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4 NEWS ‘Hellish limbo’: Summerhall artists fear for money owed FERGUS MORGAN Dozens of producers, companies and artists that staged shows at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have been left in limbo over money earned from ticket sales, after HMRC filed a winding-up petition against the venue over unpaid corporation tax. Summerhall Management Ltd, the company that operates Summerhall, has taken legal action against the petition. It is currently unable to make payments worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to shows because of the HMRC action. Playwright Laura Horton, whose play Lynn Faces ran at Summerhall during the fringe, told The Stage she was owed a share of box-office revenue of more than £15,000. Commenting on the winding-up petition, Horton said: “I feel extremely anxious about what this means and the potential outcome. “I don’t have expendable income, the fringe was a risk for me and I’d already lost some money, so this has the potential to impact my future work and financial stability.” Another artist that performed at Summerhall in August but who wished to remain anonymous told The Stage they were owed more than £10,000 and had been left in “a pretty hellish limbo”. They said: “It’s an enormous amount of money and there’s no way I can settle any outstanding fees myself in the short term.” Summerhall is in the process of being sold by owners Oesselmann Estate Ltd, with responsibility for running its artistic programme being taken over by Summerhall Arts, a new charity separate from Summerhall Management. The complex structure of the fringe, which involves multiple box offices, means income earned through ticket sales sits with several different parties. Sam Gough, chief executive of Summerhall Arts, which is liaising with artists over the payments, said: “Money from tickets bought through our box office is in our bank account. Money from tickets sold through the Fringe Society is in its bank account. “We are working as fast as we can with our lawyers and the Fringe Society to ring-fence and safeguard both of those things, and get all of this fixed, so that we can pay out the box-office money that is due to companies by the end of October.” In a statement, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “We have been in close contact with the management team at Summerhall to offer our support and better understand what implications this may have for artists. “We recognise that this news will be concerning for fringe artists, and our artist services team is here to support any participant who may be affected.” James Brining named artistic director of Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre FERGUS MORGAN James Brining has been appointed artistic director and co-chief executive of Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre. Brining, who is currently artistic director of Leeds Playhouse, will take over from David Greig in April 2025. Brining said: “It has been a huge honour to have been a custodian of Leeds Playhouse, rooted in the city and the region I was brought up in and care about deeply.” He continued: “I am very proud of all that has been achieved but I am ready for a new challenge, and I am thrilled to be returning to a place I love.” Before his current role at Leeds Playhouse, Brining was artistic director and chief executive of Dundee Rep from 2003 until 2012 and, prior to that, artistic director of the Glasgow-based company TAG from 1997 until 2003. During his time at Dundee Rep, he commissioned and directed the world premiere of The Proclaimers musical Sunshine on Leith. Brining has also served as chair of the Federation of Scottish Theatre and as a founding trustee of the Playwrights’ Studio Scotland. Brining said: “I have seen some incredible work at the Lyceum over the past 30 years and it is such a privilege to have the opportunity to lead such an important Scottish and UK theatre in its next chapter. “While I am aware of the current challenges the sector is facing, I am hugely optimistic about the opportunities to create fantastic and meaningful work in this beautiful and iconic space and beyond.” Outgoing artistic director Greig said: “James has the skills, experience and boldness we need. I can’t wait to see what his plans are.” He added: “I look forward to supporting him and the Lyceum as an audience member, an artist and a Lyceum fan for the years ahead.” Theatre leaders call for overhaul of all-white male boards KATIE CHAMBERS Theatre figures including Talawa Theatre boss Carolyn Forsyth and Tamasha artistic director Pooja Ghai have hit out at “hierarchical” theatre governance by predominantly white male boards. Speaking at an event at London’s Royal Court, at which the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama launched its research into post-pandemic-lockdown theatre, Forsyth issued a provocation to attendees to “google the top organisations, their leadership and their funders”. “We need to call a spade a spade,” the executive director and joint chief executive of Talawa Theatre said, adding: “Who’s important? Who decides what gets funding? They all look the same. Front of house is often very diverse, and then you go up to middle management and it’s not too bad. But then you get to senior leadership, executives and the board, and the colour, the disabilities – they disappear.” She called for an upheaval of “top-down” governance by demographically homogenous boards, which she said often did not include artists, declaring theatre’s current leadership structures “not fit for purpose”. Ghai echoed Forsyth’s critique when questioning the panel, which saw Forsyth in conversation about governance with Central academic Louise Owen and Playwrights’ Studio Scotland creative director Louise Stephens. Ghai said: “So much of our governance and our funders is white-led and predominantly male. Power doesn’t look like me. We need to think about how our boards not only get more money in, but also about programming and representation.” Ghai also hit out at a culture of censorship in the sector at large, alluding to boards’ culpability. OCTOBER 17 2024 ALSO ONLINE Private investment in the arts could be “unlocked” after the creative industries were identified as one of eight “growth-driving sectors” in the government’s new industrial strategy. Labour’s strategy, entitled Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, aims to attract international money. A report commissioned by Laidlaw Opera Trust into public perceptions of opera has found that although audiences deemed it an impressive and timeless art form, opera is “consistently” considered “expensive, exclusive and pompous”. Arts Council England has acknowledged the insufficient consideration it gave to education and access initiatives – as well as “limited” audience data – in its analysis of UK opera earlier this year. But despite “extreme” funding pressures, it insisted there was still a sector-wide appetite for new approaches in the medium. The public is a step closer to seeing the theatre where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is believed to have debuted, thanks to the completion of an east London museum. Four centuries after the Elizabethan Curtain Playhouse staged its final plays, the theatre’s archeological remains are nearly ready to go on show. A historic South Wales entertainment venue has staved off immediate closure. Blackwood Miners’ Institute has resumed bookings for January shows, as Caerphilly County Borough Council confirmed it would no longer be mothballing the building to make savings as soon as December this year. APPOINTMENTS Director and producer James Dacre has been appointed chair of Theatre503 in London. He will take up the post at the end of November, succeeding Erica Whyman, who is stepping down after a decade. Pembrokeshire’s Torch Theatre chief executive Benjamin Lloyd has stepped down after five years at the helm. He used his parting words to appeal to the government to protect the creative industries.
