Theatre Design Committee Chair: Simon Harper

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Theatre Design Committee Chair: Simon Harper

Simon is co-director of Harper Tackley and an arts professional with over 40 years of experience in the industry. As a Production Manager and Technical Director, he has produced shows in the UK, USA and Europe working as a stage manager, production manager or technical director for many companies including The Half Moon Theatre, The Theatre Royal Stratford East, The Almeida and English National Opera.

Since 1995 as a Client Representative and Project Director Simon has been involved in some of the UK’s most successful arts construction projects including:

-The Royal Court Theatre in London’s Sloane Square

-The Coliseum in London’s St Martins Lane

-The Royal Shakespeare Company’s transformation of its Stratford Theatres

As half of Harper Tackley Simon has advised the RSC, Mountview Academy, English National Ballet, the Actors Centre, The Woolwich Creative District, Delfont Mackintosh Theatre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Cambridge Arts Theatre. For six years he was the Client Advisor to the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong and was Client Advisor to the Royal Borough of Greenwich for its redevelopment of the Royal Arsenal site into a new cultural quarter known as Woolwich Works. Alongside these major projects Simon has also worked with many other arts organizations in the process of organizational change or a capital project.

I have always had a passion and a drive to ensure that theatres and places of entertainment are well designed and fit for purpose. As such, I became chairman of the Theatre Planning Committee where we seek to do this through design reviews and guidance.

Tim Foster