One way or other, our show will go on says boss
Gaiety planning a September opener
When Jeremy Wyatt was told to shut his theatre with just hours’ notice, a chill ran down his spine.
As CEO at the iconic Ayr Gaiety, Wyatt is the paid executive frontman of a herculean volunteer effort in the background.
The theatre, like many others of its type, has faced threats to its very existence down the years.
But on March 16 when the government told the public to steer clear, the drama usually reserved for the stage became altogether more real.
Shows booked through spring and summer were axed with immediate effect as Gaiety bosses scrambled for cover. But the grim reality was stark. The boards of this brilliant theatre would not be tread for many months.
Without shows, there are no audiences. And without audiences, there is no income.
Vital as it is to a community theatre such as the Gaiety.
“There is no disguising the fact that when closed, we were not certain that we would be able to open the Theatre again,” said Jeremy.
“Stopping any organisation in its tracks with no notice, with no real idea of what would happen next, is not easy.
“Our financial position, as a charity and as an organisation only recently having completed a major refurbishment, was not strong.”
Since the first fire in the building, which took place only 333 days after it first opened in 1903, The Gaiety has faced many hurdles.
“There’s no disguising the fact that this is a big one,” admitted Jeremy.”
Rebooking shows for next year – a “massive logistical effort” – quickly gave way to forming an action plan to preserve the theatre’s very life.
Jeremy said: “We moved soon and that helped matters.
“But we also have one of the most loyal audiences in the UK.
“Around 80 per cent of ticket holders were happy to move to a new date or keep a credit on their account for a different show or sometime in the future.
“And some even turned their purchase into a donation.
“In many other theatres the number of people requiring refunds has been two and three times as many as in Ayr.”
Rescue funding of £ 125,000, through the government’s third sector resilience fund and a business grant, came at a vital time. And with South Ayrshire Council hailed as “helpful and flexible” in its support, the theatre is looking to ride the roughest of the storm.
Jeremy added: “Because most of our income comes from sales, without this funding we would otherwise have had to shut down the organisation.
“So the Scottish Government funding response time of around 10 days from announcement to money appearing in our bank account was truly incredible.”
The Gaiety’s unseen army of volunteers have been unable to access the theatre for seven weeks now – and the dust will continue to gather for many weeks more.
Gaiety bosses are pencilled in for a September relaunch.
But Wyatt knows that hanging his hat on a packed house for panto season is a gamble in the current climate.
He said: “Our plan is very much in place for September 1 and we can only work towards that date.
“But over the next few weeks and months we don’t plan for the Gaiety to stay quiet.
“We are planning a whole range of online activities through our new ‘ Gaiety
Lockdown’ channel.
“Our website will soon be home to a whole range of videos – from small scale performances to major events.”
But he cautioned: “Despite all our exciting plans, there is of course a chance these may not be able to go ahead.
“If we have to reopen in a staged way, we will do so. We could even equip the theatre with state of the art cameras that would enable shows on the stage to be broadcast – for example if there are still some segments of our audience who can’t make it to the theatre even after reopening.
“If theatres are closed for a long time then we will need to secure additional funding to be able to survive.
“But we know that we have a large number of supporters in our local community.
“And the Gaiety is, after all, one of Scotland’s national treasures.
“So we are confident that, one way or another, our story will continue.”