Meet the woman known as the ‘heart’ of St Helens Theatre Royal

It’s welcomed a few famous faces to its stage over the years, but one of St Helens Theatre Royal’s biggest stars is one of its own!

St Helens Theatre Royal Box office team member Ann Pendlebury has played a leading role at the popular theatre for 26 years and is one of the longest-serving members of staff.

Well-known – and loved – by audiences, she greets everyone with a beaming smile.

So it’s no surprise that theatre Manager Chantelle Joseph says: “Ann is the heart of the Theatre Royal.

“She knows all of our regular visitors by name, and she welcomes everyone into the theatre with a warm smile and a cracking joke, whether they’re visiting for the first time or their hundredth.”

Chantelle adds: “It is Ann’s passion for our audiences which is her superpower. 

“And her invaluable contribution has helped to make the Theatre Royal as special to our community as Ann is to us.”

Ann, 74, from Windlehurst in St Helens, worked in a car auction and as a school dinner lady at Cowley High School, before starting work in the town’s music venue, The Citadel.

But when that was closed for redevelopment following a Lottery award in 1999, she and other members of staff were seconded to the Theatre Royal: “And I never went back,” says Ann.

“At The Citadel with the bands I was often working until midnight, and here it was much more sedate and civilised,” grins Ann. “I came around the same time Jane came to the Theatre Royal – Jane Joseph was manager of the venue for many years until Regal Entertainments, of which she and daughter Chantelle are directors, bought the theatre to ensure its future – and I loved the family atmosphere it had.

“Everyone works together and that’s what I enjoy.

“I’ve done a bit of everything over the years. I’ve done front of house, I’ve been front of house manager … I have even cleaned the toilets. Everyone works together and I hope that comes across to people; and I know whatever I do is appreciated.  That’s special.”

Ann has two grown-up children, Donna and Mark. She lost a twin boy, Iain, at birth and her daughter Joymarie, who had spastic quadriplegia, died aged six.

She could have retired years ago, but she’s showing no signs of taking it easy yet.

“I realised my state pension wasn’t enough to live on but, in honesty, I don’t want to stop,” says Ann. 

“It never feels like a chore, and I look forward to coming to work. I feel like I’m socialising.”

She has seen plenty of celebrities coming through the doors of the Theatre Royal but two stand out in Ann’s memory: The Squire of Knotty Ash, Sir Ken Dodd, and American film producer and TV personality David Gest.

Ann says: “Ken Dodd was just a blessing.

“When I was here at the beginning at Christmas, we’d do a panto in the morning and the afternoon, and a Ken Dodd Show in the evening … although Ken would go on until about 2am in the morning,” she giggles. “I liked him because he was just an ordinary person, he never did the big ‘I am’ and he would chat to you. He was such a funny man on stage and off stage he was just a gentleman.

“So was David Gest.

“He phoned in once and I picked it up, and as he kept asking for Ian, I kept insisting we had no one of that name here. It was only after a few minutes someone said to me ‘Ann, he’s asking for you’ and I just couldn’t understand his accent. That made me chuckle.

“But at the end of his show that night, he got every member of staff together to shake their hand and say thank you. That was a real morale booster especially for the volunteers here.

“I wasn’t in the last time he came because I’d had a heart attack and needed a triple heart by-pass, but when I returned to work he’d signed and left a programme saying ‘I hope you get better soon’. How lovely was that?!”

Ann loves the theatre, especially musical theatre: “My favourite show is Blood Brothers and even though I’ve been to see it about 17 times I still jump when that gun goes off!

“More recently, I’ve enjoyed Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away and, though clearly not a musical, I love going to see John Bishop. I just think he’s funny and so dry and, even though he swears – which I don’t like – it’s in context so it’s not offensive.”

When she’s not seeing theatre shows or working in one, Ann busies herself making cards.

Will she ever take it easy?

“I’m not ready to give up work yet,” she smiles. “I joke that they’ll have to carry me out of here in a box. I enjoy what I do, and I adore my work family.”

Chantelle says: “We are so pleased that Ann chose to stay with us in Corporation Street when The Citadel reopened. 

“Her time at Cowley means that she is well-known by three generations of the community of St Helens and the pupils who used to line up for their dinner are now introducing their children and grandchildren to Ann when they visit the theatre. 

“Like I said, she is the heart of the theatre, and that’s why we all follow Ann’s example, hoping to make our audiences feel at home when they come, just like she does.”

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