create balance

keep moving forward

Specialising in the Arts, we help leaders across the culture sector create the balance they need to survive, succeed and keep moving forward. 

Balance is a proven concept. It gives us the agility we need to adjust to the world around us, whilst staying true to who we are, what we do and why we do it.

It looks easy, but it needs practice. That’s where we come in. 

Working with good people, doing good things, our approach helps organisations focus on what matters most, stay responsive to change, use their strengths in different ways, and learn and adapt more effectively.

Balance isn’t just a good idea. It’s how we evolve.
 

"Balance involves looking outwards at the world
and inwards at the soul."
Nicholas Hytner: ‘Balancing Acts’ - The National Theatre

"Mel and Martin supported SOLT & UK Theatre at a key time in our strategic development, helping us and our new Executive, identify the purpose for our new teams and what success, on behalf of our members, would look like. Their deep experience and emotional intelligence, as well as their knowledge of the sector was critical to us, as we embarked on the first part of our new chapter."
Co-Chief Executives, SOLT & UK Theatre

discover

"They react live to curveballs and unexpected discoveries, working their magic to help the team help themselves. That takes real talent and an innate understanding of humanity. This whole experience is unlike any other consultancy we've encountered." 
COO, Delfont Mackintosh Theatres

2025 reflections

2025 felt like a year well spent as we indulge in our annual moment of reflection and explore the themes of managing pressure and keeping promises.

setting a clear direction

Can we manage change? Is our ability to change important? Can we learn from change. We re-open the conversation on the change debate with some balance thinking.

Newsletter Nov. 2025

marking the anniversary

Anniversaries allow us to celebrate how far we’ve come, connect to important people and events and reflect on lessons we can learn

Newsletter Oct. 2025

managing change

Can we manage change? Is our ability to change important? Can we learn from change. We re-open the conversation on the change debate with some balance thinking.

Newsletter Sept. 2025

OB & NOB!

Understanding who you are and what you do, helps organisations develop a balanced approach to decision making. Our Podcast thoughts on Why Balance Matters.

Newsletter Aug. 2025

creating a movement...

40 years on, the Live Aid movement is still strong. With a bold vision of bringing people together Just For One Day; we look at attracting followers and spreading the word that brings others in.

Newsletter July. 2025

lessons in legacy

If what we do today can create both current and lasting benefits, then legacy is an investment that we can establish now and leave for others.

so, what do you actually do?

This simple question provokes a deeper debate around the importance of clarifying roles and responsibilities to help us be useful and feel of value.

mirror, mirror, on the wall…

With an increasing appetite to praise and please, the art of authentic approval is under pressure. Looking in the mirror might be part of the answer.

my time in prison…

Staging a full-scale musical in prison, whilst retaining all the production values, calls for an abundance of agility.

reflections

Just as we were enjoying another year working with good people doing good things, 3-2-1 and it’s gone! But there are key themes and learnings that we'll carry with us.

there’s no place like home

Whatever home means to us, once we discover it, everything else can become a satellite to that place – connecting us to what matters most, wherever we go.

excuse me… do you have a light?

In every organisation a flame exists and should be nurtured… they are more than symbolic, they radiate a spirit.

squirrels also go up…

Do we only consider the options we know and the options we’ve previously chosen or do we employ fresh-thinking?

putting on the big boots…

In our current reality, the importance of leadership is paramount in providing direction and reassurance, whilst also acknowledging that the path ahead isn’t clear.

SOLT&UKT

With irrevocable proof that the Arts provide valuable socio-economic, educational and wellbeing benefits; we need a dynamic, sustainable, world class theatre sector, as a key forward investment and integral part of our society and culture.

balance has never been more relevant

Whilst life predictably challenges us to find a better way to evolve, the disruptive pace of the last five years has brought a greater need to create balance.

groundhog moments…

As each new year arrives, descriptive titles for the era we’re now entering, begin to emerge… are they fresh or have we said this before?

are you listening?

Of course you are, we always do don’t we?
Truth is… possibly not.
We’re hearing but are we listening?

where do we go from here?

Is this the moment we think and act beyond the boundaries of recovery and move from survival to success.