ANNUAL REVIEW 2016 – 17
01202 280000 www.lighthousepoole.co.uk
INTRODUCTION Reflecting on the past year has reminded me of how grateful I am to lead such a fantastic venue and to work with such an amazing team of people. This has been the year of the Capital Project – undertaken with relish and delivered on time despite the tightest of programmes to minimise the impact on the resident Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and other users, as well as to our own business. Getting the building fit for our artists and audiences was no mean feat and yet the team managed it with a determination that any CEO would be proud of. We closed the building on 31 May 2016 and re-opened with a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 12 October – admittedly with some areas not quite as finished as we had hoped. The result is a major improvement to many aspects of the venue and we wonder now how we managed before the changes. We are extremely grateful to Arts Council England, Borough of Poole and the many Trusts, Foundations and individuals who have given funding to enable us to complete this project. Since re-opening we have delivered a full and vibrant programme of amazing artists both from the UK and around the world and despite the closure audience figures held strong throughout the year. We achieved this by reducing the closure period, maintaining a strong public communications programme and presenting work in other spaces including performances in Poole Park and a local restaurant. Naturally, audiences were cautious about booking tickets in advance, which lead to ticket sales being down against budget in October, but sales rallied strongly once the programme restarted. In anticipation of the impact of the Capital Project, after six consecutive years of achieving a year-end surplus, we had budgeted for – and have reported – a small deficit. The re-opening programme included House Of Light, a major free event to welcome people into the venue to see the areas of refurbishment through an artist-led experience for which we commissioned 24 artists and 18 new and original pieces of work. Performances took place throughout Lighthouse. This year we appointed our first Artistic Producer to give coherence, direction and ambition to the organisation, delivering on the 80/20 Vision, with a focus on new work and nurturing and developing talent/artists. This new role gives a focal point, expertise and access for artists and creative companies to talk to us creatively and as a result we have established new working relationships with both solo artists and companies, commissioning and developing a range of new work. Partnership working has become a very important aspect of our work and this year we became a member of new strategic touring consortia lead by English Touring Theatre and continued to work with Black Theatre Live, Circus Evolution and Dance Touring Partnership. We also began a three-year partnership with Paine’s Plough to present The Roundabout, a unique pop-up theatre providing new contemporary plays which we sited in Poole Park, and have established a new three-year partnership with Duncan Reeves Productions to create and present our annual pantomime following a successful production of Aladdin. In 2017, we are partnering Serious in a unique Learning and Participation Consortium.
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As I write this introduction, we have received the great news that Lighthouse will remain an Arts Council client as part of the National Portfolio with guaranteed funding for the next four years. This will enable us to continue to deliver artistic excellence, cultural exchange, risk taking and experimentation, and for that we are truly thankful. We are also grateful to the Borough of Poole for its continuing investment in culture in Poole and for its recognition of the value the arts bring to the town and region, and the role Lighthouse plays delivering that by the bucket load. Looking to the future, our focus will be on increasing income and controlling costs to continue to develop great new work and opportunities. In 2018, we celebrate our 40th birthday with an exciting programme of activities to mark this key milestone. We will be creating a new production for The Sherling Studio and are continuing to develop our Learning and Participation programme to ensure that children and young people have opportunities to be involved in, and to benefit from, a fantastic arts programme. As always, I am indebted to our incredible team of staff, volunteers and trustees, as well as the support of our audiences and building users and the amazing talent of our artists that enables us to flourish. Everyone who works at Lighthouse, whether as a member of staff or a volunteer plays a vital part and I am hugely grateful to them all for their expertise and hard work, their commitment and their support which has contributed enormously to our continued success.
Elspeth McBain, Chief Executive, Lighthouse
FROM THE CHAIR CHAIR’S FOREWORD
I became chairman of Poole Arts Trust during the year under review taking over from David Pratley and I take this opportunity to add my belated thanks to him for his work and commitment over the previous seven years and for handing over an organisation in such good shape and good heart. David worked in arts management throughout his career whereas I come from a quite different background and the last twelve months have been a huge learning curve for me. The enthusiasm and commitment of the staff is self-evident, which makes the job of an external chairman that much easier. I have come to appreciate the intricate logistics required to run a multi-activity venue putting on several shows and performances every week coupled with the need to meet the objectives of our external funders. It is always difficult carrying out a major refurbishment of an existing building and more so while the occupants remain in situ. Although the building was closed to the general public while the work was being carried out, Lighthouse staff and the BSO continued to occupy the building throughout and I endorse the CEO’s compliments to everyone involved in the work and thank those who were not for their patience and tolerance. We opened again on 12 October as planned and the work was completed within budget, which was clearly of fundamental importance for our stakeholders and ourselves. I should also like to add my thanks to Elspeth’s for the support from Arts Council England and the Borough of Poole without which we would not be able to operate.
