ANNUAL REPORT 2024 A YEAR IN REVIEW
Photo: Jack & The Beanstalk 2023. Photography by Claire Griffiths
LOWTHER PAVILION Set in the beautiful Lowther Gardens in Lytham St Annes, the Lowther Pavilion Theatre & Gardens has a proud history of serving the Fylde Coast and surrounding areas as a cultural hub since 1921. In 2023, we staged 339 unique shows and performances, both indoors and outdoors.
"Excellent selection of shows. There really is something for everyone. Bookings can be made at the theatre, over the phone or via the website. Beautiful theatre, gardens and great parking. We regularly check for new shows and are impressed every time we visit." - Tripadvisor review "Just been to see Jack and the Beanstalk and experienced the best pantomime ever. We laughed from start to finish. The costumes and scenery were superb and every performer deserves credit. Thank you all at Lowther and the production company for a truly wonderful time." - Tripadvisor review
OUR AUDIENCE Our audience is always changing, but over the last 12 months, we particularly noticed: • Over £2 million in revenue turnover. • £1.5 million of which is solely ticket revenue. • We sold over 79,000 tickets, • 62% of tickets where purchased as Print at Home/E-Ticket, while 33% of tickets where collected at our box Office. • 73% of tickets purchased where via our website, 25% purchased in-person and 2% purchased over the phone • Around 49% of our customers book more than 8 weeks in advance, while around 29% book between 3 - 8 weeks in advance.
Data capture from our Box Office CRM.
OUR REACH Over the past 12 months, we’ve: • Produced and distributed over 60k brochures • Had 1,453,137 visits to our website • Reached 902k people on Facebook • Reached 25k people on Instagram • Sent 1,016,923 emails to our customers, which were opened 644,853 times.
OUR REACH: GOOGLE ADWORDS Since 2022, we have established and run a on-going and rolling Google AdWords campaign, which is split up into 3 key segments. Over the course of this year, we have seen a return on investment with: • £145,000 in total revenue/conversions • Over 4,000 transactions • 79,300 total link clicks • 182,700 total impressions
Our Google AdWords account is managed by National World.
CHRISTMAS AT LOWTHER Over 13,000 people came to see this year’s pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, across 40 performances. Produced by Paul Holman Associates, this year’s pantomime became our most financially successful one yet. The production saw a £26k increase on last year’s ticket sales. This year’s pantomime also saw us: Hit over 5,680 lighting cues Play over 4,800 sound effects and video cues Hand out 10,000 free souvenir programmes For the first time, we put Snow White, our Christmas 2024/25 pantomime, on sale to coincide with the first performance of Jack & The Beanstalk.
A CHRISTMAS 2024 PANTO!
ON SALE NOW! LOWTHERPAVILION.CO.UK 01253 794221
CHRISTMAS AT LOWTHER: PANTO REVIEWS “A truly memorable evening. We laughed from start to finish and rate it the best panto (if not live theatre show) we have ever seen.” - Audience member
“A superb panto. Great fun for the grandchildren and the grandparents. An excellent show unlikely to be bettered at larger venues. Great value and well done to the volunteers.” - Audience member
“Absolutely fantastic! It was also the first time our 4 year old granddaughter had been to a pantomime, and her first words at the end were can we come again? Well worth the visit. Will definitely visit again.” - Audience member
CHRISTMAS AT LOWTHER: LOWTHER'S CHRISTMAS SONGS & STORIES On Thursday 21 December 2023, we put together a Christmas event whereby we invited local community groups and inidivudals from within the community to perform and get involved. We worked with: • St Annes Rock Choir • Community Connect Choir • Defibrillate • Blazing Souls (Youth Band) • Members of the Lowther Gardens Trust • Children from the Home Education Classes • Lowther’s Youth Theatre The event acted a fundraiser event, with the money from each ticket going towards our new Education Centre & Studio Theatre. We also worked closely with the Lowther Pavilion Cafe who provided each attendee with a complimentary mince pie.
OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS Believe it or not, there is life after (and before) the pantomime (oh no there isn't), which means we've been able to showcase some flagship shows and events including: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Rick Wakeman Jasper Carrot
Chris McCausland George McGavin Arthur Smith
Times Like These
Red Hot Chilli Pipers Teach Rex Live
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Daniel Crainer Big Country
By The Waters of Liverpool Sinatra RAW Paul Zerdin
Seth Lakeman Dave Spikey
Lytham Internal Film Festival
In March, we produced and performed our first original in-house musical. This received a variety of press including an interview on ITV's Granada Reports.
Photo: Times Like These. Photography by Claire Griffiths
FOLK CLUB It was in 2023 that we also launched our brand-new Folk Club, featuring notable acts in the UK folk scene, including: • Iona Lane • Jack Rutter • The Brothers Gilespie • Emily Portman • Maddy Prior & The Forgotten Lands • Malin Lewis • Katie Spencer In 2024 we are adding a Folk & Roots Festival to our outdoor offerings featuring local maritime acts alongside popular headliners.
FOLK CLUB
Photo: Folk Club with Iona Lane. Photography by Steph Windross.
LOWTHER CREATIVES Over the last 12 months, we have continued to build on the work of our Lowther Creatives programme by offering young people and adults the chance to develop skills and meet new people. • 1,280 sessions of participatory workshops including youth theatre, home education, adult theatre and technical training. • Over 50 groups of people got involved with the activities in the The Tent. • Over 26 young people aged 8 - 16 who attended our sold out film schools with UCLan Lecturer and Filmmaker Ed Greenberg. • Plus, we supported 30 aged 7 - 14 young people to achieve their Discover Arts Award.
