Community theatres at risk after funding blow

Local groups fear they have been ‘forgotten’ as they miss out on government aid

Tayside’s small community theatres are facing an uncertain future after being shut out of a government scheme to save the arts.

Volunteers fear they been “forgotten” after it emerged they are unable to access emergency Covid-19 funding from the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund.

Many groups – responsible for launching professional acting careers including Holywood star Alan Cumming – run their own community theatre buildings.

Like their professional counterparts, they have faced cancelled shows and zero takings since the start of the pandemic in March.

Carnoustie Theatre Club president Dave Ross said the shutdown has so far cost his group more than £20,000 and around half of its 80 members.

He said: “People just drift away. With nothing going on it’s understandable and it’s going to be difficult to get them back.

“Nobody has come near us with an offer of help.”

The club made headlines in May when it was forced to cancel its Christmas panto – the first time the Angus town will have gone without in the group’s 50-year history.

The team behind Monifieth’s MADhouse theatre are facing the same challenges as their Angus counterparts.

A Monifieth Amateur Dramatics spokesman said small theatre groups like the MADhouse were in danger of being “forgotten”.

The group, which produces three main shows, a youth production and a pantomime every year, has managed to get by after receiving a Scottish Government coronavirus business support grant.

Its members have been lobbying local politicians to make them aware of their predicament.

A spokesman said: “We received a reply just as the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund was announced. We were relieved that we would have an opportunity to apply.”

Their fundraising officer then discovered they were not eligible as the theatre group do not have a professional staff, he said.

“We are extremely grateful that we were able to access the business grant, but disappointed to see that we are not eligible for targeted arts funding,” he added.

Dorothy Culloch, chairwoman of Dundee Dramatic Society, said her members and their Little Theatre on Victoria Road were under the same kind of pressure. The 103-capacity theatre normally makes a good income from ticket sales, its bar and renting out its space to other groups, she said.

She said the group were “extremely grateful” for the small business grant that has allowed them to survive, but were facing losses of around £20,000.

“I’m sure our patrons are missing the theatre, but our members are missing them. It is our hobby and we love what we do,” she said.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “At the outset of the pandemic we acted quickly to provide unprecedented financial support and though it will not be possible to reach every person affected by the impact of the pandemic, we are actively considering what more we can do.”

“

Nobody has come near us with an offer of help. DAVE ROSS, CARNOUSTIE THEATRE CLUB PRESIDENT

Members of Carnoustie Theatre Club during their performance of the pantomime Hansel and Gretel last year.