BOARD MEMBERS David Pratley (retired 18 October 2016)
Chair
Mike Jeffries (appointed 19 July 2016)
Chair
Sally Crawford Deputy Chair Amir Sadeh
Finally, my thanks go to my fellow members of the board who give a great deal of their time supporting the executive via the work of our various committees, and I look forward to seeing the future development of the organisation in our rejuvenated building.
Professor Bob Reeve
Mike Jeffries, Chair
Mark Powell
Clive Sherling (appointed 18 October 2016) Ian Metcalfe Sylvia Webster
OUR STRATEGIC AIMS ✚ Delivering a wide-ranging, high quality, nationally recognised arts and participation programme; developing new strands to the programme as well as nurturing companies and artists throughout Poole and the South West.
✚ Being the home of the BSO and working collaboratively to deliver its primary concert series.
✚ Ensuring financial resilience. ✚ Engaging with and developing our audiences. ✚ O perating a world-class facility to the benefit of stakeholders, artists, audiences and hirers.
Tracey Peters Michael Lovibond (retired 28 November 2016) Oren Lieberman (retired 18 October 2016)
EXECUTIVE Elspeth McBain
Chief Executive Officer
Martyn Balson
General Manager
Sara St George
Head of Sales & Marketing/Deputy CEO
Eifron Hopper
Head of Development, until May 2017
Stephen Wrentmore
Artistic Producer
Peter Wilson
Head of Finance
LIGHTHOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2016-17 3
DELIVERING GREAT ART DELIVERING A GREAT ARTS AND PARTICIPATION PROGRAMME
Our programme is significant, broad and diverse and the 80/20 Vision is central to delivering this. We have taken greater ownership of the work we present – 80% is received, but 20% is self-produced – and Lighthouse is increasingly recognised for the diversity of its programme and high quality output. By actively supporting work from exciting non-mainstream companies and developing opportunities for new talent with real ambition we have expanded the programme for younger audiences whilst honing our own producing and creating skills. The successes Lighthouse achieved despite financial challenges were because the work delivered meets the needs of audiences by providing access to the best national work within their locality. In 2016/17 the 80/20 Vision has again been at the heart of a season that is both artistically and commercially successful. We supported a continued programme of residencies, curation and creation opportunities and commissioned a number of new works, most notably the birth of ‘Lighthouse Presents’ and the in-house creation of the first entirely new work for the new Sherling Studio, Archipelago by Caridad Svich. Currently within our artist development programme are established theatre companies including Gecko, Wet Picnic, Angel Exit and Dante or Die, as well as contemporary circus artists The Gandinis. Emerging companies from the region like Sisata and Doppelganger are developing work with us and we are supporting a number of other individual practitioners, writers and artists. In the coming year this will include Mac’s Arcadian and Extraordinary Bodies Young Company (Diverse City). Through the Black Theatre Live (BTL) and Circus Evolution consortia, we have further expanded the breadth of our offer. Following the successful tours by BTL of Tara Arts’ Macbeth and Diary of a Hounslow Girl, this year we welcomed Inua Elams for An Evening with an Immigrant and continue to lead wherever possible with a programme that reflects the diversity of the nation as a whole.
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We again produced our own Christmas show, a return to traditional pantomime with Aladdin, presented to widespread acclaim with our new partners Duncan Reeves Productions. Phase two of the Capital Project was a valuable opportunity to expand into presenting a number of site-specific pieces outside the venue including Handle with Care by Dante or Die at Lok ‘n’ Store, Fleetsbridge, Fanny & Johnny Cradock Cook the Great American Songbook at The Kitchen and The Roundabout from Paines Plough, both in Poole Park.
