James Ashworth

Published Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 13:15 by Lucy Thomas, press officer for the Royal Centre Nottingham

It is with deep sadness and regret that the Royal Centre Nottingham has to announce the death of its managing director, James Ashworth, who died on September 26, 2008 at the age of 61.

Jimmy, who had given 31 years of loyal service to Nottingham City Council, moved to Nottingham in 1977 as technical manager at the Theatre Royal.

During his time at the venue, he became operations director at the Royal Centre, working under both Barrie Stead and Michael Grayson and for the past six years had run the venue as managing director.

Jimmy was a much-loved colleague and friend to everyone at the Royal Centre Nottingham, most of whom had worked alongside him for many years.  

Prior to his arrival in Nottingham, Jimmy worked at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool and the Oxford Apollo as chief electrician and toured to many of the leading venues across the UK and Canada as technical manager, working with some of the biggest acts in the business at that time.

In the last few years, Jimmy was instrumental in taking the Royal Centre to a new level, both in terms of broadening the range of entertainment on offer and making both the Theatre Royal and the Royal Concert Hall more accessible to everyone in the local community.

Jimmy also initiated the adopt a school scheme at the Royal Centre in 1999, and was a great supporter of Aspley Wood Special School in Nottingham.

His innovative use of the Royal Concert Hall saw musicals playing to sell-out audiences and ensured that record levels of business were achieved at a time when other venues were struggling to maintain their audience levels.

He was also committed to ensuring that both venues remained at the forefront of the entertainment industry and his plans for developing the Royal Centre over the next 25 years will live on as his legacy.

He was a very popular figure within the entertainment industry, not only as a highly respected practitioner whose professional expertise and advice were sought by many venue managers, but also for his easy-going and immensely likeable nature which made him so well liked by the many producers and artists who visited the venue.

Jimmy will be greatly missed by all who worked with him, and condolences are being sent to his wife Diane and their two children, Paul and Emma.