Western Morning News (Saturday)

Show goes on for theatre after £10m loss during 2020

- WILLIAM TELFORD william.telford@reachplc.com

THE boss of Theatre Royal Plymouth says it could take two years for the business to bounce back from the £10million hit it took during 2020 – but it is unlikely to be curtains for the venue.

Adrian Vinken, chief executive of the UK’s largest regional theatre, said 2021 will still pose a major challenge for Theatre Royal Plymouth, but he is confident there is a programme of shows in the pipeline which will tide it over for the next year at least, provided the building is not ordered to shut again due to any upsurge in the coronaviru­s pandemic.

That is vital not just for TRP, but for Plymouth and the South West too, with research showing that under normal circumstan­ces it puts £43million into the economy each year.

TRP was allowed to reopen in December, with restrictio­ns in operation, as Plymouth was placed in Tier 2 by the Government. Since then it has attracted good-sized audiences to its three Christmas shows: The Gingerbrea­d Man, The Thing That Came from Over There and the panto Robinson Crusoe, starring Les Dennis.

With TRP’s main 1,300-capacity Lyric auditorium only able to contain a maximum of 550 socially-distanced theatre-goers, it means the business will have to scrape by in 2021, perhaps with more financial help from the Government or Arts Council England.

TRP has already received £1,896,000 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and £400,000 of National Lottery cash to enable it to stage its panto.

Mr Vinken said his counterpar­ts in Newcastle, Manchester, Leicester, Sheffield and at London’s Palladium had all planned Christmas shows only to have them cancelled by tighter restrictio­ns. “We are fortunate to be one of the few theatres that can operate, with three shows and up to five performanc­es a day,” he said.

Mr Vinken said the theatre, which was badly impacted by the lockdowns and forced to shed about 100 jobs, has enough support cash to see it through to April 2021. He said from then on it will be reliant on a “strong programme” of shows to keep it viable, and is hoping that the arrival of vaccines, and the return to a more normal social life for the nation, will see TRP through the year.

“Until summer it is patchy,” he said. “We will lose money for a period next year and will need a degree of support, but by the end of 2021, provided things unlock we should be on a balanced budget. We have a difficult year to get through, financiall­y taxing, but have things in place to enable us to do that.

“But we don’t expect that once the economy relaxes we will go back to the same level of attendance­s we enjoyed last February. We think it will take a year or two to get back to that level, but we will have a base to work from.”

TRP, though its box office and catering, earns about £12million to £14million annually – under normal conditions. During 2020, the coronaviru­s pandemic has cost it about £10million.

We will lose money for a period and will need support, but by the end of 2021, provided things unlock we should be on a balanced budget ADRIAN VINKEN

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 ?? Erin Black ?? The Theatre Royal Plymouth is now welcoming back audiences, on a socially-distanced basis
Erin Black The Theatre Royal Plymouth is now welcoming back audiences, on a socially-distanced basis

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