Annual Review 2O18/19
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Contents Chair’s Foreword
4
Chief Executive’s Foreword
6
Highlights
8
Top Ten Shows
Becoming Capital Theatres Making a redeveloped King’s Theatre a reality Creative partnerships Expanding our audiences Developing our digital platforms Evaluating our impact
Interviews 22 Michael Harrison Cameron Goymer Sulie Wood Amy Pavri Bill & Pat Ellis Colin Dunlop Nikki Hepburn
Income / Expenditure
36
Staff 37 Our supporters
38
With your help we can
39
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Foreword Chair
In my fifth year as Chair, we have delivered significant change in support of our values and objectives. We have changed our name to Capital Theatres to develop our profile and our status as Scotland’s leading independent not-for-profit charity committed to inspiring a lifelong love of theatre. We have made significant headway on our mission to redevelop the King’s Theatre to ensure its status as a cultural asset for the city for generations to come. We have launched a new website to support and stimulate our commercial growth and we have revised our Learning and Participation strategy to invigorate and renew our commitment to making the arts accessible for all. Whilst we have seen change, our dedication to programming the best in live entertainment to entertain and inspire as wide a public as possible, remains constant. In the last year we have expanded strands of our programme to appeal to the youngest and oldest of our customers, with more shows for children and families in The Studio and at the King’s and the development of our dementia friendly programme at the Festival Theatre. Our commitment to drive forward change, to invest in our staff, our buildings and other initiatives has been delivered against a backdrop of a reduction in funding from the local authority and the end of 24 years of regular funding from Creative Scotland. That commitment, shared by all staff of Capital Theatres, has therefore ensured that even in uncertain economic and political times, we have for the eighth year running been able to carry forward a surplus and modest reserves to help secure our strategic goals and ensure a resilient and sustainable future for Capital Theatres. In his foreword, Duncan Hendry looks back on his last year of seven as Chief Executive and the Board gives its warmest thanks for his remarkable contribution to the history of Capital Theatres and its future success.
Professor Dame Joan Stringer Chair of the Trustees of Capital Theatres
Capital Theatres Trustees As of 1 April 2018 Karen Cairney Lesley Drummond Gordon Jack Helen Mackie Cllr Amy McNeese-Mechan Cllr Melanie Main Cllr Max Mitchell Andrew Neilsen Alastair Peacock Karyn Watt Cllr Donald Wilson
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Foreword Chief Executive
In what will be my last full year as Chief Executive I’m delighted to report that the Trust is in excellent health with an exciting artistic programme on our stages, record attendances and that our learning and participation team are undertaking cutting edge work to widen access and deepen understanding. We have presented some truly great productions on our stages over the last twelve months – the National’s War Horse and Cameron Macintosh’s Les Misérables spring to mind at the Festival Theatre – filling our theatres and exciting our audiences. The Leeds Playhouse production of Sunshine on Leith and David Haig’s wonderful story of the D-day landings, Pressure, were memorable productions at the King’s, whilst Nye and Jennie and Poggle gave a taste of our future programming aspirations for The Studio. I’m particularly proud of the work our Learning and Participation team has been doing with relaxed and dementia friendly performances – widening access and sharing the lessons learned nationally and internationally. The financial strength of the Trust over the last few years has allowed us to invest in the programme we present, to support our participatory work and at last to begin detailed preparations for the long overdue redevelopment of the King’s. What we’ve been able to achieve in recent years will, I believe, have a lasting impact on the performing arts in Edinburgh and beyond for many years to come. We’re delighted to have welcomed so many new customers into our buildings in the last year – over half a million customers (old and new) have bought tickets to see performances in the last twelve months – a significant increase on previous years. Our desire to grow and diversify our audience goes hand in hand with our drive to build customer loyalty and to respond to the needs of a modern audience. Our new identity as Capital Theatres is helping to raise the profile of the Trust as a charity, to spread the word about what we do and to help thousands of people to experience and have a deeper understanding of the performing arts. As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Festival Theatre and the next milestone on the road to a fully accessible King’s Theatre, I am exceptionally proud to be leaving Capital Theatres in such a fine fettle. My particular thanks to all of our supporters in this last year. The future of Capital Theatres is a shared future and the success that we celebrate in this year’s annual review was made possible by all our staff, everyone who bought a ticket, those who took part in an event, collaborated with us or performed on our stages. Duncan Hendry Chief Executive of Capital Theatres
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5O3, 682 visitors
825,777 website visitors
55,51O
social media followers
648
performances of 115 shows
295
learning & participation events
7O
accessible performances including integrated BSL, Audio Described and Captioned
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Highlights
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Top Ten Shows Top Ten Shows
Sold Out Shows Number of % total tickets tickets
King’s pantomime - Beauty and the Beast
91,396
21.0
Les Misérables
58,465
13.5
War Horse
37,268
8.6
Scottish Ballet’s Cinderella
27,666
6.4
Calendar Girls
12,655
2.9
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
10,123
2.3
Sunshine on Leith
8,554
2.0
Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella
7,210
1.7
Macbeth
7,103
1.6
Nativity! The Musical
6,912
1.6
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• Banff Mountain Film Festival • Les Misérables • No Such Thing As A Fish • Sandi Toksvig • Sarah Millican - Control Enthusiast • Simon Reeve • Sunshine on Leith
Becoming Capital Theatres On 1 March 2018, we made the move from Festival City Theatres Trust to Capital Theatres with the aim of establishing a ‘home’ brand for our three theatre venues and the learning and participation activity that operates across them.
