About the Trust

The Trust was Founded in 1979 with Merseyside County Council and became an independent Trust in 1986.

The Trust, a registered charity, is the owner of the Liverpool Empire building and under a sub lease arrangement the Ambassador Theatre Group, with which the Trust liaises closely, is responsible for a range of duties including the maintenance of the building and the running of the theatre’s programmes, fulfilling certain criteria in terms of the performance offerings.

The Trust supports a vibrant department of Creative Learning with a thriving Youth Theatre programme, which facilitates the involvement of young people, community groups and school parties in acting and theatre activities.

For 1986 to 2015, the late Sir Philip Carter CBE was Trust Chairman and during his time the theatre was modernised, refurbished and an annexe built on the Legs of Man Public House site.

More recently the Trust, now chaired by Mr David Morgan following the death of his predecessor in the role Mr Terry Smith, has run programmes and events supporting the development of the arts across the Liverpool City Region, including the ‘Active Arts’ competition in 2017/18 and the ‘My Liverpool’ project in 2019.

Trustees at the Liverpool Empire Theatre Trust have lost a dear and devoted colleague following the death of Tony Ensor this week.

Tony, aged 88, was by far the longest serving Trustee on the board of the charitable company which owns the City’s flagship theatre. He died peacefully at his home in Formby on August 11, surrounded by his loving family.

Tony was a solicitor who was later appointed a Judge. He was also for many years a director of Liverpool Football Club.

Educated at Malvern College, Tony attended Liverpool University. After graduation he became an articled clerk at law firm Rutherfords in Liverpool eventually going on to be a senior partner at the firm of Weightman Rutherfords (now known as Weightmans LLP).

He also served for several years as Liverpool’s Deputy Coroner, later being appointed as a Circuit Judge, sitting mainly in Manchester.

His connection with the Liverpool Empire spanned six decades. He acted as solicitor to the Trust at the time of its establishment in 1979, then becoming a Trustee himself.

A passionate lover of opera, especially a supporter of Welsh National Opera, he played a pivotal role in numerous productions being staged at the Empire.

Tony also performed a leading role in the redevelopment of the Empire as the Millenium dawned, helping secure an Arts Council grant of £700,000. Later, around £10,000,000 was raised from the Lottery Fund and the European Community, leading to the extension of the stage and front of house facilities and acquisition of adjoining property.

As a result of this major programme of works the Empire was able to attract and stage the biggest West End Shows, which it still does to this day.

Liverpool Football Club was another passion for Tony and for many years he played an important part in the club’s fortunes as a board member. A director at the time of legendary managers like Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, he was also the club’s solicitor.

In that position he represented the club in the inquiries and inquests that followed the tragedies at Heysel and Hillsborough in 1985 and 1989.

In 2015, he gave evidence at the new Hillsborough inquests, which returned verdicts that the 97 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives were unlawfully killed.

Tony, born George Anthony Ensor, was a former President of the Liverpool Law Society and of Liverpool’s Artists Club. He was also a past director of Formby Golf Club, where he played for many years.

David Morgan, chairman of the Empire Theatre Trust and who had known Tony as a colleague in the legal profession since 1975, said: “We as trustees are so saddened to hear of Tony’s passing. Our deepest condolences go out to Tony’s family, his wife Jenny and daughters Libby and Jane especially.

“Due to illness Tony had been forced to give his apologies for our last couple of meetings but up until then and over so many decades he was a renowned, respected and active member of the Trust until this summer.

“One of the Trust’s key functions is to support a creative learning programme at the Empire which helps young people from the Liverpool City Region, especially those from often less affluent areas, to access the theatre and aspire to careers as actors, singers and dancers.

“Tony was always adamant that we should support these young people, as well as the theatre itself of course, as much as we possibly can.

“But his influence upon the city surpassed just the theatre. The truth is Tony made the most enormous contribution to the legal, sporting and cultural landscapes of the City Region throughout his extraordinary life.

“He of course had a brilliant mind and a love of the arts, but with that came a warm and generous nature, a wonderful sense of humour and a welcoming smile that brightened every room.

“We cannot put into words how much we will all miss him, how much we all loved him. But we will never forget the tireless hours he gave to the success of this theatre. Nor the words of wisdom that came so often from a uniquely dignified and respected colleague.

“Our meetings won’t be the same without Tony. But we will always feel his presence and will strive to continue delivering all he would wish to see in the years ahead.

“Rest in peace, Tony.”

David Morgan, Chairman

David is a retired solicitor having spent over forty years practicing In Liverpool, with a short spell in Manchester. During this time he acted for local and national companies in the retail and drinks sectors, many with large property portfolios. He held several board and management positions and was for a number of years a non-executive director of a European retail and online sports betting company.

