Swan theatre closure fears

A budget cut of £83,000, proposed by the city council, may have sounded the death knell for the theatre.

If closure goes ahead, it would mean 30 redundancies and the end of an era for the theatre, which counts actors Ian Lavender and Jean Boht among its supporters.

The shortfall of £83,000 will leave the theatre with a city council grant of around £54,000. That would have a negative knock-on effect on other donations.

"This has come as an absolute bombshell and I think there will be a lot of shock and grief among our supporters," said artistic director Jenny Stephens, who is now launching a fighting fund.

Soft target

"The theatre provides entertainment and culture which is needed for a vibrant city but I fear we're being used as a soft target.

"We're now calling on all our supporters to lobby the city council. If we manage to get this decision reversed by the end of November we may be in with a chance of saving it for another year."

Gerald Harris, chairman of the board, said they were now reviewing all options for the theatre, which plays host to national touring groups as well as in-house productions.

"But closure next year is inevitable if the cuts go ahead," he said.

The theatre, a registered charity, was expecting to receive £138,000 from the city council.

But if this is not forthcoming - which council chiefs have indicated will be the case - other grants of £28,000 from Worcestershire County Council and £179,000 from West Midlands Arts are likely to be withdrawn.

"The city council grant is a lever to the others and without them we cannot survive," said Ms Stephens.

"The closure will not only mean 30 full and part-time job losses but it will leave a number of groups without a base.

"Those affected will include the Swan Theatre Company, Worcester City Artists, the disabled artists group, three youth theatres, the Swan Playwrights group and a drama group for the under fives.

"It's tragic that it should happen at this time as sales for the Christmas show, The Adventures of Pinocchio, are already 15 per cent up on last year.

"West Midlands Arts had already pledged to give us an extra £50,000 to make up an identified shortfall.

"But we will lose this money if the city council does not back us and I have been given the strong indication they won't change their minds.

"We now have to start putting the closure plans into place as we can't make bookings for the next season if we are not going to be here," she said.

A meeting of the Friends of the Swan Theatre will be held on Monday, October 14. For more information about the fighting fund contact the box office on 01905 27322.

'Swan must face financial reality'

THE leader of Worcester City Council has told the Swan Theatre that it must face financial reality.

Councillor Stephen Inman, who has spoken to the theatre, said the council was willing to continue its basic annual grant of £54,000, but said the Guildhall was facing its own financial difficulties and could not sustain the level of funding the theatre had received in recent years.

Four years ago, the council came to the rescue of the Swan and agreed to increase the grant by £83,000 to £137,000 for three years.

An extra year at this level was agreed last year and the grant was matched by West Midlands Arts.

But last month, the council revealed that is was facing a potential £1.1m deficit next year unless it made cuts to the budget.

"The city council has generously supported the Swan Theatre over many years in the face of mounting costs.

"But this request for even more public subsidy is not sustainable," said Coun Inman.

"In view of the need to make significant cuts to our own budget it is impossible to provide the extra financial support the theatre says it needs."

"I understand that, unless we are able to fund the theatre at three times the basic grant figure, the Swan can't survive.

"This is regrettable but, like the council, the Swan has to face financial reality," he added.

Coun Adrian Gregson, leader of the Labour group, said it was outrageous to cut the theatre's grant.

"The council should provide sensible and rational support for the arts. We have supported it for many years and the suggestion that it is going to close is quite unthinkable," he said.

Worcester MP Mike Foster said the city council would be sounding the death knell for the theatre by cutting the grant.

"It looks at this moment that this is the end of the Swan in Worcester and that is a tragedy.

"There will be thousands of people who will have many happy memories of productions there.

"When city councils have a budget crisis this is the real impact - the loss of valued services," he said.

West Midlands Arts were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

Amateurs vow to keep theatre open

LOCAL amateur drama groups who stage productions at the Swan have vowed that they will fight to save it from closing.

Dave Skelton, business manager for Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Youth Society, said it was disastrous news.

"The arts across the board is the lifeblood of a local community - to cut the funding back by such a large amount is horrendous," he said.

"We must do all we can to make sure the theatre stays open. It provides a great deal of enjoyment for a large number of people in the community."

Dave Harlock, chairman of Kays Theatre Group, echoed these views.

"I certainly want to keep the theatre open - not just for the amateur groups but for the good citizens of Worcester.

"The theatre's organising committee have got to meet with the amateur groups to ask what they can do for them," he said.

Jean Glover, secretary of the Great Witley Operatic Society, said the group planned to attend a meeting on Monday about the crisis.

"We have a production booked for April and we are worried about the news," she said.