Our ambition for Capital Theatres to be a mark of excellence in providing opportunities for people to get involved in the arts is developing too, and the work we are doing to develop our learning and participation programme is an investment in our name.
The process is gradual. By increment we have introduced Capital Theatres and new logo identities for our three theatre venues – the Festival Theatre, the King’s Theatre and The Studio. Creative collaborations have produced eye-catching assets to support the new organisational name. The launch of our new website in August 2018 established capitaltheatres.com and the transition to new social media handles has presented its challenges and its rewards. A visit now to either the website or the Festival Theatre, the King’s Theatre or The Studio is a visit to a Capital Theatres ‘experience’, and one we hope provides the same consistently high and reliable standard of customer service.
Becoming Capital Theatres is also vital to our fundraising for the King’s Theatre. If audiences can associate the quality of experience at the Festival Theatre and The Studio with what they’ll be able to enjoy at a redeveloped King’s Theatre, we can work together towards a shared vision of a reinvigorated, accessible, lively all-day arts venue. Capital Theatres, Edinburgh @captheatres @captheatres www.capitaltheatres.com
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Making a redeveloped King’s Theatre a reality Site meetings, risk registers, cashflow creations and structural surveys. It can only mean one thing – that we are at last underway on the road to a redeveloped and reimagined King’s Theatre. ‘King’s Theatre, Performing for the Future’ officially launched in November 2018 with the announcement of the architect for the project, Bennetts Associates, the unveiling of their initial designs for the building’s transformation and their approach in four strands: 1 Welcome to the King’s – the street offer, daytime activity and animating the building 2 Showtime at the King’s – the audience journey from street to seat 3 Performing at the King’s – the get in through to the dressing rooms 4 Revealing the King’s – introducing spaces which members of the public may not have seen, including the heritage through to new interventions A period of intense research and analysis has followed. Workshops with staff and stakeholders, project board meetings, community consultations and building surveys are helping us ascertain just how best to realise a design that makes optimum use of the space currently available in the original 1906 building, while exploring the scope to create additional front of house space including a learning studio and a roof terrace providing views across the city skyline. As our fundraising campaign develops ahead of the scheduled closure in September 2021 for a construction period of 20 months, the stage is set to: 1 More than double the opening hours 2 Increase annual visitor figures by 66% 3 Contribute £11m in economic impact per year into the Scottish Economy, an increase of £3.7m, and £21.1m per year for Edinburgh, an increase of £7.9m. 4. Create more than 50 volunteering roles
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How will the King’s change?
• The transformation will create a new street level café and bar, accessible directly from Leven Street, along with a proposed roof top hospitality space, providing spectacular views of the city.
• Installation of lifts and ramps will enable visitors with mobility issues to be able to access all levels of the King’s for the first time.
• A brand-new learning studio will be created, providing a much-needed space for community engagement, and educational projects.
• The existing bars and foyers will be overhauled whilst retaining their heritage and charm, providing flexible and enjoyable entertainment spaces.
• The stage will be flattened to attract world-class
opera and dance so that we can offer a more diverse programme for our audiences.
• Essential repairs will be made to wiring, lighting and
the safety curtain to make them fit for purpose, as well as improvements to set and scenery access to allow the building to work efficiently for the future.
• Back of house facilities for performers, company and crew will be given a long overdue facelift..
The transformational project will preserve and revitalise the King’s Theatre Edinburgh, one of Scotland’s oldest and most loved theatres, making it a vibrant, dynamic and accessible civic space for generations to come. To find out more about the project and pledge your support, please visit: https://www.capitaltheatres.com/kings-future
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Creative partnerships
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Collaboration is at the heart of what we do. We explore every opportunity we have to engage in creative partnerships to enhance our collective working environment and the quality of the work that we see on our stages. We are proud to support EPAD (Edinburgh Performing Arts Development), a capacity building project for small arts organisations and independent artists based at the Festival Theatre and our work with organisations like Dance Consortium and the Edinburgh Cultural Venues Group allow us to support touring networks and help shape the cultural life of our city. Where audiences are able to appreciate our creative partnerships most is in our Learning & Participation programme. Under a new strategy and the five core areas defined within it, it’s been a year of discovery, making new connections, finding new pathways and celebrating our creative talent.
