(Photo credit: Matt Crockett)
September 2026
It is with great sadness that we have learnt of the passing of our former colleague Alan Finch CBE, who died yesterday aged 61 following his diagnosis for pancreatic cancer earlier this year.
Alan joined Theatre Royal Plymouth as our Technical Director, before being promoted to General Manager in 1999, during which time he oversaw the leadership of our charity alongside our previous Chief Executive, Adrian Vinken OBE DL.
Alan’s lasting legacy in Plymouth is our award-winning Production and Learning Centre, TR2. During his tenure he spearheaded the vision for the now world-renowned facility and the management of its construction.
When Alan left TRP in 2005, he took up post as Executive Director at Chichester Festival Theatre where he worked alongside Jonathan Church as Artistic Director. During his time in Chichester he produced over 100 productions, won more than 40 awards and doubled the size of its audience.
In 2016, Alan was appointed Managing Director of Cameron Mackintosh Limited leading the business that has created some of the world’s most iconic productions including Les Misérables, Oliver! and Mary Poppins.
James Mackenzie-Blackman, our Chief Executive and Artistic Director, said today:
“Alan was truly one of our industry’s very best. He was renowned for his energy, enthusiasm and deep understanding of how to make world-class theatre. On a personal level he was always full of perfectly measured sage advice. In more recent years, he was so pleased that TRP was producing work again on the Lyric stage and would always be ready to pick up the phone and offer a perspective whenever I needed it. Like so many others across the entire theatre industry, I will miss him deeply.”
All of us at TRP mourn Alan’s loss and hold his wife Alison, his family, and all who knew and worked with him, in our thoughts.