He retired in 2018 from Brabners LLP, where he was National Head of Real Estate. Whilst a partner at Weightmans, he first joined the Trust as Secretary in 1995 and was appointed a trustee in 1997. During the refurbishment and extension of the theatre he was responsible for managing the audit of the financial data required by the Arts Council and the European Community grant funding.

His early school days were spent in the Lake District before moving to Ellesmere College in Shropshire and university in Newcastle, graduating in law. He is married with three grown up children and two grandchildren. He has lived in Wirral since 1974. His interests include walking in the Lakes, playing the occasional game of golf, gardening, and classical music. He takes a keen interest in Merseyside football.

David took over as Chairman from the late Terry Smith, who passed away on August 15, 2021, aged 87.

Tony Ensor

Tony Ensor has been associated with the Trust since its inception in 1979.

He was appointed Solicitor and Secretary when Merseyside County Council bought the premises from Moss Empires, who ran the the Theatre originally as a Music Hall and later with Variety Acts and Pop Groups.

He was later made a Trustee when the County Council was abolished.

He was involved in obtaining initially a grant of £700,000 from the Arts Council to enable the theatre to be refurbished and extended to cater for large musical productions. Later, a sum of around £10,000,000 was raised from the Lottery Fund and the European Community, leading to the extension of the front of house facilities and acquisition of  adjoining property.

Tony practiced as a solicitor in the city, being the Senior Partner at Weightmans. He also held a number of judicial posts and was for a time a Director of Liverpool Football Club. He was subsequently appointed a Circuit Judge.

He believes that the theatre should provide a wide range of entertainment catering for all tastes.

In particular there should be space afforded for ballet, opera and National Theatre productions which would not otherwise be seen in Liverpool.

Pamela McGaffney

Pam has spent all of her professional working life in the Insurance Broking industry, with the first thirty years being spent within the family insurance business.

As the business prospered, it grew to be one of the largest independent brokers in the North West, specialising in affinity group insurance and employing nearly ninety people.  In the latter part of that time Pam was a director of the company, with responsibility for ensuring the highest possible levels of customer satisfaction.

The success of the business in its field of operation drew the attention of a much larger mutual insurance provider who expressed a wish to acquire the business.  As part of that acquisition, she was asked to stay in post which she has done for the past fifteen years. During this time she has gradually reduced the amount of time she now works.

Pam, who lives in Wirral,  focuses solely on ensuring high level customer care to one client and their 90,000 strong membership.

This means that nowadays she is able to spend more time with family – especially her grandchildren – and enjoy her hobbies of ‘fair weather’ golf and walking – as well as frequent visits to the theatre.

Lesley Marshall

Lesley was born and raised on the outskirts of Liverpool and spent most of her working life at Radio City.

Originally based in their Stanley Street studios, she joined the station from school as a junior member of the accounts team and later ran the Programming office before becoming PA to the Station Manager and Board of Directors. She also served on the Board of Trustees for the parent company pension scheme.

She still works for Radio City part time and, since 2000 when the radio station moved to St. Johns Beacon 450 feet up, her office has been bird’s eye view of The Empire Theatre.

When not in Liverpool, Lesley runs a successful home staging and styling business, helping homeowners to sell their properties quickly, for the best price – a job which takes her across the North West and the Channel Islands.

She is a regular visitor to the theatre and, as a keen lapsed musician, particularly enjoys the musical productions the theatre offers.

Currently living in Rufford, West Lancashire, she was honoured to be invited to join the Empire Trust’s board in 2016.

In her spare time, she is a keen tennis player, dog walker and reader.

Sean Marley

Sean has worked across radio, television, theatre and film.

At Metro Radio in Newcastle, he became the youngest UK major market Programme Director and ran the network of Magic AM stations.

He became MD of Radio City in Liverpool in 2000. During his time there, the station won Sony UK Station of the Year and Commercial Radio Station of the Year.

In 2003, Sean, from Wirral, joined Phil and Alexis Redmond at Mersey Television as Commercial Director. After becoming part of the All3 Media group and changing its name to Lime Pictures, Sean was appointed Managing Director.

As well as Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, Lime diversified its programming including shows such as Apparitions (BBC), Bafta winning The Only Way Is Essex (ITV2) and Geordie Shore (MTV).

After leaving Lime, Sean set up a regional theatre production company, Alterean Media. Specialising in musicals telling the stories of football clubs, they produced “YNWA – The History of LFC” and “Celtic The Musical”.

In 2015, Sean joined Wirral based film and TV production company, Mad As Birds. They have made four feature films to date.

Sean was Chair of Creative Skillset’s Northern Media Skills Panel and is a trustee of Cash For Kids children’s charity.

