A chance meeting in Portugal last year led to a British arts supporter who has never visited New Zealand donating to the new Waikato Regional Theatre.
Ross Hargood, the Chair of the Waikato Regional Property Trust, and his wife Jane were on a holiday cruise on the Douro River (pictured below) in May 2023 when they met Sally Forrest from London.
“Sally asked me ‘what do you do’,” says Ross, “and I replied that I am retired, but am working on a new Theatre in a volunteer governance role.”
“She was very interested and started asking me questions like ‘how many seats will it have’ and ‘what sort of shows will be put on’. Every time we met up during the cruise, the conversation would naturally return to the Theatre.”
Sally says her only connection to the Waikato is Ross.
Sally Forrest and Ross Hargood
“My sister Wendy and I met Ross and Jane on the river cruise, we became friends and often met for meals together,” says Sally.
“Ross told us about his involvement with the Waikato Regional Theatre. Because of his enthusiasm I became caught up in the idea of the project and told him I would like to donate.
“I have been involved in theatre for most of my life. I worked as a stage manager for some years, mainly in London and finally at the National Theatre. My husband, John, was offered a job with IBM Research in 1985 and we moved to New York State, where there was no local theatre, so I took a job with the local symphony orchestra.
“I subsequently joined a chamber orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, first as Orchestra Manager and then as Executive Director. It was a very small organisation, I was responsible for box office, general administration and fundraising.
“Thus, I am well aware of the difficulties of raising money for arts projects. Unlike the UK, the US has no government funding for the arts, so we were reliant on individual donors and foundations for our survival, so I appreciate the need for people to get behind a project like this.
“John and I retired and returned to live in London about 12 years ago now. The performing arts are close to our hearts and the main reason we decided to retire to London,” says Sally.
“I have no connection with New Zealand except via friends in Auckland and now Ross and Jane. I have never visited, though I am being drawn into considering a trip down under for the Theatre’s opening!”
At Ross’ suggestion, Sally then met Momentum Waikato’s Development Director Janice Lapwood during her July 2023 outreach visit to London, who in turn introduced her to Elena Giakoumaki from CharcoalBlue, the designer of the Theatre’s auditorium.
“It was great to connect an overseas donor with someone from the Theatre’s design team,” says Janice. “It was a delight to have dinner with Sally.”
Sally has donated to ‘Take a Seat’ in the Theatre’s auditorium, but Ross says she has asked that the seat’s plaque have the name of an unsung local supporter of the Theatre, rather than her own.