page 5
OCTOBER thestage.co.uk/news Central School proposes voluntary redundancies amid sector challenges GEORGIA LUCKHURST PATRICK BALDWIN The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is consulting staff on a proposed voluntary redundancy scheme, admitting the next few years look “increasingly challenging”. The north London drama school said there was no “set target” for applications to the severance programme, but told The Stage it “must work to reduce its cost base” to ensure its “financial sustainability”. Like universities and conservatoires across the country, Central, which employs 240 permanent staff members, is feeling the pinch – with a representative saying it anticipated a further rise in staffing and operational costs. The school’s redundancy plans come against the backdrop of a dire state of higher-educational finances, attributed to factors including the freezing of tuition fees in 2017, a fall in foreign student numbers and the wider economic situation, which, in recent years, has experienced rampant inflation. The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama A spokesperson for Central said the school was not immune to this context, explaining: “The educational landscape is constantly evolving and, like many institutions, Central is navigating a challenging sector environment. “With staffing and operational costs projected to rise further, the next few years are going to be increasingly challenging for the sector. “Central is in the fortunate position of being able to build on the foundations of its excellence in teaching and research, but the school must work to reduce its cost base to protect and ensure its financial sustainability for the short, medium and long term.” They continued: “The decision to consult on a proposed voluntary severance scheme has not been taken lightly and is only one part of Central’s strategic response to the challenges ahead.” The scheme, including its terms, is currently under consultation with staff and unions. If agreed, it would be made available to all eligible staff from across the school. It would not be limited to any specific departments. Asked whether compulsory redundancies could follow, the spokesperson clarified: “At the moment, the school is only exploring voluntary severance. “This is being explored alongside other cost-saving measures and without a set target for applications to the scheme.” In recent months, several highereducation institutions across the country have made cuts to their departments – with reductions often concentrated in the arts and creative subjects. Universities including Surrey, Kent, Goldsmiths and Queen Mary University of London have reeled from restructuring, while leaders in the sector have warned that the funding crisis could even imperil the stability of the creative industries themselves. Founded in 1906 by voice pioneer Elsie Fogerty, Central counts the likes of John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier among its alumni and is a member of both Conservatoires UK and the Federation of Drama Schools. Rose Bruford boss: Maintaining audition fees means only the privileged will be able to train GEORGIA LUCKHURST Rose Bruford College principal Randall Whittaker has criticised drama schools that continue to charge audition fees, saying they are working only to “preserve the status quo”. Whittaker, principal and chief executive of the Greater London school, said: “My biggest fear is that if we don’t all work together and tackle these barriers, this training will become for people who can afford it.” Speaking following the installation of Rose Bruford’s new president, Ray Fearon, Whittaker told The Stage that one of his first moves upon joining the school in September 2023 had been to remove audition fees for undergraduate courses. But when asked his opinion of Equity’s campaign to abolish the practice of charging applicants, he said change was “too slow” to take place. Where other schools, including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, have defended audition fees, Whittaker said: “If only people who can afford this come [to drama schools], we will hear the same accents, we will see the same faces. That’s not entertainment.” The principal, who was previously pro-vice-chancellor at Leeds Arts University and studied music at conservatoires in South Africa, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, also called on leaders of institutions including his own to “sit together” and have “frank discussions” about their expectations of students. Whittaker continued: “We do need a paradigm shift. The world has moved on and I really think this idea of intensive drama training or performing arts training where we quantify intensity with teaching hours is something I struggle with. “What happens to those students who have to work? We are in a cost-ofliving crisis. “Many of my students have to work and they find it very difficult to balance the two. There are students with caring responsibilities and those with family needs. Thirty hours in the studio is a lot to ask.” He suggested that, in the six specialist institutions he had worked in, he had seen a potential “link between the intensity of training with the demand for student support services, counselling and hardship”. Whittaker admitted that he did not have the answers to what comprehensive performing arts training could look like, but said now was the time to reimagine the structure currently in place. Rose Bruford celebrated the installation of Fearon on October 9. The actor, who has performed at theatres including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National, succeeds novelist and fellow Rose Bruford graduate Bernardine Evaristo. Do you work on stage, backstage, front of house, on camera, behind camera? Are you unable to work due to illness or injury? Are you in financial difficulties? The contact The Royal Theatrical Fund RIf you have answered yes to all of these questions and have worked professionally in the entertainment industry for seven years, oyalTheatricalFund www.trtf.com 020 7836 3322 admin@trtf.com Reg Charity 222080

