AFTER the 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, the city’s 41,000-strong community found itself shaken and wary of potential contamination across the area.
Sebastian Warrack, who directed the city’s theatre at the time, remembers that, at first, audiences thought the Salisbury Playhouse was off-limits.
“That was really hard,” he recalls.
At the time, the Playhouse had recently merged with Salisbury International Arts Festival and Salisbury Arts Centre to form Wiltshire Creative – and though it took audiences “a while” to come back, a festival in 2019 was a catalyst for their return.
“We are a discretionary cost, we’re not essential – but on the other hand, we’re essential to the soul,” he reflects.
“What we noticed, and what I used to say to the Council, is you have to remember that culture is a medicine. It’s a balm for a crisis, it’s a medicine for a crisis.
“What we found during that period is people really turned to us because they wanted something to take them away from the horror of those poisonings. And they really did collect round the events that we organised.
“That was really reassuring.”
Mr Warrack lights up as he describes the period that followed how people came to the theatre – culminating with their most successful shows, most popular panto, and a production of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d that sold out and went to Cardiff.
“They turned up in numbers, but also, they absolutely vocalised what they wanted, what they were interested in, and that absolutely informed the way that we ran the festival in 2019.”
Live performances, according to Mr Warrack, have no substitute.
He should know: before recently moving to Jersey to become the Opera House’s new Chief Executive, he worked on and off the stage, both as a performer and in finance and fundraising departments.
What shows has he enjoyed recently? The Producers in the West End, having missed its initial run, and in Jersey, an ABBA tribute which was “like a party”.
At the other end of the scale, very few new operas are created – so having one coming up in Jersey is “very exciting”, particularly as it is devised to be performed by Islanders.
Having treaded the boards himself is especially informative for his current role.
“What I think I can offer is an understanding of programming, an understanding of what it’s like to be on stage. I think that’s really important. Often people who haven’t been on stage think, ‘Why are the actors making a bit of a farce?’
“They’re the people with egg on their face. So one has to be sensitive towards performers, because they make themselves quite vulnerable.”
He also reflects on his experiences helping the Watford Palace Theatre reopen after several years of closure, and bringing together the Royal Shakespeare Company and the much smaller, much more dynamic Told By Idiots.
“It was interesting because we loved it. The RSC said to us: ‘You’ve completely changed the way you’ve reinvigorated the way we think about making work.’
“As a small company, we were much more fleet of foot, we were much more dynamic. The RSC slightly gets stuck into a particular way of making work. So they were learning as much from us as we were learning from them, which was the perfect kind of collaboration.”
It’s a spirit of collaboration which could work in Jersey, he hopes – and he reported that initial meetings with Jersey’s other arts organisations were positive.
“I am by nature a team player, so I’m a natural collaborator,” he says.
“I always feel that if we travel together, we travel further.”
A similar model in Salisbury meant the theatre was always asking: “Can we think of a collaborator?”
Early meetings with politicians including minister for economic development Kirsten Morel and other members of the arts scene reflected just how central the Opera House is – and so far, Mr Warrack seems optimistic that they will be supportive.
Building a good relationship with government will be doubly important because unlike Mr Warrack’s previous experiences in the UK, Jersey’s government directly funds the Opera House – rather than by going through a body like the Arts Council.
It is early days, he admits, going on to note how “closely connected” Jersey’s arts infrastructure is.
“Most people sort of know each other, and I think that’s really good.”
Some natural partnerships have already emerged, with an upcoming new opera and a resident ballet company, in Ballet d’Jèrri, led by the “extraordinary” Carolyn Rose Ramsay.
The company uses the Opera House’s rehearsal studio, after years of struggle – which saw them dance in a potato packing shed and in Fort Regent.
“It’s wonderful to have a resident company. I think it’s also lovely if it’s a slightly different art form [than theatre] because you invigorate each other.
