Isaac Theatre Royal’s CEO recognised at Arts Access Awards

Isaac Theatre Royal’s CEO recognised at Arts Access Awards

Neil Cox, Chief Executive of the Isaac Theatre Royal, was acknowledged for his work upgrading the historic theatre’s accessibility after the Christchurch earthquakes, at the Arts Access Awards held at Parliament on Wednesday night.

He was awarded the Arts Access Accolade by award patron Dame Rosie Horton at Arts Access Aotearoa’s annual awards ceremony, celebrating the outstanding achievements of artists, mentors and organisations that have helped increase access to the arts over the last year.

“In spite of the enormous challenges Neil has provided disabled theatre goers to the Isaac Theatre Royal with the experience of access to all areas and above all, they know they are welcome and included,” Dame Rosie Horton says.

Closed since the Christchurch earthquakes, the rebuilt Isaac Theatre Royal opened its doors in November 2014 with state-of-the-art accessibility features.

The $40 million project reinstated the 106-year-old heritage building’s auditorium, foyer spaces, façade, ornate plaster work, historic windows and painted ceiling dome.

“Our rebuilt Isaac Theatre Royal is receiving design and management awards, but our efforts in the field of accessibility are not about bricks & mortar, they are about our people. We will always strive hard to make our venue accessible for all our thousands of patrons and endeavour to improve on what we have done,” Neil Cox says.

Previous earthquake strengthening in 1998-1999 had saved the building from complete collapse.

Neil says the rebuild presented a clean canvas for upgrading the historic theatre’s accessibility and his team wanted to go beyond installing required minimums for accessibility features for rebuilds.

In consultation with Arts Access Aotearoa and local disability advocates, they included accessible toilets on every floor, a lift between all floors, automatic doors throughout the auditorium, and a hydraulic stage lift that extends the stage and can also be used to raise disabled patrons to the stage.

The Isaac Theatre Royal’s re-launch also includes a redeveloped website with detailed accessibility information.

“We have finally finished our rebuild but will never finish our work to keep the Isaac Theatre Royal accessible for all! As I touched on in my acceptance speech, AAA for me is Access All Areas, and Arts Access Aotearoa have helped us achieve that,” Neil says.

ENDS

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