Show Notes
Join host Jim Fitzpatrick on Trading Up as he welcomes Claire Murray, Head of Development and Marketing at the Lyric Theatre, to deconstruct the "business" of show business. Claire discusses her transition from the high-stakes world of FMCG marketing at Coca-Cola and Heineken to steering the financial and creative success of Northern Ireland’s premier self-producing theatre. Celebrating the Lyric's 75-year history, this episode explores how corporate strategy can sustain cultural institutions. Claire details her implementation of flexible pricing models that significantly boosted ticket yield and the theatre's vital earned income, which now accounts for two-thirds of its turnover. Beyond the stage, the discussion highlights the arts as an economic engine, using "soft power" to attract inward investment and enrich the civic life of Belfast and Northern Ireland. This is an essential listen for anyone interested in marketing, entrepreneurship, and the symbiotic relationship between culture and commerce. Just as a master welder in the Lyric's scene shop carefully joins steel to build a set, this episode illustrates how Claire Murray fuses corporate marketing with artistic vision to build a sustainable future for this vital cultural institution.
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