“A resident company brings a building alive. It reminds everybody why we’re here: we’re here because of art.”
Talking about the state of UK regional theatres – institutions which Mr Warrack has dedicated much of his life to – is inevitably a glum conversation.
In 2025, 43 venues were listed on the Theatres At Risk register. Many of them are listed buildings, community strongholds and places for culture and entertainment far from the West End.
Despite money being tight and theatres facing “a real challenge” in the UK, the sector isn’t doomed, Mr Warrack believes.
Theatre Tax Relief, introduced a decade ago, was “a real saviour”, and funding for buildings is welcome – but, he says, “there is no doubt that so many buildings are dilapidated now”.
Mr Warrack moved to Jersey in mid-January. His knowledge of Jersey, he admits, was “very limited” when he arrived, having only visited once to interview for his role.
Like many who make Jersey their home, his first impression was of Islanders who are “just so lovely and warm and friendly and polite” – a contrast to Londoners (Mr Warrack has split his time between Salisbury and London in recent years), he says.
“I’ve really been welcomed… both in terms of the staff and board, but also people I meet in the street who find out that I’m working at the Opera House are really friendly.
“And then the other thing, obviously, are the beaches. Last weekend, I went to Greve de Lecq, and I just thought it was absolutely stunning. It was probably one of the most stunning clifftops and beaches I’d ever seen.”
Mr Warrack says he is looking forward to Jersey’s more relaxed culture.
He has “no doubt” that the Opera House is a public resource – which is “nothing if not owned by the community and the public”, and with a responsibility to make people feel they can use the building.
But he admits it is too early to tell if any demographics aren’t involved enough.
“It does go back to making sure that everybody feels ownership of this place.
But the Opera House was closed for five years before it reopened in the autumn – so Mr Warrack’s team have got a big task – or a blank page – ahead of them.
As landlord, the government shares responsibility for the building’s upkeep, but “we all don’t want to be here in 10 or 15 years’ time needing another capital upgrade”, Mr Warrack says.
As the reopening neared, there were concerns about outdated technology in the Opera House – including the lighting rigs.
But money to rectify this has come through a “generous” anonymous donation, Mr Warrack says – evidence that the love for the arts is still strong in pockets of the community, even if there aren’t as many theatregoers locally as there once were.
“I think when any theatre closes, of course people slightly lose the habit of going there,” he reflects.
A similar experience supporting Watford Palace Theatre – which was closed for some years – as well as the theatre community’s experiences coming back after the covid-19 pandemic should help overcome this potential hurdle, though.
“We all know what happened through covid. Everybody got out of the habit of going out to see things. We all stayed at home and watched Netflix.”
He pointed to some positive “first signs”: a sold-out weekend with the theatre packed full for an ABBA tribute band and a Gilbert O’Sullivan concert.
“But we’re not complacent about that,” he says, “We absolutely know that as we build the programme, we ned to encourage people.
“You ask how we do that. Obviously, we have to have really targeted, efficient, powerful marketing campaigns. But we also have to find ways of encouraging people to think about us again, to come back into the building.”
Collaborating with other arts organisations will be a part of that.
“Collaborating with an organisation, they’re starting to think: ‘The Opera House is open again.’ And their audiences then hear about it.
“That’s why working in partnership is so powerful, because you’re speaking as two organisations to two sets of audiences.”
The venue will host “Open House Days” this spring, opening up the Opera House’s stage to any company or club who wants to use it.
“We’re open, come and use us! Book a slot, then come and do something on our stage,” he said.
“We want to make it clear that the Opera House is owned by the community. The community pays for it, we want the community to use it.”
Comedy nights are also back – bringing “a very young” audience to the theatre – along with a “very varied programme of dance, music, comedy, theatre and “a range of things”.
“We want it to be a fabulous night out, but we also want to embolden the programme. We want to do work that feels stimulating, provokes discussion, but also that you come away from joyful and uplifted.”
