West End production of the show will continue and is currently booking until October 2011.
Lennon Latest - A commemorative £5 John Lennon coin has gone on sale only weeks after what would have been his 70th birthday. Lennon won the Royal Mint's public vote for the next Great Briton to be immortalised on a limited edition coin. Other names on the shortlist were Jane Austen and John Logie Baird. The Beatles singer, assassinated in 1980, now joins William Shakespeare, Sir Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale in the series. The coin is priced at £44.99. Only 5,000 of the coins, issued as Alderney tender, have been minted. A one-off 24-carat gold version of the coin will be given to the John Lennon Estate.
(Jim Evans)