John Thompson

John Thompson is a semi retired lifelong Liverpool based journalist.

Liverpool born and bred, he began his journalistic career in 1977 on the former Crosby Herald and Bootle Times newspapers, before joining the Liverpool Daily Post in 1981 as a news reporter, going on to cover, or help shape the coverage of, all of the major news stories that followed in the city region.

He is a former Senior Assistant Editor of the Liverpool ECHO, having managed both the ECHO’s news and sport desks for more than 20 years during the 1990s and beyond until he left the business in April 2018.

For a spell in between at the turn of the Millennium, John worked as an Editorial Change Development Manager on a major national review programme for Trinity Mirror, now renamed Reach plc and the country’s largest regional newspaper and digital media publisher.

Married with two children, John, who was born in Anfield and later grew up in the West Derby area of the city, now lives in Wirral and provides occasional articles for the Business Post magazine, which covers the scene across the Liverpool City Region.

He is an avid football supporter and also enlists golf, music, travelling and gardening among his hobbies.

Carol Mason

Carol Mason is the Secretary to the Trust and its six trustees.

Caro, originally from Newcastle, studied Law at Liverpool University and attended the College of Law in Chester. She then remained in Liverpool working with a local law firm, where she qualified as a solicitor.

She has spent most of her professional life in Liverpool and is now a Partner in Morecrofts LLP, where she is head of the Private client team, working from the Woolton office. She provides advice on wills, inheritance tax and probate matters.

She has many years’ experience as a professional trustee and in administering trusts, including several charitable trusts. She has extensive  knowledge on trust and charity law.

Carol has served as Chair of a local children’s nursery and Vice-chair of governors at a local primary school.  She is a trustee of  Liverpool Bluecoat School and a member of the professional body of the Society of Trust and Estate practitioners and the Law Society.

Carol is married to a solicitor and has two children, both of whom have attended the Liverpool Youth Empire.

In her spare time, Carol is passionate about musicals, ballet and visits the theatre regularly, also the Liverpool Philharmonic.  She enjoys reading, playing the piano and local history. She is also an active member of Liverpool Soroptimist International, supporting women and children’s causes.

TERRY SMITH AWARDS SEES A RECORD £18,000 GIVEN TO FORMER EMPIRE YOUTH THEATRE MEMBERS

A record total of £18,000 has been bestowed upon Merseyside’s aspiring stars of stage and screen by the Empire Theatre Trust.

Nine talented young performers have been chosen to receive a Terry Smith Award bursary as they embark on courses in musical theatre and other associated performing arts studies.

The various cash awards honour the highly respected Yorkshire-born businessman who spent more than forty years as a Trustee and latterly Chairman.

Mr Smith founded Liverpool’s commercial station Radio City and also became a Director of Liverpool Football Club, succeeding Bob Paisley on the Anfield board.

Terry, who lived with his wife Pam in Hoylake, Wirral, died in August 2021 aged 87.

The Trust inaugurated the Terry Smith Awards three years ago, when £10,000 was given out to applicants chosen by a special judging panel.

That amount grew to £12,000 last year. Now a further 50 per cent increase has seen nine members or former members of the Empire Youth Theatre supported towards professional careers.

This year’s £18,000 figure brings the total handed out by the Trust in Terry’s name to £40,000 – with a commitment to further funding over coming years.

Said one of the beneficiaries, Amy Lyons: “I cannot thank the trustees and Terry’s family enough for this incredible award.

“It will allow me to access many essential resources (headshots, Spotlight membership etc) that may not have been as easy to provide or accessible without.”

Another student and ex Empire Youth Theatre performer Ruby Garforth said: “Thank you for continuing to support me in my third and final year of University.

“I couldn’t believe it when I found out.

“My university experience has been different than it would have been due to the Terry Smith Award bursary.”

As well as running the annual awards and helping oversee the successful operation of the Empire, the Trust funds a major Creative Learning programme which is run year round.

Figures for the last financial year show 24,000 people across the Liverpool City Region participated in projects run by Natalie Flynn and her team.

The Creative Learning department put on more than 600 sessions at schools and other places. It produced more than 50 shows, pulling in audiences of 58,000 people. The programmes worked with 174 schools and employed 162 people through freelance or casual contracts.

Trust Chairman David Morgan said: “We are very pleased to have been able to increase the funding figure under the Terry Smith Awards scheme by such a substantial amount in 2024.

“All of the recipients are worthy and talented young people with hopes and dreams as performers.

“They are members or former members of the Empire Youth Theatre who we recognise now need all the help they can get as students at colleges and conservatoires across the country.”

Added Mr Morgan: “It remains a challenging time in a competitive field for these young people and the Trust is delighted to be able to show its support for them in Terry’s name.”