1 Programming and pioneering alternative performance experiences, such as relaxed and dementia friendly performances, for audiences whose needs are not met by traditional models As the first theatre in Scotland to stage a relaxed performance, with a relaxed performance of The Snowman at the Festival Theatre in Dec 2012, we build our commitment to programming inclusive performances experiences year on year. In 2018/19, these included sensory storytelling sessions at Edinburgh special schools before their visits to the relaxed performance of the King’s panto; dementia friendly performances in the Luminate festival of creative ageing; an inclusive performance of Scottish Ballet’s Cinderella, bespoke performance and activity workshops in the Panto Presents project at the Sick Kids Hospital and relaxed performances of Barrowland Ballet’s delightful dance theatre piece, Poggle, in The Studio.
2 Offering greater access to our artistic programme through collaborations with visiting companies We’ve had a great year of collaborations with our visiting companies, with creative sessions for teachers including workshops with Unicorn Theatre/Edinburgh International Festival based around the stage adaptation of Edouard Louis’ autobiographical novel The End of Eddy and workshops with the National Theatre around their staging of Macbeth. Dance companies including Richard Alston, Les Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo and Scottish Ballet staged open rehearsals and workshops to give students invaluable insight into their creative processes and a packed programme of pre and post show talks and events featuring actors, directors, activists and fundraisers provided vital and challenging new perspectives.
3 Producing high-quality new work in which diverse people join us as participants, co-creators and performers In October 2018, we hosted two events in The Studio that illustrate our commitment: We were delighted to host the culmination of the INSPIRE dance project, a performance of Indian dance developed through Dance Ihayami’s Indian Dance Summer School and regular after school sessions at WHALE Arts Centre. As part of a longstanding partnership with WHALE Arts, Capital Theatres worked with the dancers and choreographers to help transform their ideas into a dazzling show for families. We facilitated a group of young people from LBGT Youth Scotland’s network making a short film responding to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Gender Recognition Act. The film was subsequently shown at the IGLYO conference (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth and Student Organisation’s annual conference) in The Studio.
4 Animating our foyer spaces through a stimulating series of performances, activities and events At the Festival Theatre, partnerships with Alzheimer Scotland, Glencairn Residential Care Home and Live Music Now have helped build vibrant events in our dementia friendly programme including tea and dance parties, drop in cafes and focus groups. Exhibitions by costume design students at Edinburgh College have provided insight into the incredible skill of costume design for stage and regular meetings of our resident choir, the Vintage Chorus and our intergenerational dance project, An Audience With, make for ever bustling and creative front of house galleries. Our events for families included our first family day in partnership with Scottish Faith Action for Refugees on 3 November 2018, welcoming over 100 people from Syria, Palestine, Iran, Nigeria, Zimbabwe & Pakistan to enjoy activities including tours and workshops.
5 Maximising opportunities presented by the redevelopment of the King’s Theatre for people to engage in the performing arts and heritage We worked with Edinburgh Museum Collections and the City of Edinburgh Council to host a ‘Heritage Day’ in April 2018 and have recently opened a display at the theatre celebrating the building’s history and the significant part played by the local community in the King’s heritage story. As we move towards closure of the King’s, we are developing ideas for collaborative projects with local schools and community groups to create work and celebrate oral histories.
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Expanding our audiences Les Misérables brought in a record 53% new customers. 59% of Les Mis bookers came from outside EH postcodes (across the financial year, this stands at 45%). We have expanded our marketing to reach new audiences – efforts include wider distribution of our brochure, posters at 20 rail platforms and bigger billboard advertising at targeted commuter stations. This in addition to our advertising in national newspapers and the huge amount of social media content we create and boost to wide networks beyond our existing followers – plus extensive paid advertising on Facebook, Google and YouTube. We also reach new audiences by selling tickets via Ticketmaster and other agencies. As we extend our marketing reach, we’re also developing strands of our programme to appeal to new audiences. In addition to our regular creative sessions for wee ones, we are developing a programme strand in The Studio for early years theatre-goers and shows such as The Worm, The Singing Mermaid and Poggle have established an
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audience we can build on. The national love of ballroom dancing has found a home in the regularly sold-out Shall We Dance? events in The Studio and screenings in the Silent Cinema series are going from strength to strength. Stan & Ollie & Friends, programmed as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018 welcomed many new audiences who had booked directly from the Filmhouse, and here is what one audience member had to say: “ Tickets bought for my parents (78 & 80) who both thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It’s not always easy to find events for both my parents to enjoy as my father has dementia and finds following stories and dialogue difficult. Having several short films with live music and an activity was a great combination. More please.” Retaining customers is key – that’s why we send a post-show email to all customers directly after the performance asking for their feedback and recommending future shows.
