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Christchurch’s The Court Theatre says it’s “committed to improving” its culture following a critical staff engagement survey.
Last week, Tony Feaver, the chair of the Court Theatre Trust Board, resigned as both chair and a Trustee of the Court. The chief executive is also on leave until mid-October.
On Friday,the new chair, Steve Wakefield, who has been on the board of The Court Theatre for 14 years, released a statement regarding a recent staff engagement survey.
The Court Theatre is being assisted by public relations firm Convergence Communications.
The owner of Convergence Communications Erin Jamieson was a Trustee at The Court Theatre from 2014 until this year.
Wakefield said in the statement that he wanted to acknowledge issues raised by former and current staff members.
“We have already begun, with urgency, investigations into issues that have been brought to our attention.
“We would like to reassure former and current staff, and our supporters, that we will be reviewing the issues raised thoroughly. We are sincerely very sorry to hear how people are feeling.”
The Court Theatre says it’s “committed to improving” its culture.
He added that due to the nature of some of the issues, and that they were “currently addressing these as employment matters”, they were unable to respond to “individual issues”.
“However, what I will say is that the board of the Court Theatre is committed to addressing the issues raised promptly and effectively.
“As the incoming chair of the Court Theatre I am committed, as is the whole board, to focusing on getting our culture right.”
The results of the staff engagement survey were “not at an acceptable level”.
“We need strong action from management and the board. We have been reviewing all the survey results to identify specific areas to work on.
“We have engaged specialist human resource advice and employment law expertise to advise us and we have already met with staff to share the survey results, with another meeting scheduled this coming week. We will work alongside staff to come up with shared solutions to the issues raised.
Wakefield said the board was “committed” to understanding the cause of the issues and getting them resolved “so that the Court can continue to be one of New Zealand’s most successful live theatre companies”.
In an email to sponsors, Wakefield said the Board was “committed to improving the culture of the Court”.
Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
