INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTORS SARAH REILLY AND SIMON REILLY

Married couple Simon and Sarah Reilly, of production company TAKE NOTE THEATRE, were awarded the lease to operate the theatre above the Tabard pub in June 2022. Two weeks after they took the keys they were up and running. Privately owned theatres can’t fundraise in the same way as registered charities so investment in shows and generous support from individual donors helped them to achieve this quick start. 

Producers Sarah and Simon have the perfect skill set, with Sarah on fundraising, and Simon a director of marketing (previously at Hackney Empire). The theatre will concentrate on in-house shows, productions from visiting companies and one-off performances including stand-up comedy and cabaret. “The plan is to encourage people to come to the Tabard because they respect and know what we put on” says Simon.

They are already working on ‘brand loyalty’ by making certain of high productions values, but ultimately, they just “try to entertain”. The Tabard Theatre started out as a new writing venue which is still an important facet, but they’re also interested in revivals. “Maybe something we’ve enjoyed in the west end 15 or 20 years ago, or much older classics” says Simon. Recently, DOT Productions, brought Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw to the theatre, having toured National Trust venues for 3 months. Sarah, who is a trustee of Mercury Musical Developments, is (not surprisingly) also keen to bring musical theatre to the venue. However, it’s more expensive to produce and it may take longer to secure the funding.

The theatre enjoys a very loyal local audience from Chiswick, Ealing, Action and Hammersmith who aren’t interested in seeing the same thing over and over, so they are presenting a really varied programme which keeps people coming back again and again. It also attracts people from further afield, with the tube station just around the corner from the theatre. “What we want to see is a show which is stage worthy and meaningful and not something ‘we should be doing’,” explains Simon, “we want to go to the theatre to be entertained, but that’s not to say we don’t want to put on something that speaks to the values of today.” 

Their first in-house show THE LAST LAUGH was the perfect synergy, an hilarious and moving satire about freedom of expression and censorship (which has been nominated for several theatre awards). By contrast their seasonal show FIVE CHILDREN AND IT, is the perfect family show, adapted from the book by E Nesbit (author of The Railway Children). Running two in-house shows consecutively, has been a huge undertaking. “We were doing the press night for The Last Laugh, whilst doing auditions for a show that opens in February and starting our first rehearsal for Five Friends and It, all within two days” says Simon with raised eyebrows. The pair run front of house, every night and Simon admits to also being the technician on shows when needed. They give a personal service from the moment people walk through the door, not bad achievement considering they also have a family to look after.

The Theatre at the Tabard may have some competition with their closest theatres, the Bush, the Lyric Hammersmith but The Tabard promises the unique experience of a studio theatre. “We’ve all had that experience of being made to feel an inconvenience to the show” says Simon, “but here, we’re trusting everyone knows how to behave and mostly they do”.

Simon and Sarah have lived near Chiswick for 10 years. “What is noticeable particularly towards where we live is the lack of professional theatre” says Sarah. “There’s Questors amateur theatre but we have to travel to Harrow, Hammersmith or Richmond … Ealing feels like cultural dark patch.” Things are changing, with the Tabard making a real difference to the culture in West London especially considering the cost of West End theatre. “Some parents cannot afford £100 to see West End shows, but still want their children to experience theatre. We put on family friendly shows that don’t break the bank” says Sarah. “For people who are less inclined to travel long distance to go to the theatre, we hear lots of comments about how much they love this space because ‘it’s right on my doorstep’.”

The Reillys are also finding that they’ve got a “real relationship with the pub downstairs”. It’s nice that the Tabard has a separate entrance in the beer garden at the front of the pub, but they have a lovely relationship with the pub. “They have a big screen by the bar showing all the things coming up at the theatre,” explains Simon, “and they do interval drinks.” The pub really benefits from the extra trade the theatre audience brings and it's not just the pub which benefits. The Tabard is also a great place for showcasing new talent as well as more established artists, whether it’s stand-up comedians or others. For example, Matt Wake who only graduated recently has been receiving accolades for his role in The Last Laugh and a couple of the actors in Five Children and It are making their professional debut. Some of the big names in theatre started out here. “It’s quite nice that we’re the first place that they have been seen” says Sarah. Big names in comedy, including Jenny Eclair and Al Murray (who lives in the local area) often try out new work at the Tabard before taking it on elsewhere. 

The theatre industry has been suffering with people reluctant to come back after Covid, rising costs, electricity going through the roof, but Simon and Sarah are very upbeat about their place in the ecology of theatre, especially after there was an outcry when the Tabard closed in March. Just prior to the re-opening there was a big community fair on the green opposite the venue. “We had a stall” explains Sarah, “and so many people said, ‘we are so thrilled you are reopening’”. Of course, some central funding from government helping with heating costs wouldn’t come amiss for theatres, “but” says Simon “we don’t have it, so we don’t miss it … at the Tabard we don’t have that hanging over us.”

“We’re not putting up our ticket prices” says Sarah. “People still want to go out, but they may change their purchasing habits, they’ll maybe go with that more local opportunity.” The Tabard is small enough to soak up rising costs and as a whole they feel better placed than larger theatres. “We just don’t think everyone has appreciated that we’ve opened yet,” they add with an engaging smile.

REOPENING Report June 2022

In June 2022 Take Note Theatre was awarded the lease to operate the Theatre above the Tabard pub. The theatre originally opened in 1985 as the ‘Tabard Theatre of New Writing’. It operated as the Tabard Theatre until 2019, when it was renamed Chiswick Playhouse. In 2022, under the new management, the Tabard name will return. 

Take Note Theatre was established in 2018 by Simon Reilly and Sarah Reilly, and brings together established and emerging theatre talent to bring new and classic stories to the stage.

Simon Reilly – Artistic Director

Simon was the General Manager of the Tabard Theatre from 2008 to 2019. He founded Take Note Theatre, with a focus on family entertainment and fostering early engagement in the arts, to continue producing high quality theatre for West London audiences. Notable productions include The Importance of Being Earnest (Tabard), Sherlock Holmes and The Invisible Thing (Rudolf Steiner Theatre) and Lotte Moore: A Child’s War (Linden House).

Currently Head of Production at Fourth Monkey Drama Training, Simon has worked as a theatre marketeer at the Hackney Empire and Warehouse Theatre, as well as being a freelance producer and production manager over the past 20 years.

“I’m delighted to be returning to the Tabard and to the wonderful community of Bedford Park, Turnham Green and Chiswick. We look forward to bringing the local audience a wide range of theatre, comedy and entertainment, and to developing opportunities for local young people to get involved in the arts.”

Simon Reilly, Artistic Director, Theatre at the Tabard



Sarah Reilly – Administrative Director

Sarah started her theatre career as an usher at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre and worked as a performer with Theatre in Education company “Theatre for Youth”, touring Scotland and North-East England in the early 2000s. More comfortable behind the scenes, she started working in Fundraising at the Orange Tree Theatre, alongside freelancing as a producer, and has built a fundraising career supporting small charities, theatre companies and other arts organisations to secure income from trusts and foundations, lottery funding and other sources. Sarah is also a Trustee of Mercury Musical Developments, which is dedicated to developing new musical theatre in the UK. If you’d like to talk to Sarah about fundraising consultancy support for your charity, visit her website for more information