28/10/2026
It is with enormous sadness that we share the news of the passing of our fellow trustee and dear friend, Professor Pamela Howard OBE.
Pamela was an extraordinary woman. A world-renowned scenographer, director, artist and educator, her remarkable career spanned more than six decades, taking her to theatres and opera houses across the world. She remained passionately devoted to her work until the very end, having only just returned home from Romania, where she had travelled to receive an honorary doctorate.
But here in Selsey, Pamela leaves another extraordinary legacy.
When she moved to the town in 2003, Pamela recognised the historical importance of the Selsey Pavilion and contacted the Theatres Trust to alert them to its significance. That seemingly simple action helped set in motion the long journey that would eventually lead to the building being saved.
Without Pamela's foresight and determination, the Pavilion's story could have been very different.
Her involvement didn't stop there. In 2014, she directed The End of the Journey, transforming the Pavilion into the battlefields of the Somme, complete with hundreds of handmade rats created by local volunteers and schoolchildren!
The following year, she co-directed Tonight at the Pavilion… Charlie Chaplin, helping bring music, laughter and live performance back into the building. She also designed and hand-painted our History Wall, celebrating the performers who had graced the Pavilion's stage over the years.
Pamela was wonderfully eccentric, endlessly enthusiastic and seemingly unstoppable. Her extraordinary stories could sound almost too incredible to believe, but with Pamela, they invariably turned out to be true.
Our Chair, Christian Skelton, remembers spending a lovely hour with Pamela in The Pavilion Studio in July, projecting photographs of the building onto the wall as she reminisced about past productions, the people involved and the Pavilion's remarkable history.
After an hour of wonderful stories, Pamela abruptly stood up and announced, "Right, I've got to go!"
That was Pamela all over. Always somewhere to be, something to do and another adventure waiting.
As fellow trustee Rosie remembers, Pamela always had a twinkle in her eye and a wonderful sense of fun. She enjoyed a giggle, and those who knew her will have their own stories of her mischievous humour and larger-than-life personality.
For all of us at the Selsey Pavilion Trust, her passing is an enormous loss. We owe Pamela an extraordinary debt of gratitude, not only for helping to save the Pavilion, but for believing so passionately in what it could become.
Her contribution to theatre will be celebrated around the world, but here in Selsey, her legacy will live on in the very building she helped to save.
Our deepest sympathies go to Pamela's family, friends and everyone fortunate enough to have known her.
Thank you, Pamela. We will miss you enormously, and we will never forget what you made possible. ❤️