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Developing our digital platforms DIGITAL COMMUNICATION PLAYS A BIG ROLE AT CAPITAL THEATRES AND WE STRIVE TO CONNECT WITH OUR AUDIENCES AS MUCH ONLINE AS WE DO OFFLINE, AND TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE THEATRE, HISTORY AND COMMUNITY TAKE CENTRE STAGE ON PLATFORMS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. Creating better digital access In August we launched the new Capital Theatres website. The website is mobile-optimised, which means it automatically adapts to all screen sizes; it offers better accessibility for those with digital access needs (screen reader users, for example); and it simplified our existing e-commerce platform, reducing the number of steps in our ticket-buying journey. Since we introduced this new mobilefriendly website, our mobile users have increased to 72.4% of our total users, the bounce rate has dropped by 12% across all devices and our online tickets sales now account for over 57.9% of all ticket sales platforms. We have also seen over 2,000 new customers using and enjoying the Capital Theatres Bars App, which allows audiences to pre-order and pre-pay for their drink and snack orders before arriving at the theatre.
Continuing the story online At Capital Theatres we believe the magic of theatre doesn’t stop when you step out of our venues, which is why we are constantly exploring ways to engage with our 55k+ social media followers. This year we expanded our series of Instagram take-overs and Facebook Lives, offering valuable backstage insight into the world of theatre. These have enabled us to share treasured backstage moments online, from panto dame Allan Stewart getting pranked by Cinderella actor Gillian Parkhouse to 15-year old Craig Yelland celebrating the Year of Young People in the Edinburgh Gang Show. We are also producing more video content than ever before, showcasing the work we do as Scotland’s largest independent theatre charity, our theatres’ rich history and the work of getting the shows on and off stage. Our non-show related videos have been watched over 150,000 times and have reached almost 480,000 people all over the world. We have also launched a new ‘Story’ section on the website, which sees new blog stories published continuously, looking at the venues’ history, the work we do in the community and the critically-acclaimed shows we bring year-round to our theatres.
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DIGITAL FACTS & FIGURES • T he first ever trailer for the King’s Theatre pantomime reached 51,752 people. • We were tagged 689 times on Instagram pictures of the King’s Theatre dome. • The initial designs for a redeveloped King’s Theatre were seen by 369,423 people on Twitter. • The short film we made about the relaxed performance of the King’s Theatre pantomime Cinderella was the most successful video in 2018/19, with a reach of 299,820 people. • 103,193 e-news subscribers.
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Evaluating our impact CAPITAL THEATRES BELIEVES EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CULTURAL LIFE OF THEIR COMMUNITY.
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As a charity we deliver public benefit, and evaluate our impact, against our four organisational objectives. OSCR criteria – increasing public exposure to, appreciation of, and involvement in the arts 1 Present high-quality shows that stimulate, entertain and engage During the year, 95% of ours shows received four star or above in audience feedback. On average, audiences rated the King’s Theatre (4.2) and the Festival Theatre (4.3) performances as lively and enthusiastic against the UK industry benchmark (4.2). When asked if they felt challenged and provoked after the performance, the Festival Theatre scored (3.1) above the UK benchmark (2.9), however the King’s Theatre fell slightly below (2.6).
2 Connect with performers, producers and audiences locally, nationally and internationally Capital Theatres hosts Edinburgh Performing Arts Development (EPAD), which during the year delivered 19 events to 201 of the city’s independent performing artists. Our programming of The Studio supports smaller producers to showcase their work. We frequently provide rehearsal and set-up time as in-kind support, as a way of contributing to Scotland’s creative community.
OSCR criteria – provide opportunities for participation in the arts for those who might otherwise be excluded 3 Inspire the diverse communities that surround us and encourage them into our venues We work to address inequalities in access to the arts. In 2018-19, we welcomed 6,854 participants in 295 learning and engagement events including; 52 CPD events for teachers, 38 events for Schools & Universities and 88 dementia friendly events. We have ongoing partnerships with LGBT Youth, Action for Refugees, special educational needs schools, Nari Kallyean Shango, WHALE Arts, Alzheimer Scotland, to name but a few.
OSCR criteria – improve venues, where art is performed 4 Engage our audiences with the heritage of our buildings In the last year we opened a heritage display in the King’s Theatre and worked with BBC Radio Scotland to produce a programme on the history of the King’s. In 2018-19, 310 people attended our monthly tours of the Festival and King’s Theatres.
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Interviews
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Michael Harrison
PRODUCER OF AWARD-WINNING WEST END MUSICALS INCLUDING GYPSY, THE BODYGUARD AND ANNIE, MICHAEL HARRISON IS ALSO MANAGING DIRECTOR OF QDOS ENTERTAINMENT AND HAS CREATED OVER 1OO PANTOMIMES FOR THE COMPANY. I was studying in Edinburgh when I saw the first ever pantomime Qdos produced at the King’s Theatre [the 1998 production of Aladdin which starred Gerard Kelly, Allan Stewart, David Rintoul and Grant Stott]. I think I saw it about four times because I just loved the genre and I knew that Allan was someone very special. I could never have imagined that a number of years later, I would be producing the show and having a part in such a legendary theatre’s history. I think people from the rest of the UK look to Edinburgh and they look at that tradition of the King’s pantomime, which is pretty extraordinary. It is one of the longest running pantomimes in the country, it is certainly one of the most popular and as somebody that travels around many, many shows – I see in excess of 30 different pantomimes every year and most of them more than once – I have to say that the atmosphere at the King’s is quite unlike anywhere else I’ve been. There’s a connection and a love between the audience and the performers on stage that is pretty unique.
