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Curve names theatre seat to mark PPL CEO's 10 year anniversary

Mark Leathem has given the theatre PPL's support throughout his decade-long tenure.

(L-R) Chris Stafford, Peter Leathem and Andrea Gray - Photography by Kieran Vyas
(L-R) Chris Stafford, Peter Leathem and Andrea Gray - Photography by Kieran Vyas

Leicester’s Curve theatre has named one of its seats to mark Peter Leathem’s 10-year anniversary as Chief Executive Officer of music licensing company PPL.


"It is an honour to be recognised by Curve for PPL’s support of its work," said Leathem. "Our backing of Curve is a natural fit... many of our members have successful careers thanks to such cultural landmarks."


PPL - which joins with PRS for Music to form PPL PRS - handles licensing for recorded music in the UK. This controls who can play it public (shops, bars, nightclubs, offices, etc.) or in a broadcast (BBC, commercial radio, commercial TV, etc.). By doing this, they ensure that revenue flows back to its members across all levels of the music industry.


The auditorium's newly dedicated seat was presented to Leathem by Curve's Chief Executive, Chris Stafford and PPL PRS's Managing director, Andrea Gray.


The seat is inscribed with the words ‘With thanks to Peter Leathem from Team Curve’. It is next to the seat Curve gifted to Sir Ian McKellen, celebrating the legendary actor’s 80th birthday tour of UK theatres.


"Our cultural landscape, and PPL’s membership, is enhanced by institutions like Curve," Leathem added, "so it is right that we should support its contribution to the UK’s performing arts sector. Thank you Chris and the team at Curve for all that you do."


PPL PRS is a Leicester-based joint venture which licences music for public performance.

Leathem is a board member and, as CEO of PPL, was instrumental in setting up the company and its launch in 2018.


It's the biggest public performance licensing venture of its kind in the world, turning over hundreds of millions of pounds.


Under Leathem’s leadership, PPL has regularly supported Curve’s work, including sponsoring the orchestras for Curve's critically acclaimed productions of A Chorus Line and Sunset Boulevard – at Home.


In a joint statement, Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: "We are incredibly proud of our partnership with PPL and are indebted to Peter and his colleagues for their continued support of Curve over the last few years.


"Peter’s passion and commitment to Leicester is inspiring, and we are thrilled to name a seat to mark his 10 years with PPL and his contribution to Curve.


"Many congratulations Peter and here’s to the next 10 years!"

 

Written by Tom Young

Tom is a feature writer for Niche Magazine. He has a degree in Creative Writing and over a decade of experience working in comedy and theatre as the founder of improv group, The Same Faces. He writes about what's on, interesting people, and local events.

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