Agenda item

The Executive Member for Wellbeing introduced the report. She said that the Hertford Theatre Growth and Legacy Project was on track for opening in Spring 2024, and that in anticipation for the opening of the new building a pricing strategy needed to be confirmed.

Councillor Williams referred to the table shown on page 65 of the report. He said that the proposed hire charges could be seen from line 12 of the table (which factored in inflation and the increase in the theatre’s capacity) and asked for clarification as to why a figure of a third had been used.   

The Theatre Director and East Herts Council Arts Advisor said that the figures presented needed to meet the business case. He said that the 12.5% increase (which represented a third) shown in the proposed pricing was an attempt to not fully reflect the increase in the theatre’s capacity from 400 – 550 seats in the hire charges.

Councillor Williamson asked if a figure of a half would be deemed too expensive.

The Theatre Director and East Herts Council Arts Advisor said that using a figure of a half would be too expensive, and that benchmarking against other comparable theatres had been done. 

Councillor Jacobs referred to paragraph 2.13 of the report and asked how the variety of terms upon which productions are made available to the theatre aligned with the fixed price regime outlined.

The Theatre Director and East Herts Council Arts Advisor said that curated programme events did not come into the theatre on a hire basis. He said that instead a deal would be agreed with the artist’s promoter, and this differed from the fixed pricing which was applied when a customer wished to take the building in its entirety.

The Theatre Director and East Herts Council Arts Advisor said that the curated programme looked to develop different audiences and a give a breadth and depth of offers. He said that he was comfortable to support non-professional organisations where reasonably possible, but from a business aspect it would not be sensible to carry the risk of such shows within the curated programme. 

The Head of Operations said that the project looked to increase theatre participation and remove intimidation, with a balance between commercial and community outreach. She said that the theatre team were experts in this area, with an understanding of the local community, including the needs of marginalised groups.    

Councillor Deering said that Hertford Theatre will be fantastic for all in East Herts. He said that the Theatre Director and East Herts Council Arts Advisor and his team deserved credit for the challenging project as did the previous administration. 

It was moved by Councillor Hart and seconded by Councillor Woollcombe, that the recommendations, as detailed, be approved. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that (A) the principle of, and approach to, charging for all aspects of the new Hertford Theatre building, as outlined in the report be endorsed, in order to inform the Executive’s consideration for adoption.