With powerful performances played against Yoon Bae’s simple but effective set, lighting design by Ace McCarron and music from composer Karen Wimhurst, this is a production that subtly shows the strengths of the new Sherling Studio. Jeremy Miles on Archipelago, Bournemouth Echo
ORCHESTRATED SUCCESS THE HOME OF BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Our relationship with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is a real asset to Poole and continues to develop with closer working, joint initiatives and the implementation of a new Residency Agreement. This strong partnership has seen the co-promotion of two specially programmed family concerts, a, relaxed afternoon performance for concertgoers with autistic spectrum conditions and five community performances for schools. In December 2016, we co-created a successful live production of The Snowman and will be co-presenting it again in 2017.
We are proud of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s long-standing relationship with Lighthouse, a flagship cultural venue that has been our home for nearly 40 years. Lighthouse is where we plan our ambitious programmes and awardwinning engagement, and where we rehearse and deliver outstanding performances to our audiences in the concert hall and beyond. In addition to our extensive touring remit across 10,000 square miles of the South and South West, the BSO extends the reputation of Lighthouse nationally and internationally through regular live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. We would like to congratulate Lighthouse on the completion of the Capital Project of major refurbishments, which has improved significantly the working environment for the Orchestra, visiting guest soloists and conductors. I believe it has also enhanced the visitor experience of live classical music at Lighthouse for our audiences and will be enjoyed by many future generations to come. As we approach BSO’s 125th anniversary, our new Residency Agreement with Lighthouse is helping to establish a level of sustainability for both organisations in a time of continuing funding challenge for the Arts.By working more closely together we are better able to deliver for our audiences and supporters. I am particularly proud of our collaborations that have enabled Relaxed Concerts, special concerts for people living with dementia plus our ongoing programme of performances for school children and families to take place in our home venue. I believe the stronger relationship we have developed will enable Lighthouse and BSO to be at the forefront of advocating the vital role cultural engagement and opportunity must have in ensuring a vibrant and thriving society and economy in the region. Dougie Scarfe, Chief Executive, BSO
LIGHTHOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2016-17 5
18%
of programme dedicated to community performances
3
new theatre productions made in Lighthouse
2144
hours provided by volunteers, equivalent to ÂŁ36,143
1237 20
visual arts exhibitions
107
film screenings
hours provided by volunteer stewards
200+
visiting companies
ÂŁ16.06
average ticket price
2,000+ 77000+ subsidised tickets for students
171,315
tickets sold
6 LIGHTHOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2016-17
subsidised or discounted tickets
14000
people came to Lighthouse for the first time this year
PARTNERSHIPS Lighthouse works in partnership with many organisations to present a richly diverse and bold programme of live performance. New works we partnered with this year to present touring theatre, dance, contemporary circus and music include:
If you only go to the theatre once this festive season, then make it Lighthouse and Aladdin. I cannot recommend it enough. Penny Crighton-Seager, Scene OnePlus
NETWORKS Black Theatre Live Circus Evolution Dance Along the South Coast Regional Touring Network Dance Touring Partnership Music beyond Mainstream
PARTNERSHIPS Activate Arts University Bournemouth Angel Exit Arts Council England Borough of Poole Bournemouth and Poole College Bournemouth Tourism Bournemouth Symphony Chorus Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Crying Out Loud Dante Or Die Doppelganger Duncan Reeves Productions Extraordinary Bodies Young Company The Gandinis The Mayflower Theatre Paines Plough Pavilion Dance South West The Point, Easleigh Poole Tourism Serious Soundstorm Wave Wet Picnic
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FINANCIAL RESILIANCE REMAINING FINANCIALLY RESILIENCE The financial impact of continued and wider austerity has been felt across all aspects of the business. This has been most pronounced in terms of funding levels but has also continued to exert significant pressure on the cost of labour, production and overheads throughout the current period. This year we made a significant investment in our website and ticketing system. This has advanced our data processing capabilities and the integration this enables with services such as Audience Finder are proving invaluable. As the gap between funding and earned income threatens to continue to widen (even in the light of the on-going cost-saving and income-building measures) we were grateful to have been supported by an Arts Council Catalyst grant of up to £240,000 to build our development capacity (2014-2017). With the support of both Cause4 (an external organisation with long-standing expertise in this field) and new internal expertise the organisation aims to generate further financial support through the philanthropic giving of trusts, foundations, individuals and corporations for both the capital refurbishment works, for the longterm resilience of the venue and for specific learning, participation and development projects. All fundraising activity is taken under the umbrella of the ‘Love Lighthouse’ brand. Delivery of the capital refurbishment works has been enabled through large awards from grant making trusts such as Viridor Credits, and the Wolfson, Garfield Weston and Foyle Foundations. Phase two also included the construction of the newly refurbished Sherling Studio, named in recognition and gratitude of a significant private donation from Clive and Sally Sherling. The Terrace Cafe was run by licensee BH Live with the financial effect of a substantially reduced overhead for Lighthouse and a good food and beverage provision for our users. The initial five-year term of this arrangement expires in September 2017 and a new operator appointed.
