belgrade theatre annual report 2014 2015
DESCRIPTION
A review of the year 2014 - 2015 from the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry.TRANSCRIPT
Belgrade Theatre Review of the Year 2014/2015
Looking back over the past
year fills me with immense
pride as well as great
memories of the fantastic
productions we’ve created
to share with the world. It’s
never an easy task putting
together a programme of shows which appeal to the
tastes of so many people, but that’s what the Belgrade
does so well.
From rarely performed classics like The Spanish
Golden Age productions, to brand new musicals such
as Propaganda Swing, revivals of local stories in
Three Minute Heroes or more diverse shows like
Blood – the consistent theme has always been quality
and a unique offering. The same goes for the family
offering with another record breaking pantomime and
a wonderfully engaging Only A Day. I struggle to pick
a favourite; each one is so rewarding to watch in its
own right.
Our Visiting Company work complements our own
plays, meaning that our Seasons are diverse and fresh,
designed to broaden and appeal to the many different
audiences in the City and region.
It’s not just our bold programme of work that defines
us, but also the valuable projects the Community &
Education Company do. Being able to offer
productions like Bassett, numerous participation
opportunities and the TiE production Becoming Me
has been an achievement in light of funding cuts, but is
what helps make a Belgrade that belongs to everyone,
creates inspiring theatre and transforms lives.
Being able to continue to offer such a vibrant
programme in these challenging times is no mean feat.
It has only been possible through the hard work of our
talented staff and the success of our income generating
activities making us less reliant on public funding.
Belgrade Production Services is an important part of
this story and has benefitted from further investment
this year, and will continue to be an important income
source for the Theatre.
The Belgrade’s challenges lie hand in hand with those
faced by the City, but we continue successfully to
contribute towards their goals for Community and
Economic development and look forward to playing a
pivotal role in bidding for City of Culture in 2021.
The Belgrade is a much loved creative hub for the area
and our TiE 50th anniversary celebrations throughout
2015 will be another reason to be proud. With the
continued support of the Theatre’s many stakeholders
I’m confident we will continue to overcome the
challenges ahead.
Stewart Fergusson
Chairman
“A Belgrade that belongs to everyone; creates inspiring theatre and transforms lives”
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Board Members:
Mr S Fergusson, Chairman Cllr R Bailey Mr A Bhabra Cllr L Bigham Mr G Brooke-Taylor Mr J Davidson Mr P A W Deeley
Mr P Fenner ACA/FCCA Mr W H Glen LLB Mrs P Johnstone Mr J McGuigan Mr A Pollock Ms K J Reid BA Hons Mrs D Williams
Belgrade Theatre Trust (Coventry) Limited (A company limited by guarantee)
Company Secretary and Executive Director : Ms K J Reid BA Hons Chief Executive and Artistic Director: Mr W H Glen LLB Funding Body Representatives entitled to attend Board meetings: Arts Council England West Midlands - Ms Nikki Ralston (Relationship Manager, Theatre), Coventry City Council - Mr D Cockcroft (Assistant Director, City Centre & Development Services)
Charity registered number 219163 Company registered number 593331
Registered office:
Belgrade Theatre Belgrade Square Coventry West Midlands CV1 1GS
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The Belgrade Theatre's vision: To be one of the most dynamic producing houses in the country. Mission: Our role is to provide a comprehensive performing arts service of the highest possible quality for Coventry and the surrounding regions and to act as an ambassador for Coventry & The West Midlands when touring.
I am proud of our artistic achievements
in 2014/15, delivered despite a third year
when the general funding cuts
significantly hit the Theatre. In terms of
home produced plays, it has been our
busiest year yet. Our first productions of
the financial year were co-produced with
Bath Theatre Royal and Arcola Theatre
London: the Spanish Golden Age plays A
LADY OF LITTLE SENSE, DON GIL OF
THE GREEN BREECHES and
PUNISHMENT WITHOUT
REVENGE. The Autumn then opened
with our co-production with
Nottingham Playhouse of the World
premiere of PROPAGANDA SWING by
Peter Arnott, a true story of the survival
of Jazz in Nazi Germany, which I
directed, and the revival of THREE
MINUTE HEROES by Bob Eaton.
Our always popular pantomime was
ALADDIN in addition to our “alternative
Christmas show” OH NO IT ISN’T. We
expanded our focus on work for children
and young people by producing the UK
premiere of ONLY A DAY, that
complemented two NT Connections
shows: Senior Youth Theatre’s PRO-
NOUN and Acting Out’s BASSETT; and
Year 10 Acting Out’s ME, MYSELF AND
MY iPHONE. During Summer 2014 the
Theatre again toured extracts of the
forthcoming season’s work to unusual
venues in Coventry and Warwickshire
with UNPLUGGED. At the other end of
the year our produced programme was
completed by a co-production of a new
South Asian play BLOOD by Emteaz
Hussain with national touring company
Tamasha.
