By Ian Austen

ian.austen@essnmedia.co.uk

The man who played a key role in bringing about the successful revival of the Hackney Empire theatre in north London is being charged with ensuring Fairfield Halls becomes a top 21st century entertainment venue.

Simon Thomsett, 50, has been appointed chief executive of Fairfield and will take over from Derek Barr, who retires in May after 40 years of service.

Croydon Council, which owns the building, has just committed itself to a £10 million investment.

The council and the board of the Fairfield charitable trust have commissioned top architects Keith Williams to come up with a long term strategy to restore the building in Park Lane, Croydon.

This is likely to look at upgrading the concert hall, renowned for its acoustics for classical music, while maintaining its key features.

There are also likely to be proposals for improved theatre space to succeed the outdated facilities offered by the Ashcroft Theatre and for making better use of the Arnhem Gallery.

The Fairfield board believes Mr Thomsett's 30 years in the arts and live entertainment industry and his experience at the Hackney Empire put him in a strong position to lead Fairfield forward.

Dudley Mead, chairman of the board of trustees, said: "Simon brings with him a brilliant track record.

"We were also impressed that his previous work placed great emphasis on a venue's obligation to work closely with the local community."

Mr Thomsett has been working since August on a freelance basis running a company producing plays, after leaving Hackney.

He told the Advertiser he had wondered whether it was too early to "go back into buildings."

But he said: "There is genuinely only a handful of buildings I would be interested in running and Fairfield is one of them.

"It is a different challenge. The Hackney Empire project involved a major rebuild and it involved closing for three years and then working to get the audience back through marketing and promotion."

Mr Thomsett added that while the Hackney Empire was "pretty much on its knees" before he took over Fairfield is in a different position.

"It has done pretty well against a difficult financial background," he said.

"There seems to be a genuine affection for Fairfield and an acknowledgement that when it is really flying it is quite a venue.

"We have to accept we are never going to be able to rival the O2 or Wembley but we have a world class concert hall and we must have world class work there."

This means not only building on its reputation for staging classical concerts but attracting more big names from modern music.

Mr Thomsett said: "I think there is a growing trend among what used to be stadium bands to play smaller venues and get back closer to their audience."