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4

NEWS

‘Hellish limbo’: Summerhall artists fear for money owed

FERGUS MORGAN

Dozens of producers, companies and artists that staged shows at Summerhall during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have been left in limbo over money earned from ticket sales, after HMRC filed a winding-up petition against the venue over unpaid corporation tax.

Summerhall Management Ltd, the company that operates Summerhall, has taken legal action against the petition. It is currently unable to make payments worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to shows because of the HMRC action.

Playwright Laura Horton, whose play Lynn Faces ran at Summerhall during the fringe, told The Stage she was owed a share of box-office revenue of more than £15,000.

Commenting on the winding-up petition, Horton said: “I feel extremely anxious about what this means and the potential outcome.

“I don’t have expendable income, the fringe was a risk for me and I’d already lost some money, so this has the potential to impact my future work and financial stability.”

Another artist that performed at Summerhall in August but who wished to remain anonymous told The Stage they were owed more than £10,000 and had been left in “a pretty hellish limbo”.

They said: “It’s an enormous amount of money and there’s no way I can settle any outstanding fees myself in the short term.”

Summerhall is in the process of being sold by owners Oesselmann Estate Ltd, with responsibility for running its artistic programme being taken over by Summerhall Arts, a new charity separate from Summerhall Management.

The complex structure of the fringe, which involves multiple box offices, means income earned through ticket sales sits with several different parties.

Sam Gough, chief executive of Summerhall Arts, which is liaising with artists over the payments, said: “Money from tickets bought through our box office is in our bank account. Money from tickets sold through the Fringe Society is in its bank account.

“We are working as fast as we can with our lawyers and the Fringe Society to ring-fence and safeguard both of those things, and get all of this fixed, so that we can pay out the box-office money that is due to companies by the end of October.”

In a statement, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “We have been in close contact with the management team at Summerhall to offer our support and better understand what implications this may have for artists.

“We recognise that this news will be concerning for fringe artists, and our artist services team is here to support any participant who may be affected.”

James Brining named artistic director of Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre

FERGUS MORGAN

James Brining has been appointed artistic director and co-chief executive of Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre.