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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED US THIS YEAR Arts Council England Borough of Poole Garfield Weston Foundation The Foyle Foundation Mr and Mrs Clive Sherling The Wolfson Foundation Viridor Credits Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Equitable Charitable Trust Lyn Glass Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK Plus indivual donors
WE ARE GRATEFUL TO SO MANY WHO CHOSE LIGHTHOUSE TO HOST THEIR CONFERENCE OR HOSPITALITY EVENT Albion Language School Banff Mountain Film Festival Borough of Poole Condor Ferries Diverse Abilities Plus Dorset Wildlife Trust Go South Coast Julia’s House Lush Open University PKF Francis Clark RNLI Rockley Park Wedding Daze Women’s Institute
SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENT For the year ended 31 March 2016 an unrestricted net deficit of £10,461 was recorded (2016: £21,880 surplus). Turnover (being total incoming resources not including voluntary and investment income) fell to £2,653,503 (2016: £2,685,981). While these results underscore Lighthouse’s on-going commitment to growing the organisation’s financial resilience and overall efficiency, whilst continuing to deliver a great programme of arts and participation in a world-class venue, the Board acknowledges that in the context of the period of extended closure a small operational deficit is to be expected and is in line with overall strategic planning. POOLE ARTS TRUST LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANY
INCOME Direct Programme and Event Income
50%
Trading Company
15%
Grants, Borough of Poole
14%
Grants, Arts Council England
11%
Bars, Catering & Merchandise
10%
EXPENDITURE Direct Programme and Event Costs
47%
Support Costs
14%
Establishment Costs
12%
Trading Company
11%
Marketing & Publicity
9%
Bars, Catering & Merchandise
7%
POOLE ARTS TRUST LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANY Unrestricted funds – total £000s
2017
2016
784
807
5
3
763
803
Income from events programme
1894
1889
Total income
3446
3502
619
597
Costs for events programme
1737
1655
Administration, services and marketing
1100
1228
Total expenditure
3456
3480
(10)
22
INCOME Grant income Donations and gifts Trading sales
EXPENDITURE Trading costs
Surplus/(deficit) for year
* This ANNUAL REVIEW has been prepared in order to summarise the financial information for the year ending 31 March 2017. The information in this report has been derived from the full audited accounts which can obtained from Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts, Kingland Road, Poole, BH15 1UG.
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REACHING OUT AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
Our programme is designed to appeal to a diverse range of visitors from across the region and our in-depth work with Arts Council England’s Audience Finder project profiles audience data annually. This year we made a significant investment in our website and ticketing system and both the advanced data processing capabilities of this system and the integration this enables with services such as Audience Finder are proving invaluable. The central desire to be an inclusive venue at the service of the community is reflected both in our ticket prices and our continued commitment to ensure everyone, locally and regionally, has access to the unique and vibrant experiences Lighthouse has to offer. As planned, this year we have continued to develop our Learning and Participation programme, developing our relations with schools and stakeholders in a much more proactive way. As well as a fascinating programme of outreach from visiting artists, workshops and preand post-show talks, we have developed a range of bespoke new programmes of our own. We have continued to a deeper relationship with Soundstorm/Wave, Bournemouth and Poole’s award winning music and arts education agency, engaging with them to further develop our school and community programmes. To this end we have now launched our new partner schools programme, whereby eight local schools are selected for an initial focus of one academic year to forge closer relations, to inspire pupils and to connect them with the extraordinary work Lighthouse has to offer. The start of this journey is yielding exciting results, including the launch of the Young Programmers, Young Technicians and Young Critics streams, and this year the Young Producers stream.
