Capital case study: Live Theatre Newcastle - Arts Council England

Capital case study:
Live Theatre
Newcastle
Rationale for the project
In common with many other longestablished
arts organisations, Live
Theatre has experienced its ups and
downs. One of these downs came
towards the end of the 1990s when
it became increasingly evident that
the company had lost some of its
momentum. Though the upper floors of
the additional property which had been
acquired for the theatre were let out to
generate income, a significant deficit
had grown as a result of the recent
capital project. Some income streams
had been poor; for instance, audiences
were dwindling.
In 1999, after two audits had been
carried out, Arts Council England
funded a Recovery Programme that led,
in 2002, to a complete reorganisation
of the management. A new post of
executive director was created with a
brief to ‘bring stronger management
to the organisation’ (Live Theatre had
formerly been led by its artistic director).
Both the main funding bodies (Arts
Council England and Newcastle City
Council) then increased their
revenue grants.
1 Contents
2 Executive summary
3 Project background and history
4 The company
5 Vital statistics
6 Rationale for the project
These initiatives resulted in a
reinvigorated organisation, led by a new
team offering an increasingly successful
programme of work that includes:
• plays for stage, radio, TV and film
• script writing and development
and writers’ workshops
• a wide range of education projects
• rapidly expanding youth
theatre work
From 2000 to 2005, the company’s
turnover increased from £400,000
to £1.2million. This overall success
meant that the company could
no longer fit easily into its existing
premises. Rehearsals for its main stage
productions had to be accommodated
on an ad hoc basis, both in the building
and elsewhere, because its own
rehearsal room was needed for writers’
events and youth theatre work. The
scope for earning additional income
was limited by the lack of space and
opportunities for mounting projects for
which funding was available often had
to be turned down.
7 Planning and project development
8 Design
9 Construction and delivery
10 The new theatre
11 Wider lessons
12 Credits
In 2004, Live Theatre was presented
with a unique opportunity to acquire
the additional space it needed when
the adjacent building (29 Broad Chare)
became available to lease. The building
offered over 1,000m2 of floor space
spread across five floors and was very
similar in style to its neighbouring
property that was already part of
the theatre.