Sir
I have been
reading the various comments in favour of a city centre theatre with interest.
However, I feel I must respond in a personal capacity to some of Dick
Passmore’s comments [ “Bid for new city centre
theatre” E&E 27 Sept 2012 ].
As a theatre
sound designer, I help people suspend their disbelief.
However, as a
City Councillor I have to deal with harsh economic reality.
I am glad that he
realises that the cost of a 1000-1200 seater auditorium would be in the region
for £30-40 million.
When I spoke to a
supporter of the scheme at the Guildhall event [another of your correspondents],
I was told that it would cost a lot less than the £40 million I mentioned.
I believe that it
would actually cost more. The most recently built civic project is the Aylesbury
Waterside which opened 2 years ago at a cost of £47 million. Just to service
the debt alone would be in the region of £3 million a year.
But it’s fine. Mr
Passmore says that it would be easy to get 50% grant from the Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) and 50% in sponsorship.
Using money raised through the
National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) gives grants to sustain and
transform our heritage. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology,
natural environment and cultural traditions we invest in every part of our
diverse heritage.
I’ve yet to see
the HLF give big grants to NEW theatres. The clue is in the name. They support
HERITAGE projects – and to further these aims, they look to renovate, conserve
and modernise buildings and other many other different things from the past that
need to be passed onto future generations.
Thus, Bristol Old
Vic have submitted a sizeable application to the HLF for extensive renovations
to the Theatre Royal there, but funds for a new Theatre Royal in Exeter would
be unlikely to come from the HLF.
Now lets look at
sponsorship. Several years back, The Exeter Northcott had ambitious plans to
raise £2 million from trusts, sponsorship and donations to fund the
redevelopment and refurbishment of the theatre – they fell well short of their
target and had to rein in many of their plans.
The successful
Theatre Royal in Plymouth raises £100,000 per year from their corporate
sponsors. It is hard to get concrete figures on what the Royal Court received
to rename their studio space the Jerwood Upstairs , but was it really in the
region of £15 million? If Mr Passmore knows different, I for one, would be very
interested in knowing the figure.
I’ve only been
considering the cost of erecting the building so far. Once built it needs to be
filled with productions and audiences. Returning to Aylesbury, the local
council there pays a management company £25,000 a month to run the theatre for
them. The council gets no financial return – yet this £288K per year is much
less that the £750K they used to pay to run their Civic Hall which the
Waterside replaced. They are saving money with this new build – Exeter City
Council would have to find this money.
Someone
overhearing my conversation at the Guildhall commented “I’m glad it’s not my
money” Oh, but it would be. From your council tax – and a council tax we’re not
allowed to raise by more than 3.5% in the current year. So what should I vote
to cut to fund a city centre theatre?
And could we fill
this 1000-1200 seater auditorium? Mr Passmore’s exhibition attracted some 750
visitors on that Saturday. The new theatre would need to attract at l least that
number of people for each of 8 performances a week that would need to be
programmed to make economic sense.
To return to
Plymouth, the Theatre Royal is one of the best in the country at maximising its
earned income – in the region of 83% comes from ticket sales, bar, restaurant
and ice cream sales, the set building that happens at TR2 workshops for
productions all round the world, etc. Yet, each seat sold is subsidised by
£2.50 from the Arts Council. Yes, even those £50 tickets for Oliver. It is highly unlikely that the
Arts Council would fund another theatre in Devon to the tune of £1million plus.
And if they did,
it would threaten the viability of both theatres. My colleague, Council Leader
Cllr Pete Edwards, was heavily criticised here and elsewhere when he said "We have a big theatre in Plymouth and if we had one
similar in Exeter I think it would destroy both.”
But this assertion
is borne out by the figures? Many of the big municipal theatres in Manchester,
Sheffield, etc have over 2 million people living within a radius of 50 miles.
Plymouth has fewer that 500,000 within that radius. Even if we extend that
limit to 100 miles, there are still fewer than 1 million residents. Can 2
cities draw significant audiences from this population – I believe not.
Is there
overwhelming support for a city centre theatre?
So back to
figures. 750 people visited the Guildhall to see the old Theatre Royal
exhibition, yet only 300 or so signed the petition. Indeed I saw several
emphatic “NO”s on the petition sheets. Fewer than 50% of the visitors with an
interest in theatre think the plan is a viable idea. On Mr Passmore’s own
figures, the scheme doesn’t attract a majority.
I wish Dick and
his team of dreamers well. I want to dream alongside them, but I also have to
deal with facts. A petition won’t get a theatre built – only hard cash will. If
his band of supporters could raise a significant portion of that £47 million, I
for one may be willing to suspend my disbelief that in the current economic
climate a city centre theatre is not really viable.
Yours
Cllr Paul Bull
Labour and
Co-operative Councillor for Cowick
Instead it formed the basis of an article
