An amateur theatre group in Suffolk says it has been priced out of the venue it has been using for more than 40 years, after it was asked to pay more than double last year’s rate to stage its 2011 pantomime.
Tony Gibbs, chief executive of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, which provides professional support to the amateur sector, said this was a growing problem for non-professional groups across the country.
The Lowestoft Players said they could no longer afford to use the town’s Marina Theatre due to rising charges. They claimed they had been asked to pay £17,000 to stage a pantomime at the venue - an increase from £6,700.
A statement from the group said: “The Players naturally feel that not only is all community theatre being priced out by the new theatre management but the Players’ own considerable contribution, both financially and artistically, has accounted for little.
“We recall with fondness the great work the society contributed in helping to save the Marina from demolition in the mid-eighties. We recall that in the days prior to professional theatre, the Players brought thousands of pounds of revenue to the theatre on a regular basis. Even in the recent past we were still able to earn the theatre a reasonable return.”
The Players, who have performed in the Marina for 42 years, said their upcoming productions, including the pantomime, will go ahead.
The management of the Marina Theatre is in the process of being passed from Waveney District Council to a trust. The council denies the theatre group has been asked to pay as much as £17,000 to stage its pantomime but refused to disclose the figure.
A spokesman for the council said: “In order for the Marina Theatre to survive as a live performance venue, it needs to have a fully sustainable and viable business plan and agree terms with all users that fully reflect the needs of both its audience and future governance. This is particularly relevant given the proposals for the management of the theatre to be passed to the control of a new theatre trust board.”
Gibbs said increasing hire charges were a growing problem for the amateur sector. He added: “Amateur theatre brings stability to a town, yet, in order to try and balance budgets, NODA is hearing that some theatre hire charges are now increasing by over 150% year on year. This will ultimately have the effect of driving away first of all the amateurs, and then the professional tours. And then what - more theatres going dark?”
Reproduced by kind permission of The Stage