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I think there’s a passion for the pantomime that comes from the crew at the King’s and from Capital Theatres as a whole. It completely feels like it’s a collaboration and I think the team are as passionate about what’s on stage as we are, as Allan is, as Andy is, as Grant is. There’s a real pride that goes from picking the title earlier in the year, it goes to press launches, the marketing campaign, to the wagons arriving at the dock door and unloading the set, it goes to the dressers and wardrobe team seeing what the costumes are going to be, seeing what Allan’s going to be wearing. It just feels like a well-oiled machine, that somehow you take people from all parts of the UK and you bring them together for a season at Christmas and it kind of works as one big family.
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Cameron Goymer
CAMERON IS A FORMER COMPUTING SCIENCE STUDENT FROM ABERDEEN ABOUT TO BEGIN DRAMA STUDIES IN LONDON. Last year I got the chance to work with Capital Theatres in a collaboration with LGBT Youth Scotland to create a short film responding to the 2018 consultation of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 - a piece of legislation that allows transgender people to change the gender marker on their birth certificate. An important, but complex piece of legislation for me as a transgender person. Over the space of 3 days, the participants got to know each other, workshopped, considered different mediums of art, storyboarded and filmed our video. Initially I was out of my depth, I was around people who had experience with the arts and I hadn’t. But come the end of my time working with Capital Theatres, I didn’t want it to end. I had met some amazing people, and had a great time, so I couldn’t just leave. When I went back home, I got involved with the drama society at my university. The more I was there, the more I enjoyed it, and on a bit of a whim, applied to study drama at university. Come September 2019, I’ll be leaving Scotland to pursue a career I could never have imagined and without Capital Theatres I would never have considered. I have no reservation in saying my time working with Capital Theatres has changed my life. I hope that anyone who watches the film understands the impact the film has on trans people. Every week there is another article putting feminism and trans rights against each other. The two aren’t incompatible, but the language used in some of the articles has been horrible. I shouldn’t have to give two years of documents to strangers for them to tell me I’m trans - I already know that. Give things a go, even if you’re unsure, you never know what will come of it.
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Sulie Wood LIGHTING TECHNICIAN, CAPITAL THEATRES I have worked in technical theatre for 18 years; touring, freelancing and working full-time. I joined the technical team at Capital Theatres nearly five years ago. We deal with the lighting, sound and audio visuals, plus anything else people throw at us. As leading venues on the UK touring circuit, we receive mid to large scale drama, dance, opera and musicals, rock ‘n’ roll shows and stand-ups. Productions from Rambert, Scottish Opera, The National Theatre of Scotland and Cameron Macintosh have all been on our stages and at the Festival Theatre, we’re a cinema too, showing productions, often live, from theatres like the National in London and the RSC in Stratford. As well as receiving shows, I have the opportunity to design and collaborate with amazing people here, from The Attic Collective to working with young people with additional needs which is incredibly rewarding.
Despite the fact that we have four extremely talented and strong women in our technical department, technical theatre is still a male dominated industry, which is very often evident in the crews that arrive with touring shows, so I feel very proud to work in a theatre where half of the people in the department that I work in are women. Working in technical theatre is a lifestyle choice, not just a job, you have to be prepared for that. It’s very long days, late hours and working to time pressures. It’s a vocation to many of us. It can be very challenging and stressful but I enjoy a challenge. People still don’t really understand what we do, they see the end result but have no concept of how it gets there. You could say it’s the ‘magic of theatre’ but in reality it’s a team of excellent (in our case!) technicians and stage crew working really hard to help create a world in which the audience can lose themselves in for a while. And we all need a bit of that in our lives.
