Chit Chat - Marketing makes its mark on Nica

Published Tuesday 8 July 2008 at 12:20 by Tabard

Female Society of London Theatre presidents are like buses. You wait years for one and then two come along at once.

Tabard is of course referring to the recent appointment of Nica Burns as SOLT’s latest leading lady, succeeding Rosemary Squire (and no, before you all write in we haven’t forgotten Verity Hudson, but that was 20 years ago - and would have spoiled the punch line).

Interestingly though, buses are a rather intrinsic part of Burns’ presidency, or to be more precise, her decision to become president.

Apparently, it was all down to a red London bus and fellow producer Mark Rubinstein that she decided to stand for the position in the first place.

Having already been courted by some of the senior figures in the society to stand for president, Rubinstein delivered the coup de grace by email.

Tabard will let Burns explain.

“What happened was Stephen Waley-Cohen, who has been president before, took me out for lunch in November and asked me if I was going to stand. I said no, but he said my name kept coming up in discussions as to who could be president,” she says.

“Then, I got this email from Mark Rubinstein, which said ‘I know how important you think marketing is’ and when I opened it up it was a picture of the number 38 bus outside the Lyric Theatre, which I own, and on the side it said ‘Nica for SOLT president’. He must have photoshopped it.”

Well, one would hope that he photoshopped it, otherwise some of his investors might be asking a few awkward questions.