Agenda item

The Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing submitted a report detailing the fifth annual report for Hertford Theatre. 

The Head of Communications, Engagement and Cultural Services explained the main elements of the report concluding that the figures showed that this was another successful story of continued business growth.  He referred to the mid-term potential alternative governance options, the detail of which was set out in the report.  It was noted that from April 2016, the theatre would be open on Sundays as well.

The Director of Hertford Theatre provided a summary of the report in terms of his vision to consolidate the Theatre’s position as an arts venue both locally and further afield to expose the theatre’s work and further increase audiences.  He explained that the Arts Council had granted the Theatre a “Producers Fellowship” to develop a greater understanding of services to all audiences across the District.  The Director commented on other challenges in terms of audience inclusivity and referred to a planned performance of “Welcome to Biscuit Land” by a performer living with Tourette’s Syndrome and of proposals to introduce “relaxed” cinema performances for people suffering with autism and other challenging conditions. 

Councillor J Jones congratulated both the Director of Hertford Theatre and the Head of Communications, Engagement and Cultural Services for the excellent figures achieved and of the growing popularity of the Theatre.  He hoped that Buntingford could benefit from satellite links to the Theatre and to performances.

Councillor D Oldridge referred to the “patchy” figures achieved in the cinema and queried what could be done to maximise attendance.  The Director stated that although there was a large choice of films, Members needed to have regard to the fact that the Theatre was one of the largest independent cinemas in the country with a 408 seat auditorium.  He stated that the pricing policy was constantly reviewed and competitive and that the pricing for Saturday mornings had been reduced to appeal to a family audience. 

Councillor M Pope thanked the Officers for the detailed report and asked whether benchmarking and comparative figures could be included in future reports.  This was supported.  In response to a further question in relation to negative feedback about the cooling systems and technical equipment, the Director provided an update on recent work undertaken to address this.

The Chairman praised the work of the volunteers.  The Front of House Manager explained that the Theatre had a fantastic team of 70 at the moment which was sufficient to deliver the current programme.

Councillor D Oldridge referred to wheel chair access to the stage and back stage and queried what could be done to rectify this.  The Director explained that the Theatre was fully wheel chair accessible for people coming to watch shows but back stage remained a problem.  He summarised the difficulties and that an audit had revealed that the costs would be “astronomical” to reconfigure what was currently there in terms of the differing floor levels and the narrowness of the corridors.

In response to a query from Councillor M Pope regarding the marketing strategy, the Marketing Manager explained that the Theatre had a structured and collaborative approach to marketing to achieve good value for money and was making increasing use of online media. 

The Chairman, on behalf of Members, thanked the Director and his team at Hertford Theatre for another successful update and looked forward to next year’s report.

The Committee received the report.

RESOLVED – that (A) the Annual Report for Hertford Theatre for the year 2014/15 be received;

(B)   the cohort of volunteers be congratulated and thanked for their contribution to the success of the venue; and

(C)   benchmarking and comparative data on discrete strands of the business be included in future reports.