2015

-16

ANNUAL REPORT September 2015 – August 2016

Worcester Rep at the Cathedral 2015 - Romeo and Juliet

2

IntroductionIt has been a difficult year for Worcester Live financially. The loss of our charity shop has brought a significant loss of income, and there have been some unexpected maintenance costs as well as the need to spend some money updating our computers, including the server, and improving some of our display areas. The result has been a loss this trading year. However, the Company is very upbeat. We have a superb team of professional staff, both full and part time, an engaged and active multi-skilled Board of Directors and more than 160 volunteers who are loyal and hardworking. We shall be taking possession of a new venue within a year, our professional Repertory Company goes from strength to strength, as does our relationship with the Bransford Trust, the Company has some excellent and fruitful partnerships and our youth theatres are thriving. There are certainly grounds for optimism about the future.

Chris Jaeger MBE, Chief Executive

Swan TheatreThe Swan has, as always, had a very busy year. The Swan Youth Theatre is in healthy shape and will be covered in a separate

report along with the Worcester Repertory Company. Dance classes have been extended from one to two days and are well attended. The Swan Theatre School is about to restart after two years of not being able to recruit enough students. Amateur hire at the Theatre still accounts for about a third of our year, and most of the amateur companies enjoy great success with large attendances.

Chair lifts have now been installed in both the Main House and the Studio Block, and we are refurbishing all the display boards and advertising in the Foyer and Bar. Also, we are currently installing a cooling system to the Vesta Tilley Studio, which gets very hot during performances. The Bransford Trust has agreed to take a full maintaining lease with Worcester City Council on behalf of Worcester Live and is involved in negotiations, which have so far taken some considerable time. Asbestos is an on-going problem, particularly when repairs are needed that involve removing it to get at the problem.

ANNUAL REPORT September 2015 – August 2016

Huntingdon Hall -Peatbog Faeries

Swan Theatre -Ballet Theatre UK

SYT Company -The Trojan Women

3

Swan Youth Theatre

Huntingdon Hall The Hall has again experienced a difficult year in terms of ticket sales. We staged the usual eclectic mix of concerts in various genres, including Rock, Jazz, Folk, World, Blues,

Tribute, Pop, R&B, Classical, Lectures and Comedy. Comedy always seems to sell well, and some Tribute, but sales in many of the other genres were difficult. We are currently looking at a new marketing strategy and possibly a change in programming policy. The Hall is still in urgent need of internal re-decoration and we are currently trying to raise £30,000 to fund the project. Generally, Huntingdon Hall remains a popular, ambient venue, and was voted favourite Worcestershire venue by readers of What’s On magazine.

The SYT continues to run eight different classes for children aged between 5 and 18. 2015-16 was a busy year for all groups with a new

work I Am Jack being premiered in the Vesta Tilley Studio, a site specific production of The Trojan Women staged at St Swithun’s Church, Worcester, and the Intermediates’ TheatreFest involving all members of the younger groups of the SYT. LAMDA students once again achieved merits and distinctions across the board and all in higher grades. Rufus Norris continues to be the patron of the group and he is planning a visit in 2016-17.

The Historic Ghost Walk is just about to change. One of the features has been that the Walk finishes with a glass of mulled wine, formerly at the Commandery and more

recently at St Swithun’s Church. It is now not possible to do this at either of the venues, so we are abandoning the wine, re-routing the walk, reducing the price and generally rebranding. Early signs are that this version may be more popular than the previous one.

The Historic Ghost Walk of Worcester

Worcester FestivalThe fourteenth Festival was very successful, with over 400 events and over 200,000 people seeing an event at some point during the sixteen days. Over 80% of the events were free at point of contact and many events were suitable for families. Worcester Cathedral again staged many Festival events including a wonderful costume exhibition featuring several popular television series including Wolf Hall and The Tudors.