LOWTHER CREATIVES Our Senior youth Theatre group also took part in National Theatre Connections, which saw them perform on the Blackpool Grand’s historic stage. “Her confidence has sky rocketed since she’s worked with you and it’s a real credit to all your hard work and encouragement.” – Parent, Junior Youth Theatre “…such a lovely show, really enjoyed it. I love how imaginative they are, full of confidence too, thank you for all the hard work and time you have put in for them….” – Parent, Senior Youth Theatre “…an instructive introduction to theatre, acting and story telling. I had no prior knowledge or experience and the adult theatre group has been a great way to learn. I’m glad I’m part of this shared experience.” – Participant, Adult Theatre Group
Photo: Home Ed Drama. Photography by Kerry Tuhill.
COMMUNITY ARTS In the last year, we have continued to provide a space for amateur dramatic groups and local performing arts schools to present their shows to friends and families. These include: • Rainbow Dance and Theatre School (Peter Pan) • AKS (Chicago) • NW1 Theatre Schools (Sister Act The Musical) • Kidz 4 Kidz • Cre8iv Theatre Co (The Next Generation: School of Rock The Musical) • Fylde Coast Players (Pygmalion, The Haunted Through Lounge and Recessed Dining Nook at Farndale Castle) • Anonymous Players (Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders) • The Sound of Musical Theatre Company (Cats, Elf The Musical) • St Annes Muscial Productions (Evita) • Rarity Dance • Clifton Academy (The Academy Showcase) • St Annes Parish Operatic Society (9 To 5 The Musical) • Electric Youth Theatre (SPARKS - A Celebration of the West End & Broadway) • The Christie Musical Theatre Company (The Full Monty, A Concert For Christies)
IN THE GARDENS We’ve welcomed thousands of visitors through the gates to our award-winning gardens in 2023. Our gardens are home to: • 250 plants and flowers • 5 annual, free-to-enter festivals (Lowther's Easter Surprise, Lowther's Ice Cream Festival, Lowther's Food & Drink Festival and Pumpkins in the Park) • Three Padel Tennis courts • A new mini-golf course designed by our Gardeners • A new avenue of trees leading towards the Shrimper • Drive-in Cinema • Outdoor theatre
• A re-designed Rose Garden • A free activity pack Our gardens also won two special awards at the North West in Bloom awards: The Discretionary Award for Parks & Green Spaces, and gold in the Best Small Park (Local Authority) alongside Ashton Gardens. In 2024, our hugely popular summer venue, The Tent, will return.
Photo: Lowther’s Food & Drink Festival. Photography by Anthony Price.
THE TENT This summer, we presented The Tent - a temporary community marquee out in our gardens. The projects allowed us to reach out and engage with community groups from across the local area by offering them a free space to hire. Running from Saturday 22 July to Monday 28 August, The Tent allowed us to curate a programme of events ranging from a brass band performance, choir rehearsals, world food nights and family workshops. We worked with Lytham St Annes Shanty Crew, Mizzen Shanty Crew, Scolds Bridal, Seriously Hooked Up Big Knit and Natter, Connect Community Choir, Lytham Heritage Group, Electric Pink Voices LGBTQ+ Choir, St Annes Rock Choir, Freckleton Brass Band, The Lytham St Annes Civic Society, Fylde Coast Players and the Friends of Lowther Pavilion.
Photo: Ukranian Food Night in The Tent.
SUMMER OUTDOOR THEATRE In 2023, we welcomed over 2,000 people into our gardens for paid, outdoor performances including: Dick Whittington Emperor’s New Clothes and Other Stories Alice in Wonderland Peter Pan The Little Mermaid Wind in the Willows Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Beatrix “The outdoor shows were fantastic. Our 7 seven year old granddaughter and ourselves have enjoyed it immensely. Well done to the outdoor theatre cast and crew!” - Audience member, Google Review
AS A CHARITY Over the last 12 months, we've had more than [X] amount in donations, with just over [X] being donated to our Remember Me campaign. In February 2023, our Theatre Administrator, Colin Alexander, ran 50 miles around our gardens to raise money for our new Education Centre & Studio Theatre. In total, Colin raised £1405. In July 2023, our Head of Marketing, Anthony Price, completed his first 10k Tough Mudder obstacle run in Heaton Park, Manchester. In total, Anthony raised £1000. Thank you to everyone who has donated over the years - your support is incredibly important and helps us to remain at the heart of the Fylde community for generations to come.
VOLUNTEERS Our friendly team of active volunteers are a key part of success, as they provide support with events and workshops, marketing collateral distribution and Box Office cover. Over 150 volunteers donated around 18,911 hours of their time. Their donated time is worth over £200,000. We couldn't do what we do without them!
OUR FUTURE Not only did we open our 2023 pantomime on Monday 4 December with a sold-out performance, but construction work on our highly-anticipated Education Centre and Studio Theatre also began. That's right, the steelwork for our new, additional 150-seat space arrived early December and the team employed by J Robinson Construction LTD spent the Christmas period constructing it. When completed, this new venue will not only double our creative programme and output, but it will also boost the number of local opportunities from volunteering to employment. It's important to note that while we've made great progress in kickstarting the construction work, we're still working hard to fundraising the fit out of the Education Centre & Studio Theatre and the remaining two phases of our ambitious re-development campaign. If you'd like to find out more about how you can help, please visit lowtherpavilion.co.uk/support-us. Photo: Steelwork Set Up. Photography by Jac Brown.
Photo: Steelwork Set Up. Photography by Anthony Price.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. thelowtherpavilion lowtherpavilion lowtherpavilion.co.uk |
01253794221
The Lowther Pavilion Theatre greatly acknowledges support from: