People of Hastings & St Leonards
By Kathryn Sutter
This week we spoke to Millie Rowland, CEO of Boathouse Arts and founder of ‘Millie’s Nightclub’.
I moved to Hastings in 1991 just before my 11th birthday, when my dad retired from the army. We were blessed with a great army upbringing moving around the UK quite a bit. However, both my parents’ families are from Hastings so we spent every summer holiday here, it was like coming home! I am the eldest of 3 and my sister has cerebral palsy, a congenital heart condition, and several other conditions. Unfortunately, dad was killed in road traffic accident in 1997. I think both these things really shaped me and have made me more empathetic and understanding of others.
I knew I wanted to work with people but I really wanted to work in theatre. I studied performing arts at school and went to Mercatoria School of Performing Arts and Roehampton University to study a Drama BA, achieving a 2:1. At university I realised I was interested in Dramatherapy – an MA option at Roehampton – but further study wasn’t an option for me.
I came back to Hastings and got into care work in care homes and then day services, where I realised the gaps in services for those with disabilities. So, I set up ‘Millie’s Nightclub’, a once-a-month nightclub for adults with disabilities. It’s at an earlier time to allow those in residential care to attend but has DJs, alcohol, a light-up dancefloor ̶ just like a regular nightclub!
In 2010, my sister overheard a couple talking in her day service about setting up a theatre company. They were Kim and Kevin Barry and their daughter Olivia, who together founded Boathouse Theatre Arts, a theatre company for adults with disabilities. I was employed to run sessions. The company has since grown, becoming a registered charity in 2014. We now have a large adults’ group as well as a children’s group and one for those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.
Each year we hold a public summer performance. Over the years these have included Romeo & Juliet, Fawlty Towers and Aladdin. The adult group also has a Singing & Signing Choir, performing at local events such as St Leonard’s Festival and Bexhill’s Festival of the Sea. During lockdown I became the charity’s CEO.
Our workshops include acting, dancing, singing, signing, stage production and prop making. Members have a wide variety of abilities so each workshop is tailored to their needs. We have done some amazing shadow work and puppetry in recent years. Skills learnt are often transferable, so members learn new strategies for coping in their everyday life which is very humbling and rewarding.
Hastings has changed a lot since I arrived here but ultimately it puts its people first, which I think is a good thing. I am blessed to work with a great group of people and to love what I do!
• Find out about Boathouse on Facebook @BoathouseTheatreArts – they currently need staff and volunteers for their Children’s Group on Saturdays from 10.30m-11.30am.
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