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Amy Pavri AMY IS CURRENTLY IN S5 AT WILLIAMWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, GLASGOW I attended a hip-hop workshop in The Studio led by Sheila Attah of Metta Theatre and went on to perform alongside a professional cast in the musical, In the Willows, at the Festival Theatre in March 2019. To say this was a dream come true would be the understatement of the century. Strutting out onto the stage of the Festival Theatre for my first performance, arm-in-arm with Seann Miley Moore in front of an audience of over 600 people is a moment that I don’t think can ever be matched - it was incredible and I just felt like I was meant to be there. There was an indescribable vibe between all of us as a cast, which only intensified as the performances went on and I loved every second of it. It was obviously intimidating to be performing alongside such amazing dancers considering my lack of experience but my confidence grew with every performance. The production used sign language as a major part of its script and one of the main cast members - Chris Fonseca - is deaf after contracting meningitis when he was two. I got to know Chris throughout the week and was continually inspired by his commitment and undeniable talent, as well as his heart of gold. He was hilarious and so sweet to both me and the rest of the community chorus. Seeing Chris and Harry Jardine - who plays Toad – having full on conversations in sign, laughing and joking around was so incredible to see and reminded me how important sign language is. This experience taught me to believe and have confidence in myself, to learn and realise that mistakes are vital on the path to success. I would say to anyone who is anxious about trying something new to look at the bigger picture, and to realise that every experience is there for you to live and to learn from. I met the most incredible people and it was a week that I will remember for the rest of my life.
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Bill & Pat Ellis
BILL AND PAT ARE REGULAR ATTENDERS OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES IN OUR DEMENTIA FRIENDLY PROGRAMME We are a married couple who have lived in Edinburgh all our lives. We both retired from work early and spent time helping to look after our grandchildren. Pat was then diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017. From that time we have been living with this condition helped by various organisations. Capital Theatres is one of the organisations that help us to cope with Alzheimer’s, the others are; Alzheimer’s Scotland, the Museums/Galleries Social Events and a Singing Group called the Forget Me Notes. These organisations, or strictly speaking the wonderful people working and volunteering within them are what makes life a little easier. No group stands out above the others as they all play their part in bringing people living with dementia together. However, at Capital Theatres you do offer a multifaceted approach with your monthly Tea Party which hosts professional singers, your Drop-In Café and Dementia Friendly Performances. As yet we have not managed along to the Dementia Friendly Performances but can certainly confirm that we find the Tea Party and Drop-In Café to be very welcoming and friendly places to be. We both appreciate the drive and professionalism that the staff and volunteers at the Festival Theatre have, and their ongoing commitment to improve their contribution to people living with dementia. This is demonstrated for example by running a focus group asking both people living with dementia and other organisations their views on what their needs are, and how best Capital Theatres can help. Making and keeping links with other interested parties like this will ensure that future events best fit the needs of this ever-growing community. You certainly have our thanks, and very likely the thanks of many more.
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Colin Dunlop COLIN IS A FRONT OF HOUSE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER AT CAPITAL THEATRES AND IS CURRENTLY LEADING ON OUR PROGRESSION TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD (CSE) Customer Services’ main responsibilities focus on the audience interaction, Front of House staff and the running of the Front of House areas, including bars, event areas and the main foyers/auditorium. One of my main responsibilities working towards the CSE award is to collate customer feedback from various sources including but not limited to surveys and physical feedback forms. This feedback is used in a variety of ways; I send feedback snapshots to FoH casual staff which can be a great motivator for them, bring feedback reports to various meetings to improve our services and publish our satisfaction ratings on the Capital Theatres website for customers to see. The Customer Service Excellence Award is an accreditation that offers a practical tool for driving customer-focused change. It is designed to operate on three distinct levels: as a driver of continuous improvement, as a skills development tool and as an independent validation of achievement.
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Capital Theatres is applying for the award as a way to validate all of the great customer-focused work we do as a company and to improve on areas where we are lacking. We are currently gathering as much evidence as possible to meet the CSE Standard and then we will be able to go ahead with the formal assessments. Our customer service is important to ensure we provide an excellent product package, as the show is only part of the whole experience we provide. It is vital that we provide good customer service not just through the FOH/Customer Service department but the whole organisation from Box Office to Back of House. Good customer service allows us to build a healthy relationship with our customers, ensuring the customer feels valued, respected and has a good experience in any of our venues, encouraging return visits and a positive outlook on Capital Theatres as an organisation.
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Nikki Hepburn NIKKI IS A TEACHER AT HARMENY SCHOOL WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DELIVERY OF THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS CURRICULUM. HARMENY SCHOOL IS A RESIDENTIAL, SPECIALIST SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA IN THEIR EARLY YEARS. Capital Theatres has enabled pupils to see a variety of shows, the team helping us to prepare children for theatre visits and to meet their needs during and after a performance. The children have enjoyed the relaxed panto, James and the Giant Peach and War Horse. The theatre has helped to bring stories to life. Many of our pupils have limited experience of the theatre, for some it is a first experience. It is a real joy to look down the row of seats and see the children’s faces lit up, captivated by the magic of the stage. The Awfey Huge Variety Show has provided a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to perform on the Festival Theatre stage. It was a giant leap for us to go from taking part in the school Christmas Show to stepping out on the biggest stage in Scotland. Pupils and staff learned so much from working with specialist artists to create and rehearse our scenes, using puppetry (2017) and clowning (2016). Theatre staff took time to learn about the children’s needs. They worked closely with pupils and staff to storyboard ideas, teach new skills and develop confidence and self-belief prior to the show. They offered us tours of the theatre to help the children get a feel for the environment and meet the stage manager and technical team. We had our own dressing room on the big day. We met and mixed with children from other specialist schools. Although there were nervous moments throughout, the over-riding sense of achievement felt by all was incredibly powerful. These experiences are hugely significant to our pupils in helping them to feel valued and included, building their confidence, interests and talents and opening up the performing arts to them and giving them amazing memories that they’ll have forever.