548
complimentary teacher tickets
1162
Learning & Participation sessions Delivered by 343 artists For 15407 participants
LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL PARTNERS Lighthouse launched its first ever partnership schools programme in2017. The partnership sees each partner school committing to bring students to see live performances at Lighthouse, and be champions for the arts within their communities. In return, partner schools see behind the scenes, get priority access to outreach workshops, receive careers talks from Lighthouse staff and access a range of additional exciting opportunities.
4721
subsidised tickets for schools 10 LIGHTHOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2016-17
Avonbourne Carter Community School Harewood Lytchett Minster School Oakdale Junior School Queen Elizabeths (QE) St Aldhelms Academy Winchelsea
AUDIENCES AND ACCESS AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
The wide variety and diversity of a high quality live arts programme enriches local cultural life and individual growth and development while feeding community interaction, economic prosperity and the national and international profile of Poole and the wider South West region. Poole Arts Trust is committed to providing an accessible programme and the performance and meeting spaces at Lighthouse offer local artists, community organisations and businesses a unique facility in which to perform and meet. The programme has increased the opportunity for deeper engagement through participation projects which have significant public benefit and our rebooted Learning and Participation programme is a key part of our 80/20 Vision, enabling us to extend our reach to the local community, meet the needs of specific local groups, and build local and regional partnerships to refresh our programme and to develop audiences. The organisation works closely with schools, colleges and universities
offering talks, mentoring and project participation opportunities and we operate a comprehensive access policy, ensuring that all sectors of the community can experience our building and programme in both ticketed and non-ticketed activities. Our participation in the Access to Leisure and Learning scheme ensured financial barriers were reduced for many on low incomes and we introduced two new initiatives to support those with disabilities – dementia film screenings and a relaxed concert with the BSO for concertgoers with autistic spectrum conditions, sensory, communication or learning difficulties and anyone who would benefit from a less formal environment.
Lighthouse has been amazing, offering staff time and expertise. Young Producers was very creative, almost a new formulation of what being a producer is, and the group learned masses from gaining practical insights and acquiring a range of highly transferable skills they’ll be able to apply in whatever they do in the future. Participant, Young Producers
LIGHTHOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2016-17 11
CREATING THE BEST A WORLD CLASS FACILITY
A successful application to Arts Council England for £4m of capital funding, which was complemented by £650,000 from Borough of Poole, to improve our facilities, sustainability and financial resilience, is as hoped, proving transformational. A significant amount of time over the last four years has been spent developing the project, heavily involving staff, users and stakeholders. Delivery is now complete, having been undertaken in two phases during each of the summers of 2015 and 2016. The investment we have made in updating and improving operational equipment such as PA and lighting as well as replacing and updating digital technology is already significantly improving delivery of the artistic programme for audiences, artists and staff. Having retained our Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, our staff continue to receive detailed training and mentoring with a variety of specific programmes in place to ensure the customer experience at Lighthouse is second-to-none. We have also introduced a management training programme to ensure access to progression and learning throughout the business with our first trainee now in post. As in previous years we have continued to support internships in the marketing team.
Each of the main consultants and contractors for the Capital Project works are based in and around the region, and we are grateful to each of them for the skills and expertise they have brought to delivering this project: Project Management, Quantity Surveyor Currie and Brown, Exeter Architect Design Engine Ltd, Winchester Acousticians Sustainable Acoustics Limited, Winchester Structural Engineer AKSWard Limited, Southampton Theatre Consultants Charcoalblue, London M&E Consultants RHB Partnership LLP, Southampton Main Contractor Stepnell Ltd, Poole Lead Electrical Contractor VC Dominey Electrical Services, Poole Lead Mechanical Contractor Dixons Mechanical Services Limited, Poole
We regularly capture users’ feedback on both performances and the venue. Continual evaluation and monitoring of our offering is crucial in providing the best service for our community. This feedback and the related investment in training, facilities and mentorship is proving vital in growing customer service and is seeing Lighthouse’s offer go from strength to strength. We also continue to monitor social media (including Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor) to evaluate performances.
The carpet has gone and the Theatre is about to be cle aned
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LIGHTHOUSE ANNUAL REVIEW 2016-17 13
Company Registration Number: 1368325 Charity Registration Number: 275961 Registered and Principal Office: Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts, Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1UG
01202 280000 www.lighthousepoole.co.uk