Theatres and arts bodies thrilled to get emergency aid
Bath and North East Somerset arts and cultural organisations are set to receive more than £2 million in funding.
Across the nine establishments in the area £2,207,302 will be shared as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England have announced that 1,385 arts and cultural organisations are to receive a share of £257 million in the South West.
Theatres in the area have done well with the Theatre Royal Bath being one of highest receivers. The Theatre Royal has been awarded £955,192 to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future.
Since closing its doors to the public in March, the Theatre Royal Bath is estimated to have lost over £1.5million, with the absence of audiences in Bath for the high quality touring productions and the hugely popular Summer Season.
The closure of the West End also hit hard as the record-breaking production of Blithe Spirit had to close just one week into its scheduled 12-week run.
Arts Council England funding and support from Innovate UK earlier in the year ensured that The Egg could continue with some innovative provision for outreach and educational activities, and this further funding will ensure that plans can continue for the Theatre’s socially-distanced Welcome
Back Season which opens this week, and to continue to plan into 2021.
Theatre Royal Bath Director, Danny Moar, said: “We are thrilled to receive this news, especially in the week we open our Welcome Back Season after a seven-month closure.
“This funding will help us keep our doors open into the spring of 2021 and beyond. We are delighted that the importance of our work for the people of Bath and beyond has been recognised in this way.”
The Rondo Theatre has been awarded £50,000 which appears to be the minimum amount awarded to an organisation.
During the year up to closure in March 2020, The Rondo had hosted over 30 pieces of new writing, of which approximately two-thirds were receiving their very first performance. The Rondo is also a valuable part of the national touring circuit for small-scale theatre, hosting regional and national tours.
The Rondo also offers regular, guaranteed space for many local community theatre companies. This greatly enhances Bath’s ability to allow members of the community to actively participate in culture.the Rondo also works closely with local educational organisations, from giving space to infant school nativity plays to hosting Bath College’s students during their Level Three diploma performance weeks.
Rondo Artistic Director Ian Mcglynn, said: “We are relieved and delighted to have been awarded this vital grant at a time of crisis for theatres up and down the country.
“Small venues have been especially hit hard, as it’s almost impossible to make socially distanced audiences economically viable, and our small reserves have been eaten up by fixed overheads.
“Although we can’t re-open just yet, this grant will ensure our survival through the Winter, and hopefully into a brighter spring.”
Next Stage Theatre Company, who created and runs The Mission Theatre, received slightly more funding, totalling £51,499.
The money will enable Next Stage to forge ahead with its planned re-opening of The Mission Theatre for late-autumn and spring seasons. Next Stage’s successful bid will enable all planned productions from this highly acclaimed local company to go ahead.
The Government grant will pay for the wide range of PPE equipment that Next Stage has put in place to protect, as far as possible, audience members, cast and crew.
Next Stage has also invested hundreds of pounds in Condencide an evaporator and condenser cleaner which treats the ventilation, A/C and heating systems in The Mission Theatre to kill 99% of germs.
The funding will also help to pay some of the utility bills, rent and outgoings that are part of The Mission
Theatre’s monthly obligations but which have been crippling since March when the theatre had to close and had no way of generating income.
Ann Ellison, Artistic Director and founder of Next Stage said: “It is with the greatest relief and gratitude that this financial lifeline from the Government has been provided for theatres and cultural venues not only in Bath but around the country.”
Komedia, which is set to reopen, had already received £20,000 of emergency funding from Arts Council England, as well as £25,000 from the Power to Change Fund, which was awarded only to community owned, mutuals and cooperative businesses. They have now received £210,000 in emergency funding as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
This will help sustain the business as they re-open in a Covidsafe way, and as they take steps towards rebuilding our diverse program of music, comedy and cabaret.
The venue said: “Receiving this funding is a huge relief for everyone at Komedia Bath and we’re very grateful to Music Venues Trust and Arts Council England for their help.”
It added: “The funding will go towards towards covering our costs - our bills, utilities, and suppliers who have waited patiently for us to pay them, some since March, and it will help support the business as we re-open in a Covid-safe way.”
Other organisations that are benefitting from the funding are Bath Festivals (£100,000), Bath International Comedy Festival (£75,000), George Street (Bath) Ltd (£249,300), Holburne Museum (£326,408) and Jane Austen Ltd (£189,903).
Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum said: “It is an invaluable lifeline for us as it is for the many financially vulnerable organisations that make up the cultural life of the country, our city and our region.”
CEO of Bath Festivals, Ian Stockley, said: “Bath Festivals are delighted to have received the emergency funding.”
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse said: “Our arts community provides a beacon of hope for the future of our city, and I’m glad that the government has listened to the calls for support that I and many others have been making in Parliament.
Applicants for grants of over £1 million, as well as those who applied to round two of the fund and the Repayable Finance programme, will be notified shortly.
❝ This funding will help us keep our doors open into the spring of 2021 and beyond. We are delighted that the importance of work .... has been recognised Danny Moar, Theatre Royal