We have been delighted to develop our
‘in association with’ partnerships
supporting smaller companies and
non-traditional theatre presentations.
These included CHORALE with
Presence Theatre and Actors Touring
Company, 100 YEARS WAR with
Midland Creative Projects, THE
MARRIAGE OF FIGARO with OperaUp-
Close, THE PHYSICAL FELLOWSHIP
with Highly Sprung and SANTA’S DIZZY
DAY with Imagine Theatre. The Theatre
also produced The Belgrade MELA.
Catalyst Funding, a grant awarded by
Arts Council England to boost fund
raising ability, helped establish Asian
Youth Theatre; the 50th Anniversary
celebrations of Theatre in Education
(TiE) – Inspiring Curiosity; stage the
NEW BLACK SHOWCASE,
rehearsed readings of work by
young BAME writers from our
CRITICAL MASS programme; tour
UNPLUGGED; and take a recording
of Panto to Hospitals, Hospices and
Nursing Homes, as well as offer tickets
for families facing financial hardship at
Christmas through ‘Give the Gift of
Theatre’.
We believe that we have succeeded in
our aim to be one of the most dynamic
producing houses in the country, with a
bold artistic policy that the region both
embraces and deserves, and which puts
us in a pivotal position for Coventry’s bid
for the next City of Culture. These are
exciting, but challenging times for us, but
with a strong, creative and loyal team of
staff continually championing the work
we do we are confident that we are
equipped not just to survive, but to
thrive.
Hamish Glen
Artistic Director & Chief Executive
2014/15 was the final year of the
Theatre’s first three year contract
as an Arts Council National
Portfolio Organisation (NPO).
The Theatre exceeded agreed
KPIs despite another difficult year
of declining core funding and
continuing low public confidence
which affects ticket sales.
Belgrade productions
PROPAGANDA SWING and
THREE MINUTE HEROES
performed very well at Box
Office, and our Panto once again
exceeded previous Box Office
records. Some of the Visiting
Company work, particularly early
in 2015, also did very good
business.
The Theatre produced 18 own
productions during the year, the
highest ever, and combined with
our lively Visiting Company
programme presented 421
performances of 113 different
productions. The number of
different productions in the
seasons is a record but
performance numbers were
slightly down on the previous
year’s 434, but are still higher
than all previous years. We had
the biggest audiences ever for our
Panto (over 42,000) but total
audiences for the year at 151,000
were 8% down on last year,
reflecting continuing audience risk
aversion. Audience numbers are
still greater than all previous
years.
The final 10% cut from CCC hit
this year, taking the total cut to
25% and Arts Council NPO
funding, following in-period cuts,
was reduced. However sharing
costs through co-productions and
our continuing drive to increase
earned income from all sources
has enabled us again to improve
Earned Income to Turnover ratio
which is now 62% (up from 50%
in 2009/10).
The Theatre’s wholly owned
trading subsidiary Enterprises’
turnover this year nearly made it
to £1million (£904k), making a
surplus during the year of £274k
(compared to £211k last year)
that is donated in full to the
Theatre (a registered Charity).
The improvement in results was
largely due to Belgrade
Production Services that
continues to increase turnover
and Events and Conferencing.
Community & Education self‑ generated income was £110k and
includes income from commercial
workshops run on Saturdays and
Summer and Easter Camps.
The Theatre’s Business Model
continues to prove its resilience
as well as its flexibility. Our
ability to respond creatively and
energetically to continuing threats
to funding will remain critical.
We are fortunate to be able to
rely on dedicated staff, and thank
them for their hard and loyal
work that enables the Theatre to
face the future with ambition and
confidence.
Joanna Reid
Executive Director
Marriage
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“The Theatre’s Business Model continues to prove its resilience”
“Don’t waste your time travelling to London,
come to Coventry; a more intimate theatre
experience, and no need to stay over” Audience
Member, Trip Advisor, February 2015
“A brilliant piece of new writing” The Arts Desk on Blood
“This is children’s theatre at its best’” Coventry Telegraph on Only A Day
“This production is a triumph of style and substance” Whatsonstage.com on Propaganda Swing
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“We do appreciate the range of shows you put on at the Belgrade - it's marvellous for us to have access to theatre of such quality” Email from Theatre-goer, Sept 2015
Main Photo: Punishment without Revenge
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The Belgrade’s Community & Education Company (C&E)
aims first and foremost to make theatre which bears
witness to the experiences of marginalised communities
within our City. We believe that these voices are best
heard when given a platform through high quality
productions and projects, which attract a diverse audience.