34 Annual Review 2018/19
Annual Review 2018/19 35
Income / Expenditure Income
ÂŁ
Expenditure
ÂŁ
Grants and donations
791,100
Fundraising costs
215,031
Friends, Patrons and sponsorship
279,861
Trading company (excl. payroll)
914,528
Investment income
5,611
Trading company
1,717,849
Tickets and other theatre income
14,491,410
TOTAL 17,285,831
0.1%
Payroll (incl. NIC, pension)
3,889,858
Operation of theatre
11,973,521
Depreciation / amortisation
231,809
TOTAL 17,224,747
1.4%
1.6%
4.6%
1.2%
5.3% 9.9%
22.6%
83.8%
69.5%
Net surplus
36 Annual Review 2018/19
61,084
Staff CHIEF EXECUTIVE Duncan Hendry OUR STAFF Eleanor Agnew Heidi Alexander Katrina Alexander Amy Allan Grace Allan Kirsty Anderson Les Anderson Antonija Anic-Antic Velia Ansorg James Alexander Lindsay Anderson Ethan Baird Anabel Barrero Trevor Bates Laura Baxter James Beacham Lucille Bluefield Duncan Bowers Catriona Boyce Molly Mae BrissettHaigh Catherine Bromley David Brown Sheena Buchanan Elinor Burton Gavina Baillie Nicholas Brown Andie Caldwell Adam Campbell Christopher Campbell Harry Campbell Tilda Campbell Emma Cannell Kirsty Carswell Olivia Cash Joe Cassidy Alison Chrystie Rebecca Churcher Soden James Clark Michael Clark Chris Combe Matthew Cowan Hilda Craik Rachel Cram Rosie Cram Iona Currie Jim Cursiter Alexander Davidson Steven Davies
Conall Dewar Jennifer Dewar Niall Dewar Kirsty Dickson Clare Dingwall Stephanie Donneadieu Susan Downie Chris Drew Anthony Duff Gavin Dunbar Colin Dunlop Kathryn Dunlop Andrew Dyer Ruari Dunn Thomas Dutton Darius Eastwood Marilyn Elliot Lisa Elliott Fraser Ewen Sharon Fergie Adam Ferguson Sophie Fields Hannah Fieldsend Kirsty Finlay Rosie Fisher Niall Flockhart Alan Foy Irma Fraiman Linnea From Silvie Furneaux Hayley Fisher Rebecca Gallacher Avril Gardiner Catherine Gauld Sally Gerrard Craig Giblin Ellana Gilbert Eilidh Gilmour Jennifer Gould Amy Grant Beverley Grant Calum Grewar David Grierson Sam Goldblatt Imogen Graham Izzy Gray Stuart Haldane Rory Hanlon Darrell Harding Angus Harrower Molly Hemmings Flora Henry Callum Hoffie Laura Hounsell
Alexander Howard James Hulligan Helen Hunter Paul Hunter Rachael Hunter Emily Hall Matthew Halsall Caroline Henderson Sarah Henderson Linda Hogg Stephen Hood Ross Howie Dawn Irvine Ailsa James Patrycja Jastrzebska Esther Jiminez Michail Kasimatis Jane Keddie Ben Kelly Gillian Kelly Jonathan Kennedy Margaret Kennedy Patricia Kenny Anthony King Konrad Kopec Lukasz Kulwicki Alexandra Lawrie Melani Leiras Andrew Lindsay Chris Lindsay Rebecca Love Euan Lownie John Lynskey Susan Leask Brian Loudon Lucy MacDonald Kim Macdougall Eilidh MacKenzie Garry MacKenzie Harrison MacNeill Niall MacTaggart Ross MacTaggart Ruth Marin Ben Marshall Shaun Marshall Alex Mason Kieran McCruden Carla McCullough Megan McCutcheon Jamie McDowell Richard McGee Stewart McGill Fraser McInnes Iain McInnes
Moira McInnes Kim McKenna Dean McLeman Sandy McLeod Heather McLuskey Brodie Miller Joanna Miller Richard Miller Amanda Montgomery Karen Montgomery Linsey Morgan Luke Morley Ruth Murphy Natasha Murray Peter Murray Robert Murrell Claire Nicoll Gary Norquay Cormac O’Callanain Julia Ossenbruegge Steven Page Ailis Paterson Sara Pereira Samira Perez Naveiro Olga Podbielska-Nykiel Mark Pringle Stephen Quinn Graham Raith Alan Ramsay Emma Reid Amber Restorick Corin Rhys Jones Scott Ringan Elizabeth Rolland Benjamin Ryan Peter Roberts Iain Ross Josefina Sanchez Davila Raquel Sanz Vicente Maggie Scobbie Lauren Scott Mathilde Scott Jordan Seath Kevin Shelfer Catrin Sheridan Graham Simpson Fraser Sivewright Emma Smith Gary Smith Gerald Smith Kate Smith Matthew Smith Thomas Smith Ignacio Soler Preciado
