BURNLEY Mechanics’ new season brochure wouldn’t look out of place in the showbiz hotspots of London and Manchester.

With a show direct from the West End, performances by entertainers Julian Clary, The Hairy Bikers, Katy Brand, Sean Lock and Ruby Wax, and some of the year’s best cutting-edge new shows, the 500-seat theatre starts 2010 with its best line-up in recent memory.

But for arts and theatre manager Kirk Worley, making sure that East Lancashire’s theatre-going public is happy is all in a day’s work.

“The line-up this year is quite exceptional,” he said.

“The new brochure is just starting to land on the doormats of people on our mailing list and already the response we’ve had at the box office has been fantastic.

“Everybody has commented on the variety and quality of the programme and the Hairy Bikers show has already sold out, with Sean Lock and Julian Clary not too far behind it.”

The secret behind the theatre’s success lies in Kirk’s dedication and incredibly hard work.

Every year he travels to various festivals and industry conferences around the UK, making contacts and watching new shows to bring to Burnley.

Kirk’s best contacts are made at the Edinburgh Festival — the world’s biggest arts festival — every August.

“Each day there are around 2,000 shows performed in venues all over the city,” said Kirk.

“And in the eight or nine days I’m there I’ll see between 80 and 100 shows.

“It’s a bit of an overload, but you’ve got to do it because you just don’t have that opportunity during the rest of the year.”

Possibly the theatre’s biggest coup of the season has been getting the UK’s first performance of five-star hit show Morecambe outside of London’s West End.

The show, which Kirk first saw performed at the Edinburgh Festival, is coming to Burnley on February 2 before it starts a tour of some of the bigger theatres across the country.

“It’s a real coup to get it because it really is going to be one of the biggest theatrical shows around for the next couple of years,” said Kirk.

“I was made aware of the show about two-and-a-half years ago when it was in the production stage.

"I know director Guy Masterson and what he does is always top class, so I very quickly began hassling them to bring it to Burnley.

“I’ve worked in the industry for 20-odd years now so I have built up very good relationships with some of the top agents and promoters over the years and I think they appreciate the honesty and integrity of how we do business here at the Mechanics.”

Over his last eight years in the role Kirk has worked hard to build up the profile of the theatre.

And slowly but surely it has paid off. L ast May international award-winning comic Eddie Izzard, who has filled casinos in Las Vegas and played to sell-out audiences in London’s West End, chose Burnley to play a low-key warm-up gig.

And the theatre attracts thousands of blues fans from across the country every April in its annual Burnley Blues Festival.

But Kirk believes another reason for the theatre’s success is that artists genuinely enjoy performing there.

“It’s all about creating a friendly and welcoming environment for everybody who comes here,” he said.

“I think if an artist has an enjoyable experience when visiting, it’s not rocket science, they’ll want to come back.

"And they’ll tell other artists who will want to come and play here, too.”

Plus the facilities are first-rate.

“The council has invested about £500,000 in improving the facilities here over the last eight years,” said Kirk.

“We’ve had a new computerised box office system, new PA and lighting systems and a couple of years ago the auditorium was completely refurbished, taking capacity up from 400 to 500.

"Our dressing rooms and back stage facilities, which were re-built three years ago, are as good, if not better, than many of the more high profile venues across Britain.

"All of this makes a difference to artists.”

Kirk has a long career in the live entertainment industry.

He has managed London’s famous Marquee Club and worked for the Mean Fiddler Organisation as well as the National Theatre.

He has also managed various live music venues and theatres around the UK and has tour managed live acts and theatre companies in Europe, America and Australia.

But the educating and entertaining the people of Burnley isn’t just a job for Kirk, it’s his passion.

“I love my job and I think that’s really important because I really care about what I’m doing.

"It would be very easy to sit here and book anything that comes along, but it’s all about making sure the programme fits together and is what people in the area want.

“I really enjoy going to see live entertainment and I’m always out watching shows, and talking to agents and promoters about shows.

"You’ve got to put yourself out there and get involved.”