Relaunch bid to woo audiences back to city centre theatre amid cash crisis.

Move considered as part of performance review aimed at winning back audiences

Perth Theatre could be relaunched for a second time, as bosses try to battle their way out of a deepening financial crisis.

The historic city centre venue reopened its doors after a £16.6 million renovation two years ago.

However, culture chiefs say it is time to give the theatre another fresh start as part of a wide-ranging performance review aimed at winning back audiences.

It comes after Perth and Kinross Council was forced to bail out operators Horsecross Arts when the scale of its cash flow problems became clear.

The organisation, which reported a healthy forecast at the start of the summer, is now facing a deficit of £74,000.

The council’s chief accountant, Scott Walker, who was parachuted in to provide financial management in August, said a series of “errors and omissions” – as well as an assumption about Creative Scotland funding – had caused Horsecross’s cash flow position to plummet by £330,000 between June and July.

The local authority was forced to bring forward funding of £180,000 in August to pay staff wages.

Addressing members of the council’s scrutiny committee, Mr Walker said poor forecasting at Horsecross had been a major factor in its downfall.

Both the theatre and Perth Concert Hall are now under review, with possible changes to governance, staffing structures and events programmes.

Horsecross chairman Magnus Linklater said Mr Walker and the council’s head of culture, Fiona Robertson, who was installed as interim leader, had “brought a greater sense of stability to the whole operation”.

He said: “The theatre is the biggest challenge that we face. We need to get that body of work which is going to bring audiences back into the theatre.”

Mr Linklater, who called for the council to help with marketing theatre shows in the same way it marketed the Solheim Cup, said: “We need to get a better balance of the mainstream and the quality of what we do.”

Horsecross vice-chairman Jason Elles said income generated in the first quarter of the year had been disappointing.

“Primarily, that was as a result of some poor food sales,” he said.

“Interestingly enough, we had a large conference there and they didn’t want any food at all, which rather surprised us.”

Ms Robertson added: “Scott is putting systems in place so that staff can take a tighter control of what is being spent, and what the organisation is earning.

“Programmes are absolutely key to a sustainable future. But at the moment, the approach to programming is causing difficulties.

“There are some issues about getting a really good understanding of audiences, both who they are and – crucially - who they aren’t.”

We need to get a better balance of the mainstream and the quality of what we do. MAGNUS LINKLATER

Actors from Frankenstein, now running at Perth Theatre, beneath the RRS Discovery in Dundee.