Harrogate Theatre announce
details of record breaking year
Harrogate Theatre has today announced
details of their past financial year which has seen the Theatre celebrating an award-winning and record breaking twelve
months.
You can download a copy of Harrogate Theatre's 2009/10 Annual Review at the bottom of this news item.
Harrogate Theatre’s achievements for 2009/10
include:
-
The highest ever level of
audience attendance.
·
98,000 people attended 360 live events which was an increase of 36% on the previous year.
·
The
flourishing artistic programme saw all the productions play to an average of 71% full houses.
·
34% increased attendance by people from
Harrogate & District
·
41% increase in patrons from York postcodes.
·
54% increase from Leeds
postcodes.
-
Money
taken through the Box Office surpassed
the £1.1million mark for the first time in its history.
-
Harrogate
Theatre’s economic impact on Harrogate and District during 2009/10 rose by 50% and stands at over £6.2million.
-
Awards
won during 2009/10 include:
·
Harrogate Hospitality &
Tourism Award
for ‘Achievement of the Year’ in recognition of the work undertaken during
2009/10 + ‘Unsung Hero of the Year’ for front of house volunteer Derick England.
·
Harrogate
Youth Theatre became the first Youth Theatre in the UK to be awarded the Sound Systems Accreditation for their
work in safeguarding children and young people.
·
Harrogate
Youth Theatre also collected four awards
at the Nidderdale Drama Festival.
-
The
third phase of restoration and
refurbishment of Harrogate Theatre was completed. The Circle Bar area was
completely transformed with many of its original features restored to match the
elegance of the Main Auditorium and public stairwells.
-
New initiatives launched for patrons with visual
and hearing impairments to access Harrogate Theatre productions.
-
Celebrated the 110th
Birthday
with an unveiling of a heritage plaque.
All
of this has left the Theatre in a very strong position to develop as a valuable
and progressive arts organisation that can serve the whole of North
Yorkshire.
The
Theatre’s education and outreach
department continued to be a vital part of the Theatre’s operation with
workshops and educational support being undertaken in schools as well as
expanding the activity of Harrogate Youth
Theatre.
2009/10
saw Harrogate Theatre deliver its
busiest programme of live events with work across both the Main Auditorium and
Studio Theatre. Its annual pantomime
continued to prove a popular draw for people from across the region as Aladdin broke all box office records
with 94% of all seats sold which is over 30,000 tickets. The relationship
with Oldham Coliseum and Anvil Arts, Basingstoke continued with productions of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit and Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends.
Also
a whole host of professional touring companies stopped off at Harrogate
to perform as part of national tours allowing people to experience a wide
selection of entertainment on their doorstep. Highlights for 2009/10 included
the World Premiere and only Yorkshire
date for Tamasha Theatre’s
Bollywood reworking of Wuthering Heights,
three evenings of South Asian music and dance co-produced between Harrogate
Theatre and Kala Sangham, Hull Truck Theatre Company returned, Bush Theatre & Dialogue Productions
made their debut visit with three Neil
LaBute plays and Icarus Theatre
revisited two classic plays.
Comedy once again helped put Harrogate Theatre on the map with a
performance by Eddie Izzard followed
by the inaugural Harrogate Comedy
Festival. Over 5000 people attended the Festival which saw fourteen
separate performances by some of the country’s leading comedians.
With
this phenomenal year complete Harrogate
Theatre has now announced further plans
for 2010/11 which include:
-
4 Co-productions with Tamasha Theatre, North
Country Theatre, Oldham Coliseum
& Anvil Arts, Basingstoke and Icarus Theatre.
-
The
education department will continue
to offer a wide programme of outreach projects.
-
the
restoration work will continue focusing
on the backstage area
-
the
second Harrogate Comedy Festival
will run between 7-23 October with over 40 comedians in 15 days
Jim Clark, Chairman of Harrogate Theatre said: “Harrogate Theatre has completed a very successful year against the
backdrop of very difficult times for the country. Without the support,
enthusiasm, commitment and dedication of the people of this District we could not
have accomplished achievements such as the third phase of our building
refurbishment and on behalf of all the team at the Theatre I express our thanks
to you all.
Looking ahead I am
extremely excited by our plans to work even more closely with diverse sections
of our community as we roll out our social inclusion programmes. This will
include the expansion of our Youth Theatre, Harrogate Theatre productions touring
more rural venues and working with young people who do not have English as a
first language.
We face difficult times
ahead in light of the national financial landscape but we face it with optimism
and we take seriously our stewardship of this jewel in Harrogate’s
crown.”
David Bown, Chief Executive of Harrogate Theatre said: “These
end
of year results for the Theatre are very good. As we enter into very
uncertain economic times, I believe that Harrogate Theatre has
announced itself
as an organisation that understands its role within the cultural
landscape of North Yorkshire, setting itself relevant, robust and
challenging targets that are consistently met.
With
continued support from its partners Harrogate Theatre is now in a position to
develop into a progressive arts organisation that services its immediate and
wider communities providing a significant contribution to the local and
regional economies, making a strong case for the continued strategic presence
of the performing arts in Harrogate and District.”