Manvir Soora Fiona Souter Euan Stamper Claudine Stiles Lori Stott Fiona Syme Alexander Taylor Katherine Taylor-Brown Caroline Thewlis William Thompson Stephanie Thomson Orlaith Thornton Christopher Townsend Laurie Turner Jonathan Urquhart Axel Utriainen Jessica Wainwright Rebecca Waites Naomi Wallis-Ryder Rosie Ward Ellis Watson Rosalyn Watson Jenna Wayth Charlie West Eilidh West Sarah Whyte Evie Williams Mirren Wilson Miriam Wilson Paul Worthington Sulie Wood Keith Wright Zara Zangeneh Alexander Zawalnyski Our thanks and appreciation to the staff who left us during this financial year Hannah Griffiths Paul Hudson Morven Pack Photography & Film Neil Hanna Jude Lightbody / Hot Button Productions Greg Macvean Douglas Robertson Lloyd Smith Phil Wilkinson
Annual Review 2018/19 37
Our supporters Principal Funder
Corporate Partners
Supporters CRUDEN FOUNDATION LIMITED
Principal Patrons Sir Tom and Lady Farmer Mr Roger Miller Sarah Whitley and Graham Whyte Hedley G Wright Supporting Patrons Geoff and Mary Ball Sir Ewan and Lady Brown Richard and Catherine Burns Reverend and Mrs David Dalglish Lady Elliot Bill and Janice Gammell Kate and Gavin Gemmell Hamish and Alison Glen Malcolm and Avril Gourlay Bryan A. Hislop and Graeme Roberts Sir Raymond and Lady Johnstone Donald and Louise MacDonald Chris and Gill Masters Walter and Norma Nimmo Alastair and Elizabeth Salvesen Barry and Helen Sealey Richard and Heather Sneller Jim and Isobel Stretton Dame Joan Stringer and Roel Mali David and Terri Warnock
38 Annual Review 2018/19
Patrons Geoffrey and Tish Alderson The Cameron Family Dr Ann C Chandley Mr M and Mrs A Goodwin Colette Grant – Grant Property Investments George Gwilt Shields and Carol Henderson John and Fiona Hutchinson James and Felicity Ivory Alan M Johnston Lesley Knox Roxane Laird Craig Ralph Lutton Christine and Stewart Mackay Lynda McGrath Kirsteen Millar Sir Ronald and Lady Miller Christine Richard OBE and Fiona Richard Bruce and Eileen Ritson Derek and Ann Shepherd Mrs Eileen Waddell Margaretha Walker Sir John Ward Ged and Nikki Welch
And all those who prefer to remain anonymous Capital Theatres is helping to inspire a lifelong love of theatre thanks to the extraordinary commitment of our supporters.
With your help we can In 2018-19, 3,046 people donated to Capital Theatres and • collaborate with diverse groups, including children and 4,788 people bought a Friends membership. Collectively these young people, refugees, BAME and LGBTQ, to provide individuals, alongside grant making trusts, our Corporate opportunities to engage with the performing arts. Partners and Patrons, enable us as Scotland’s largest • provide training for staff to be Dementia Friends, to independent theatre charity to inspire a lifelong love of theatre. ensure that those with dementia feel welcome, Thanks to this help we can: comfortable and supported whenever they visit our theatres. • remain at the forefront of the theatre sector in Scotland, bringing high-quality productions to our stages.
• take artistic risks by programming performances that we believe deserve a platform, and an audience.
• maintain and preserve our beautiful and historic theatres so they can continue to be enjoyed by all who visit.
• improve physical access to our venues to give everyone the opportunity to experience live theatre.
• programme relaxed performances for disabled, D/deaf
and neuro diverse audiences, as well as captioned, British Sign Language interpreted and audio described performances, and touch tours of sets before audio described performances.
You too can play a part in inspiring a lifelong love of theatre by:
• Making a donation via our website or box office • Becoming a Friend or a Leading Friend of Capital Theatres • Joining our Patron scheme • Involving your company in our work as a Corporate Partner or Member
Donations of any size are always hugely appreciated and add up to help us achieve extraordinary things. For more information please contact support@capitaltheatres.com
Annual Review 2018/19 39
Capital Theatres 13-29 Nicolson Street Edinburgh EH8 9FT Capital Theatres is a registered Scottish Charity SC018605