Mercury Theatre welcomes new Trustees

Mercury Theatre Colchester has appointed MARK HOULT-ALLEN, RODNEY APPLEYARD, MATT BRINDLEY, HELENA OXLEY, JULIA STEPHEN and PETER TORRES FREMLIN to its Board of Trustees.

Joining the Board as Vice Chair, Hoult-Allen trained as a Stage Manager before working in production and theatre administration. He was previously Theatre Officer for the London Arts Board and Head of National Touring, as well as Director of Business Process for Arts Council England. He is currently a freelance consultant for charities and commercial organisations and Chair of adoption support charity We Are Family.

With 18 years of experience in the charity sector and 27 years in journalism, Appleyard has worked for organisations including the BBC, Channel 4, Christian Aid, The Big Issue and Amnesty International. He works for Colchester Catalyst Charity and is Communications Manager for the UK Data Service.

Meanwhile, Brindley has had a 20-year career in regional and national television news and is currently Managing Editor at ITV News.

An Employment Solicitor based within the HR and Employment Team at Birkett Long solicitors, Oxley also works with the Anglia Ruskin University Law Clinic and their law students to provide free legal advice.

Returning for a second tenure on the Board, Stephen works part-time in Social Research having previously worked for Marks & Spencer Head Office, running cultural events for the staff. 

With over a decade of experience in international development, focusing on inclusion and accessibility, Torres Fremlin writes for Disability Debrief and previously worked with the International Labour Organization.

STEVE MANNIX, Mercury Theatre’s Executive Director, said: “Welcoming a new group of board members who can share their extensive professional and personal knowledge is so essential in these challenging times for the arts and theatre."