A NEW general manager has been welcomed to The Brunton as it looks forward to a new season of shows.

Kirsty Somerville succeeds Lesley Smith, who retired in March after leading the organisation for 37 years.

Kirsty Somerville is the new general manger of The Brunton

As she takes up the reins, The Brunton performances are continuing to be held at other venues in Musselburgh and Haddington, as the Musselburgh-based theatre remains closed following a roof survey.

Kirsty has worked in the Scottish arts sector for more than 15 years, developing and building her career with a focus on artistic development and live presentation.

Having grown up in Edinburgh and then in rural Scotland, she has always been interested in the “power” of arts and culture to provide a space for “connection, consideration, and celebration,” be that through music, film – or the local pantomime.

After studying film studies in Glasgow, Kirsty embarked on a career focused on championing the development of new creative work and then bringing that to an audience, and this led her to work with organisations including the CCA, Gilded Balloon, Auckland Arts Festival, Cryptic and Take One Action Film Festival.

Most recently, she worked as the head of professional development and festival producer at Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, from 2019 to earlier this year, where she strived to support independent artists to make their best work and created sustainable ways for them to present this to a “curious and eager” audience.

Kirsty said that she was “hugely excited” to join the team at The Brunton and to be a part of the organisation’s next chapter.

From her experience of working across film, theatre, visual art, comedy and dance, she brings an understanding of arts and culture in all its forms, and a “real passion for championing exciting and engaging work”, and providing a space for artists and audiences to meet.

She said: “I am delighted to be part of The Brunton team and to take on this exciting role.

“I firstly want to say a huge thanks to Lesley Smith, who has been such a driving force in developing and sustaining the cultural life of East Lothian.

“There are incredibly strong foundations in place within the organisation, and I look forward to building on these as we expand and develop our performance programme and creative learning activity.

“The closure of the building has had a huge impact but the team have done an incredible job in keeping the show on the road and we thank our audiences and artists for your continued support.

“While we await a decision on the future of the Brunton Hall, it has been incredibly heartening to hear the response from the people of East Lothian and to see the real love that there is for this building, and for the space it offers for arts, culture and community – and I hope that we can continue to offer this place for much-needed connection with our new season.”

This year, The Brunton will collaborate with critically acclaimed theatre company Wonder Fools to present a new pantomime set in East Lothian.

Robbie Gordon, from Prestonpans, and Jack Nurse, co-artistic directors of Wonder Fools, are writing and making A Christmas Carol. This new pantomime, with original songs, is inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas story.

Panto is a long-standing festive tradition for The Brunton’s audiences and this year sees A Christmas Carol presented at both the Corn Exchange in Haddington and Loretto Theatre in Musselburgh, with public and schools’ performance dates from Wednesday, December 4, to Saturday, January 4.

Meanwhile, The Brunton’s classical music programme continues at Northesk Parish Church in Musselburgh.

The Soloists of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra series features recitals of flute and piano with Katherine Bryan and Scott Mitchell on Wednesday, October 9, and clarinet and piano with Timothy Orpen and Scott Mitchell on Wednesday, November 20.

Classical Musicians Scotland Orchestra perform arias, duets, trios and quartets by composers including Verdi, Puccini and Mozart at A Night at The Opera on Thursday, October 24.

Also at Northesk Church is a candlelit festive concert as Royal Northern Sinfonia celebrate Christmas by Candlelight on Sunday, December 1.

The final Bite-sized Concerts at Lunchtime of the year invite audiences to treat themselves to a light lunch before unwinding with an hour of live piano music with Ariel Lanyi on Tuesday, November 5, and Ignas Maknickas on Tuesday, December 10.

In addition to the classical programme, renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and Californian cellist Natalie Haas perform a concert that spans chamber music and dance energy on Friday, December 6.

The Brunton summer school cast of talented young performers, supported by a professional production team, delighted audiences in August with School of Rock. They are back at Loretto Theatre with the comical feast The Addams Family from Thursday, October 31, to Saturday, November 2.

In The Brunton’s autumn line-up at Loretto Theatre, Royal Ballet and Opera live streams bring the best of the West End opera and ballet to the big screen. Ballet with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland features on Tuesday, October 15.

This autumn, the Corn Exchange in Haddington is buzzing with live music and comedy.

There are tributes to music legends The Eagles with Talon on Saturday, October 19, and ‘the Boss’ Bruce Springsteen on Friday, October 25.

Janey Godley on Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, and Mark Cox and Jane McCarry – aka Tam and Isa from Still Game – on Friday, November 1, are set to have audiences “laughing out loud”.

Go to thebrunton.co.uk for tickets.