Just imagine - Marie is excited about the Empire ' s future following the pandemic .
“ I remember the stars were Keith Harris and Orville the Duck ,” grins Marie . “ Orville came on driving a white limousine , which was magical and just convinced me at the time that he was real ! That was the kickstart to my interest in the excitement of live performance .”
The pantomime and West End shows draw crowds of thousands to the city centre - something not lost on the businesses and traders which surround High Street West .
And it ’ s not lost on the Empire either , which employs well over 100 staff when big shows are in production , and with both guests and workers alike needing places to eat , drink and shop .
“ In Sunderland , we are very aware of what a big impact we have on the nighttime economy and hospitality industry all around us ,” Marie acknowledges .
“ The great thing is that you can see the investment going into this part of the town . It ’ s phenomenal .
“ There are so many small businesses that have sprung up around Sunderland city centre . You can see that jigsaw coming together , with so much investment in the city ’ s Riverside development and the cultural quarter that will include the new Fire Station development and the Culture House project .
“ It ’ s a really exciting time to be in Sunderland City Centre and we want to make sure we play our part in Sunderland being ever more vibrant , lively and connected and supporting that night-time economy which is so important to the city .
“ A key part of my excitement in this role is what is to come in terms of development and having this thriving scene all around me .
“ It ’ s one of the attractions of the job and the Ambassador Theatre Group is really supportive of us being so enmeshed in the community .
“ Arts and culture is one of Britain ’ s major exports . We ’ re a very profitable industry for this country and we want to get back to that role as quickly as possible .
“ One of the things I ’ m really keen on is broadening up access to as many people as possible .
“ The pantomime is a big start for so many and I want to return it to the people , that ’ s really key for me .
“ Theatre inspires so many creative learning opportunities , and our educational work is one of our bestkept secrets . Week in , week out we run classes and various projects that engage with people of all ages and backgrounds , helping to make the arts more accessible .
“ We recently worked with Sunderland Music Hub to programme a concert that had 1,000 children involved online in one event - and we were closed ! Just imagine what we can do when we ’ re open .”
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