Lyric Chairman honoured for services to drama
Mark is pictured here with Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson OBE and Paul Rankin at a fund raising dinner in New York in January 2010
The Lyric Theatre is delighted that Chairman, Mark Carruthers, has been appointed an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List for his services to drama in Northern Ireland.
Mark joined the Board of the Lyric Theatre in 2001 and has served as Chairman for the past five years. Alongside Professor Sir George Bain and the Lyric’s Development Director, Angela McCloskey, Mark has spearheaded the Lyric’s campaign to rebuild on its historic Stranmillis site in south Belfast. In total, the Lyric has had to raise over £18m to pay for the new building, almost £5m of which has come from private sources.
“I am absolutely thrilled that Mark has been recognised for his services to drama,” said Professor Sir George Bain, Vice-Chairman of the Lyric Theatre. “He has fronted the Lyric’s fundraising campaign over many years and has successfully articulated the need to build a new £18.1m producing theatre that will be central to cultural development within Northern Ireland. This award recognises Mark’s personal commitment to the arts and his passion for the Lyric in particular. His ability to enthuse others about the project has ultimately led to this extremely significant combination of public and private investment, as well as a major individual donations, towards a building that will benefit future generations of actors, audiences and young people.”
Mark Carruthers said: “I’m very pleased, of course, on a personal level. I don’t suppose I fully appreciated quite what I was taking on when I agreed to chair the Lyric Board five years ago – but I’m delighted and very proud of what we’ve achieved in that time. I’m also really pleased that this is recognition for the arts sector generally in Northern Ireland – and for the Lyric in particular. I think the award shows that the ‘powers that be’ do recognise that the arts make an important contribution to creating and maintaining a healthy and vibrant society.”
The Lyric Theatre will open the doors of its new building on 1 May 2011.
Filed under General
Comments are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.