Trinity Theatre has renamed its lobby ‘The Caroline Elliott Foyer’ in honour of its late founder, who passed away in May this year.
A plaque marking the occasion was unveiled by Michael Elliott, Caroline’s husband, who attended the ceremony alongside their children Gregory and Sophie.
In addition to the unveiling, the lights outside the building were dimmed for an hour in her memory, fittingly on the night of a Trinity Theatre Company production, as Caroline had been a key member who had appeared in and directed many productions with them over the years. In 2011 she was awarded the MBE for services to theatre in the town.
Michael, himself a well-known actor in the area, made a short speech during the unveiling. He said: “Caroline was always modest about her achievements, even crediting her colleagues for her MBE, so I know she would have regarded this as a tribute to all her box office volunteers, and indeed to all the volunteers who have enabled this theatre to survive and flourish.
“But with all her modesty I think she would have felt a glow of satisfaction to know that all her efforts had been recognised and commemorated in this splendid way, and here in the place she graced for so many years.”
Caroline passed away on May 28 aged 86 following a short illness and had been the box office manager at the theatre for almost four decades.
John Martin, Artistic Director of Trinity Theatre, said: “We thought long and hard about the best way to have a permanent memorial to Caroline. It seemed that renaming our foyer in her memory was the most appropriate as that was the place where she spent most of her time volunteering for us and where all of us and our audiences would have seen her almost on a daily basis. It is a permanent reminder of an amazing lady who represented the spirit of volunteering on which Trinity is built and without which we would simply not be here.”