4

FUN FOR ALL

THE FAMILY

6-29 August 2011

Find out about all the events at

www.worcesterfestival.co.uk

Box Office 01905 611427

VisitWorcs.WorcsFestivalAd_85x180-14381-AW:Layout 1 18/05/2011 16:10 Page 1

FUN FOR ALL

THE FAMILY

6-29 August 2011

Find out about all the events at

www.worcesterfestival.co.uk

Box Office 01905 611427

VisitWorcs.WorcsFestivalAd_85x180-14381-AW:Layout 1 18/05/2011 16:10 Page 1

ANNUAL REPORT September 2015 – August 2016

5

Worcester Repertory Company

The producing company of Worcester Live has had a spectacularly good year. Its outdoor production from last year The Comedy of Errors was invited to the International Shakespeare Festival in Craiova, Romania along

with companies such as the National Theatre of Japan and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was performed twice outside, on the steps of the Romanian National Theatre. On both occasions there were large crowds and standing ovations. The outdoor summer production at the Commandery was for the first time a non-Shakespeare, and The Importance of Being Earnest proved hugely popular with large crowds. Romeo and Juliet was also popular in the Cathedral in October and performing in the Quire as opposed to the Lady Chapel gave a much-improved acoustic. Worcester Cathedral is the only Cathedral in the British Isles that allows an annual theatre production and it is a wonderful venue. It nevertheless continues to be a challenge to make a professional production break even with so short a performance run. Dick Whittington was the pantomime this year and large audiences flocked to the 60 performances. Schools performances were down a little on attendances but our research shows that more schools are ‘buying in’ a small touring pantomime rather than taking the pupils out.

The Rep. also continued its policy of presenting new work in the Vesta Tilley Studio, and premiered a new work by Artistic Director Chris Jaeger, Suitable for Shop Work, and new work by Nick Wilkes, writer in residence at Malvern Theatres, Litter Hero. New work is partially subsidised by the Reprobates, the Worcester Rep. supporters club, of which there are currently 134.

Worcester Rep at the Cathedral 2015 - Romeo and Juliet

Worcester Rep - Litter Hero

Worcester Rep performing on

the steps of the National Theatre of

Craiova, Romania

Worcester Rep at the Commandery - The Importance of Being Earnest

• Worcester Live has changed its name to Worcester Live Charitable Trust so that funding bodies can better understand its role in providing Arts in Worcester.

• Building work is about to start on the Henry Sandon Hall on the Worcester Porcelain site, a new arts building which will be run by Worcester Live. It is due to open in Autumn 2017.

• We have created a new partnership classification for companies with whom we work very closely. So far there are three Associated Companies: The Elgar School of Music, which shares a site with Huntingdon Hall; The English String Orchestra, which is Worcester Live’s Orchestra in Residence; and Academy Theatre Arts, which provides all the juvenile dancers for the professional pantomime.

• The Bransford Trust has offered to take a long-term maintaining lease on the Swan Theatre on behalf of Worcester Live. Negotiations are ongoing.

• Our Chief Technician Jake Chambers got married in July, in Malta. Congratulations!

• Worcester Live fundraises throughout the year and this year our most successful individual fundraiser was the Swan Theatre Auction Night, which raised £5,300.

Snippets

6

ANNUAL REPORT September 2015 – August 2016

7

Worcester Live Chairman: Lord Faulkner of WorcesterSwan Theatre Patron: Imelda Staunton CBE

Swan Youth Theatre Patron: Rufus Norris Worcester Live, Huntingdon Hall, CrownGate, Worcester WR1 3LD

Box Office: 01905 611427 Administration: 01905 611714 Swan Theatre: 01905 726969Fax [Hall]: 01905 619958 Fax [Swan]: 01905 723806

www.worcesterlive.co.uk

Registration Number: 2233315. Registered Charity Number: 701310. Registered Office: J Yelland & Co. 22 Sansome Walk, Worcester WR1 1LS2015

-16

InformationFull time Staff Chris Jaeger MBE (Chief Executive)Liz Grand (Administration Director &