The C&E programme is committed to supporting
participants to gain skills which enable them to develop
careers in the performing arts and other industries.
2014/15 saw the Community & Education Company deliver
a record 12,875 participation opportunities through 804
workshops. Nine community performances and 22
sharings were seen by 2,425 audience members including
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Community & Education Company
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two National Theatre Connections plays; the popular
PRONOUN by Evan Placey performed by the Senior Youth
Theatre at the Warwick Arts Centre 2014 NT Connections
Festival; and BASSETT by James Graham, movingly performed
by the Acting Out Company. The Year 10 Acting Out group
also created their first performance ME, MYSELF AND MY
iPHONE, around issues of body image and self-perception.
A large part of the programme for 2014-15 was given over to
developing work for the Inspiring Curiosity year in 2015,
marking 50 years since the birth of the TiE (Theatre in
Education) movement at the Belgrade. The innovative artist
residency generated six exciting productions for the July 2015
Festival INSPIRING CURIOSITY – IN OUR OWN WORDS.
Partner companies and artists included Vamos Theatre,
Gateway Studio Project, curious directive, Frantic Assembly,
Chris White (RSC) and Chris O’Connell (Theatre Absolute)
working with our Asian Youth Theatre, Black Youth Theatre,
Canley Youth Theatre, Middle Youth Theatre, two Senior
Youth Theatre groups and our 50+ group Shine On.
Work for black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities
continues from strength to strength with Black and Asian
Youth Theatres as well as the fourth NEW BLACK
SHOWCASE, presenting rehearsed readings of two full
scripts; RED MULLET a fictional account of the Jamaican
Independence struggle by Liz Mytton and VISITING HOURS
about four women visiting their menfolk in prison by
Theresa Ikoko.
In the Summer Term of 2014 we again toured our TiE
production BECOMING ME, aiding the transition from
Primary to Secondary school. The production toured to 39
schools in both Coventry and Sandwell. Throughout the year,
the Theatre continued to run our programme of paid for
workshops, introducing a weekly programme for adults,
and an increased programme of youth activity for half terms
and holidays.
“It’s difficult when people talk about it. When I get to see it in action it’s a bit more clear” Pupil attending Big School
2014/15 stats 804 workshops
12,875 participation opportunities 39 performances in schools
395 targeted workshops
8 BTEC certificates Achieved, 201 since 2007
33% of participants from priority Postcode areas
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Photo: From the End Spring New Beginnings
“Mask work was a totally new experience for me, and I really enjoyed it. I learnt that the movement of my body can be as important as speech or what I do with my face” Senior Youth Theatre participant
“The programme has helped me to relearn skills that I thought I’d forgotten and enabled me to feel less self conscious” Shine On Participant
“It helps me feel confident and helps me at school. I’ve made lots of new friends” Asian Youth Theatre Participant
THE BELGRADE THEATRE:
Is a National leader in education work ... Promotes community cohesion …
Providing free participative arts activity ensuring access to those
who could not otherwise afford to attend and help them to develop
confidence, skills and create high quality work.
The Theatre employs up to 135 people at the height of its season and
during 2014/15 supported the equivalent of 77 full time posts.
Belgrade Production Services retains a pool of skilled workers in the city
and in 2014/15 provided almost 21,201hours of work for freelance/casual carpenters, welders, props makers, scenic artists and wardrobe technicians, in addition to the Belgrade’s core staffing.
3,344 hours of work placements were provided.
50 years. The Belgrade Theatre invented TiE (Theatre in Education) in 1965.
38% of Coventry’s primary schools saw the TiE play, Big School, partnering with the Education Authority.
2,222 pupils aged 10 and 11, benefitted from seeing Big School.
201 BTEC certificates awarded since 2007 to students at risk of exclusion from school.
138 schools workshops were delivered.
11,313 schools tickets sold.
"I have learnt something from very residency workshop, as well as from the support of
different Belgrade course directors” Workshop participant
Aids employability …
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42% of tickets
were sold to people
eligible for a concession**
The Belgrade is a vibrant place offering a wide range of shows that appeal to a variety of audiences. It does
extensive work with the City’s communities within priority post code areas attracting people who have never
been to the Theatre before. We enable access to the arts via:
Concessionary ticket schemes for paid activity
Wheelchair access to all public areas of the Building Free access for community activity Access performances for those with hearing or sight impairment
694 free tickets
were given to under 26s
Promotes community cohesion …
** Concessions comprise: Unemployed, Students, Children, Disabled, Senior Citizens & Passport to Leisure. Other discounts include 20% and other offers.
Evidence from around the UK demonstrates conclusively that cities can regenerate and reinvent themselves
through the success of their cultural institutions because those institutions not only help to project the City’s
profile nationally, they also serve the City’s needs locally.
