Written by Barbara George, The Court’s CE.
Today I am interviewing our new Supporters Secretary Charles Duke.
Remember this word, “outstanding”. To me, this is the word I always associate with Charles.
Some of you may know that Charles and I have “history”. I remember standing in the Boardroom of the TSB Bank in New Plymouth, as we looked out across the Tasman, and he told me he was retiring.
The inevitable question was - “what will you do?” Charles told me that he and Denise were returning to Christchurch, had bought a section on the lake in Pegasus, and would be looking forward to spending time with their grandkids.
Christchurch? I said. But leaving Taranaki?
Readers might know that at the time of this exchange, I was the CE of our Taranaki polytechnic and after 30 years of wandering the globe, I was “home”.
Charles told me then that he was from Canterbury and he told me about his life before New Plymouth. I could see why he and Denise wanted to return to here.
Our mutual friend Kevin Murphy, ex CE of TSB has been involved in the NP Operatic Society - a consortium partner with Showbiz - for most of his life. NP is a village - of course I know all of the Murphy clan (his mother was my accompanist at singing competitions for 10 years). But my real question is whether Charles’ loyalty to his boss extended to volunteering on the musicals.
His simple answer to this question was an unequivocal “no!” There needed to be some daylight between the two of them. He also cites a complete lack of any artistic attributes other than random whistling.
But staying with the bank for a moment, I asked Charles how a software engineer became a banker, and now an usher at the best theatre company in the world. His career path started without formal qualifications - retail shop assistant, grain store labourer, a dalliance with the army, barman, cook, bar manager, then software engineer, GM Jade, private consulting, IT Manager TSB, Deputy CE TSB, then semi-retired. Charles continues to develop and support software for Riccarton Rotary Sunday Market, AirAsia and Virgin Australasia. But how does the theatre fit with this interesting biography? Ah... remember the grain store labourer!!! He is clearly at home in our beloved Shed.
So Charles left NP and returned to Christchurch, joined the Court Supporters, and then learned the name of the new CE... “Outstanding!” he said.
Oh, but he said more: “How could I ever forget the stroppy redhead when we first met at TSB Bank. She struggled to hide her distaste for banks but managed most of the time, with the assistance of the odd glass of sav blanc! About as far to the left as I am to the right. I also remember vividly her telling me that once she befriended someone, they would never be rid of her.”
Now to be fair, Denise and Charles, who are both ushers, were motivated by a desire to meet new and different people and expand their horizons, having moved back to the region after 15 years in Taranaki. So I do need to point out to Charles, that having me as CE of the Court was an added bonus.
Charles and Denise often provide tickets for their 5 grandkids and their parents to attend the shows - quite a departure from their day jobs that include one lawyer, one ICU nurse and two police detectives.
I asked him about his favourite show at The Court. By now I should know not to expect a simple answer. So here is what he said. “For entertainment - The Pink Hammer. For drama and style - A Streetcar Named Desire.”
His favourite musical is “Cats” (I concur), and then he went on to suggest a couple of programming ideas that I will be sure to pass on to Dan - the UK Ukulele Orchestra, and Future Crunch.
I am almost too afraid to ask if there are any other hobbies?
“A 40-year collection of paper engineered books (pop up books to the layman) - possibly the largest collection in the Southern Hemisphere, numbering more than 1200. I am an active member of the Moveable Book Society. I love to travel and support Denise in her Sweet Adelines involvement. So travel, international, local, and by motor home.”
I asked Charles what he hoped to achieve as the new secretary of The Supporters. He tells me he didn’t have any particular goals in mind, but finds the group really interesting and enjoys listening to much of the history. The role of the Supporters has changed over the years and as we continue to live in turbulent times, Charles would like to see more clarity of purpose, which would lead to statements about the unassailable value of The Supporters to The Court organisation as a whole. This would be quite useful in helping drive membership and support for the theatre.
Charles talked to me about doing things differently to achieve different results. The disruption of Covid-19 has forced everyone to look at things through new lenses. The Court is, and he hopes will remain, an icon of Canterbury - and if not in the same way, then potentially in exciting, new ways. He feels that as an entity, The Court borders on being an evangelical religion - it invokes devotion, it reframes history, it proposes a future, it asks for people to support and invest in it, and it tries to deliver its message for all ages. There are those that are overly protective, which is great as long as it doesn’t mean constraint. And coming from the background he does, he knows too well the reality of The Court being a business, one that is challenged by needing to appeal to both the aficionados and the larger masses looking for quality entertainment. So, he cheekily suggests that he could be the pleb, putting the peasants’ perspective.
Charles is having fun. Having never been involved in theatre, it’s an eye-opener to see how this business operates - with all its creative moving parts, and the passion of the public that he talks with when he stands at the door as an usher. He sees his background as a software developer much closer to the theatre than the bank. Software development is creative, evolutionary, and ever moving. Software engineers need to deliver what a user wants, or it dies. Same with the Theatre. And I suppose the reason banks survive is that we have a very strong reason for them to live - they have our money!
So now, if you ask me how I would sum up Charles? That’s easy... outstanding!