Deputy Chief Executive)Mik Symonds (Operations Manager)Nick Pulford (Box Office Manager)Gemma Martyn Smith (Marketing

Manager)Jake Chambers (Chief Technician)Rebecca Farrow (House Manager &

Deputy Administration Manager) Sue Webster (Deputy Box Office

Manager)Hannah Burton (House Manager &

Operations Officer)Ysabel Steggles (House Manager &

Operations Officer)Jessica Charles (Marketing Officer)Lucy Mansfied (Technician)Jack Coleman (Technician) Sue Adams (Cleaner)

Part time Staff Ann Crohill (House Manager)Caroline Hobbs (House Manager)Lyn Seymour (House Manager)Mary Windows-Yule (House Manager)Hannah Evans (Box Office Assistant)Ruaridh Gilfillan (Box Office

Assistant) Zoë Warner (Box Office Assistant)Daniel Haimes (Box Office Assistant)Eddy Westbury (Box Office

Assistant)Mike Martin (Caretaker)Ben Humphrey (Artistic Director

Youth Theatre & Associate Director, Worcester Repertory Company.)

Nick Wilkes (Head of Swan Theatre School)

Mel Lewis (Youth Tutor)Jessica Wells (Youth Tutor)Bev Bevan (Youth Tutor)Deborah Harding (Happy Steps)

(Dance Company in Residence)

Board of Directors including co-opted and ex-officio members Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Chair)

(Deputy Speaker, House of Lords)John Yelland OBE (Chartered

Accountant, Company Secretary)John Murfin (Owner, Sunshine Radio)Professor Judith Elkin (Chair, County

Arts Panel)Dawn Oliver (Partner, Head of Probate,

Harrison Clark Rickerbys Solicitors)Steve Boffy (University of Worcester

Arts Liaison Officer)Sir Michael Perry GBE (Ex-Chairman

of the Globe Theatre, ex-Chairman of Unilever & British Gas, Chairman of Worcester Three Choirs)

Jan Vale (Chairman, Friends of the Swan Theatre)

Alan Stuttard (Ex-Chief Executive, Worcester City Council)

Dr Adrian Gregson (Leader, Worcester City Council – political appointee)

Anne Hannaford (Director of Information & Learning Services, University of Worcester)

Erica Burlace (Manager, CrownGate Shopping Centre)

The Very Rev. Peter Atkinson (Dean of Worcester)

Robin Walker MP (Member of Parliament for Worcester)

Worcester Live Associated CompaniesThe English Symphony OrchestraThe Elgar School of MusicAcademy Theatre Arts

Worcester Live Official PartnersWorcester City CouncilWorcestershire County CouncilUniversity of WorcesterWorcester CathedralThe King’s SchoolHeart of Worcestershire College

The Royal Grammar SchoolThe CommanderyDanceFestSunshine RadioYouthcommWorcestershire Ambassadors

Current FundersEveryone listed has significantly funded us within the last 3 yearsWorcester City CouncilWorcestershire County CouncilBransford TrustElmley FoundationWorcester CathedralThe King’s SchoolThe Crown EstateCrownGate Shopping CentreThe Monument TrustThe Foyle FoundationR. D. Turner Charitable TrustGarfield Weston FoundationBaron Davenport’s CharityThe Rowlands TrustThe Fitton TrustThe Grimley CharityRichard Cadbury Charitable TrustAlbert & Elizabeth Clark Charitable TrustThe George W. Nield TrustFriends of the Swan TheatreFriends of Huntingdon HallThe Dumbreck CharityCharles Wolfson FoundationThe Ratcliff FoundationEdward & Dorothy Cadbury Charitable TrustWorcestershire Ambassadors

Platinum PatronsLord Faulkner of WorcesterSir Michael Perry GBEJohn Yelland OBECecil Duckworth CBEColin Kinnear OBEBrenda Kinnear