A long-serving usher and weel kent face at Festival Theatre, Graham Simpson, has been celebrated as an Unsung Hero of musical theatre at this year’s National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals.
Graham, who first joined the Festival Theatre in 1994, marked the start of his 30th anniversary with the organisation through a surprise award at the event, which aired on BBC One on Saturday 27th January. As well as being a top class usher, Graham is known for providing much loved public tours and tending to the rose garden at the Festival Theatre where a commemorative plaque will be installed.
His nomination was kept secret and he was taken to the Manchester AO Arena under the pretence of representing Capital Theatres at an industry event. Graham was surprised on the night by friends and colleagues including Honorary Patron of the King’s Theatre, Brian Cox, who appeared on screen to congratulate Graham on his award.
The event at the Manchester Arena was hosted by Jason Manford in front of an audience of 12,000 musical theatre fans and featured 12 of the UK’s West End and Touring productions including Hamilton and A Chorus Line that will tour to the Festival Theatre later this year.The event serves as a thank you to National Lottery players who in the past year have helped The National Lottery donate more than £517m to arts projects across the country, with £46m of that going towards theatre related projects, the King’s Theatre being one such project being supported by The National Lottery’s Heritage Fund.
Graham Simpson said “It’s a real privilege to be recognised as an Unsung Hero of theatre. The whole experience was surreal, and it was such a surprise on the night, I’m glad I didn’t twig! Capital Theatres is such a massive part of my life, it has been for the last 30 years and will be for many more. A massive thank you to the National Lottery for a special night.”
Head of Partnerships at The National Lottery Adam Chataway said, “We were thrilled to bring back The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals to the AO Arena, showcasing the immense talent and magic of musical theatre. The event was a heartfelt thank you to National Lottery players who have helped to raise over £7.8 billion to arts and theatre projects across the country since The National Lottery began. We were also honoured to present Graham Simpson with the Unsung Hero award for his incredible work and dedication to the Scottish theatre community for the last 30 years.”
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 