The Belgrade’s 1958 listed building was refurbished and extended in 2007 with a £14m capital project.
The Theatre is now pivotal to the City’s economic regeneration, attracting increasing numbers of people from
outside areas and is at the heart of the City’s night time economy. In 2014/15 the Theatre’s activities generated
£6.6m in the local economy.
The Belgrade offers a wide range of shows that appeal to a variety of audiences. It is well known and loved in
the City and has a significant impact on the well-being of local people, contributing towards making
Coventry a good place to work and live.
Is key to the City’s regeneration …
Attracting visitors to the City ...
52% of bookers are
drawn into the City from outside the City of Coventry area.
***Note: number of bookers figure is the number of individuals making the booking, not the number of tickets purchased.
6,561 from North Warwickshire region (5,972 in 2013/14)
15,086 from City (15,357 in 2013/14)
3,814 from South Warwickshire region (4,429 in 2013/14)
3,909 from other areas (6,420 in 2013/14)
29,369 bookers in total (32, 178 in 2013/14 )
Number of bookers by area***
North
South
THE BELGRADE THEATRE:
The Theatre works hard to develop and diversify its income streams, creating Belgrade Production
Services (BPS), commercial workshop programmes for children and young people and also developing
Events & Conferencing.
Helping ourselves and others ...
*Belgrade Enterprises Ltd incorporates
income earned by Belgrade Production
Services, Conferencing & Events,
Commerical Workshops and ices/
programmes/merchandising.
During 2014/15 each £1 of CCC funding was matched by £3.86 of earned
income which rises to £4.98 with Arts Council funding.
Additional and existing sources of commercial income earned
£904,000 turnover in
2014/15 and £3.3m since 2007.
The Theatre now earns
62% of its income,
up from 46% in 2008/09.
Earned Income:
Box Office 39%
Enterprises* 18%
Fundraising & Sponsorship 3%
Other 2%
The Belgrade Theatre gratefully acknowledges financial support from all our supporters
Thank you to our supporters ...
The Belgrade Theatre Trust is a registered charity (number 219163). This means that all the money given,
raised or earned is not distributed as profit but kept and reinvested in the work that we do. We are reliant
on a number of generous individuals and organisations, who support our work, to make it possible for us to
continue to develop our artistic and educational work and remain central to the communities we serve.
As a result of this particular support last year, we raised over £176,352 in donations and sponsorship. This
enabled us to provide:
44 places for young people in our Asian and Black Youth Theatres
Belgrade Unplugged, which toured venues across Coventry & Warwickshire
and was enjoyed by 600 people
Our Give the Gift of Theatre appeal, providing 362 tickets to see Aladdin for
families facing financial hardship
The production of Only a Day
Improvements to our access facilities
In addition to our Friends’ and Directors’ Club members, The Belgrade Theatre gratefully acknowledges
financial support from the following Trusts & Foundations in 2014/15:
The Norton Foundation, The Grantham Yorke Trust, The Rowlands Trust, The Patrick Trust,
The Elizabeth Swillington Trust, Coventry City Council (Small Arts Grants), The John Thaw
Foundation, The MB Trust, and 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust.
For more information, please visit www.belgrade.co.uk/charity Ph
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We worked with over
137 artists from the UK’s
talent pool in the
creative industries
113 productions
151,000 people experienced
a live performance at
the Belgrade Theatre
Our average ticket
price of £13.28 meant our tickets
were affordable &
accessible
12,875 Children, young people & aged 50+
participated in workshops, and
65,813
people attended performances
for families and young people
£6.6m worth of local
economic impact
We attracted over
£176,352 in philanthropic support
£2.1m Spent on gross
payroll, creating full or part time
employment for over 135 people
£845k Coventry City Council grant
leveraging £942k Arts Council grant
& £125k Project grants
£5mturnover
Coventry’s vibrant producing & presenting theatre
THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT 2014-15
The Belgrade Theatre is a charity. Public funding received from Coventry City
Council, Arts Council England; fund-raising from various Trusts and Foundations;
and Charitable and Business Sponsorship, enables us to leverage considerably
more from earned income generated through ticket and other sales.
Economic Impact Cultural & Social Impact
£4.98 GENERATED FOR EVERY
£1 OF COVENTRY CITY
COUNCIL FUNDING
BROADENING CULTURAL
ENGAGEMENT & SOCIAL
COHESION
£8.2m equivalent value of
press coverage
We earn
62% of our income
Up from 46% in 08/09
4 apprenticeship posts
making 20 since 2009 &
3344 work placement
hours
+
£418k Was paid in
Tax and NI
£204k Was paid in
net VAT
payments
= £622k directly paid to
Government
51%
up on 13/14
42%
up on 13/14