Brining, who is currently artistic director of Leeds Playhouse, will take over from David Greig in April 2025.

Brining said: “It has been a huge honour to have been a custodian of Leeds Playhouse, rooted in the city and the region I was brought up in and care about deeply.”

He continued: “I am very proud of all that has been achieved but I am ready for a new challenge, and I am thrilled to be returning to a place I love.”

Before his current role at Leeds Playhouse, Brining was artistic director and chief executive of Dundee Rep from 2003 until 2012 and, prior to that, artistic director of the Glasgow-based company TAG from 1997 until 2003.

During his time at Dundee Rep, he commissioned and directed the world premiere of The Proclaimers musical Sunshine on Leith.

Brining has also served as chair of the Federation of Scottish Theatre and as a founding trustee of the Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.

Brining said: “I have seen some incredible work at the Lyceum over the past 30 years and it is such a privilege to have the opportunity to lead such an important Scottish and UK theatre in its next chapter.

“While I am aware of the current challenges the sector is facing, I am hugely optimistic about the opportunities to create fantastic and meaningful work in this beautiful and iconic space and beyond.”

Outgoing artistic director Greig said: “James has the skills, experience and boldness we need. I can’t wait to see what his plans are.”

He added: “I look forward to supporting him and the Lyceum as an audience member, an artist and a Lyceum fan for the years ahead.”

Theatre leaders call for overhaul of all-white male boards

KATIE CHAMBERS

Theatre figures including Talawa Theatre boss Carolyn Forsyth and Tamasha artistic director Pooja Ghai have hit out at “hierarchical” theatre governance by predominantly white male boards.

Speaking at an event at London’s Royal Court, at which the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama launched its research into post-pandemic-lockdown theatre, Forsyth issued a provocation to attendees to “google the top organisations, their leadership and their funders”.

“We need to call a spade a spade,” the executive director and joint chief executive of Talawa Theatre said, adding: “Who’s important? Who decides what gets funding? They all look the same. Front of house is often very diverse, and then you go up to middle management and it’s not too bad. But then you get to senior leadership, executives and the board, and the colour, the disabilities – they disappear.”

She called for an upheaval of “top-down” governance by demographically homogenous boards, which she said often did not include artists, declaring theatre’s current leadership structures “not fit for purpose”.

Ghai echoed Forsyth’s critique when questioning the panel, which saw Forsyth in conversation about governance with Central academic Louise Owen and Playwrights’ Studio Scotland creative director Louise Stephens.

Ghai said: “So much of our governance and our funders is white-led and predominantly male. Power doesn’t look like me. We need to think about how our boards not only get more money in, but also about programming and representation.”

Ghai also hit out at a culture of censorship in the sector at large, alluding to boards’ culpability.

OCTOBER 17 2024

ALSO ONLINE

Private investment in the arts could be “unlocked” after the creative industries were identified as one of eight “growth-driving sectors” in the government’s new industrial strategy. Labour’s strategy, entitled Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, aims to attract international money.

A report commissioned by Laidlaw Opera Trust into public perceptions of opera has found that although audiences deemed it an impressive and timeless art form, opera is “consistently” considered “expensive, exclusive and pompous”.

Arts Council England has acknowledged the insufficient consideration it gave to education and access initiatives – as well as “limited” audience data – in its analysis of UK opera earlier this year. But despite “extreme” funding pressures, it insisted there was still a sector-wide appetite for new approaches in the medium.

The public is a step closer to seeing the theatre where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is believed to have debuted, thanks to the completion of an east London museum. Four centuries after the Elizabethan Curtain Playhouse staged its final plays, the theatre’s archeological remains are nearly ready to go on show.

A historic South Wales entertainment venue has staved off immediate closure. Blackwood Miners’ Institute has resumed bookings for January shows, as Caerphilly County Borough Council confirmed it would no longer be mothballing the building to make savings as soon as December this year.

APPOINTMENTS

Director and producer James Dacre has been appointed chair of Theatre503 in London. He will take up the post at the end of November, succeeding Erica Whyman, who is stepping down after a decade.

Pembrokeshire’s Torch Theatre chief executive Benjamin Lloyd has stepped down after five years at the helm. He used his parting words to appeal to the government to protect the creative industries.

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