Why the Belgrade Theatre is a Charity
David Jane, Commercial Director at the Belgrade Theatre, explains why it has been a registered charity (number 219163) since 1963.
Access to high quality and affordable theatre
“There are four primary reasons why the Belgrade Theatre is a registered charity. Firstly, it offers the people of Coventry and Warwickshire the opportunity to see some of the country’s best drama, musicals, comedy and music, without having to travel far to see them. The people of the city have the right to be able to come and see these productions at as reasonable a price as we are able to offer. Due to the cost of staging these productions, the Belgrade, like many other theatres, only receives on average 5% of the ticket price, with the rest being used to pay the touring company and the direct production costs. The theatre relies on its public subsidy to maintain its building and staff without having to charge much higher prices to the public.”
The Belgrade as a Producing Theatre reflecting the Coventry Community
“Secondly, the work that the Belgrade produces itself is unique to Coventry. After much consideration and consultation, our Artistic Director, Hamish Glen, chose a European repertoire of work to reflect Coventry’s internationalism and its unique position as the city of Peace and Reconciliation. Work such as One Night in November, We Love You City and Too Much Pressure has highlighted specific moments in Coventry’s history. Also, our productions are often there to challenge people’s perception of the world around them. Behud, for example questioned people’s attitudes toward censorship. Most importantly, however, our productions are there to entertain and our recent record breaking pantomime, Cinderella, is testament to that.”
Developing the Creative Professionals of the Future
“Thirdly, since first opening in 1958, the Belgrade has played an important role in developing creative professionals. Well known stage and screen actors like Richard Briers, Sir Ian McKellen, David Suchet, Rosemary Leach and Clive Owen and Directors such as Sir Trevor Nunn, all started their careers at the Belgrade and were heavily influenced by its avant-garde approach to theatre in Britain. In the 60s and 70s, Coventry was the place to be if you were an aspiring young actor. The work that we produce today is once again challenging the boundaries of British theatre and the actors that we are working with today will be the UK’s much loved and respected performers in 20 years time. We are heavily investing in the future of British arts.
Supporting young people in our Community
“Finally, through the Community & Education Company, the Belgrade Theatre invests a lot of its resources in supporting work with young people at risk of exclusion from education or society. Programmes such as Acting Up have helped many young people at serious risk of permanent exclusion from school to gain qualifications in Drama and Dance and they have since gone on to further and higher education and employment. Without the support to stay in education, Home Office statistics show that around 68% of them would have ended up regularly involved in criminal activities.¹”
As a charity, the Belgrade Theatre is committed to using the performing arts to offer the people of Coventry and Warwickshire the very best entertaining, educational and thought-provoking productions, and to develop our creative professionals to ensure a successful future for the Arts. The funding to allow this to be achieved is found from a variety of sources including, Coventry City Council and Arts Council, ticket sales, secondary spend (such as ice-creams and programmes), commercial activities (such as conferencing and set building for other theatres), corporate sponsorship and donations from grant making organisations and individuals.
You can learn more about how the Belgrade Theatre helps young people at risk of exclusion by reading this interview from the Coventry Telegraph with Danielle Ismay, a past participant on the Belgrade Theatre’s Acting Out Programme
¹The independent effects of permanent exclusion from school on the offending careers of young people David Berridge, Isabelle Brodie, John Pitts, David Porteous and Roger Tarling. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/occ71-exclusion.pdf .
