Theatre asks council for £20,000 a year to offset subsidies

THE Kenton Theatre in Henley is set to receive a one-off grant of £20,000 from the town council so it can continue to subsidise hire costs for community groups.

Twenty-four groups, including the Henley Players and Henley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, are currently eligible for a discount of up to 50 per cent.

But the theatre management says it can no longer afford the subsidies which meant the Kenton had lost £48,000 in fees between October last year and July.

This is the theatre’s latest request for money from the council following its bid for a £100,000 loan, which was agreed in October.

Dennis Oliver, a member of Kenton Theatre Management Society, submitted the application for a grant of £20,000 a year for the next three years.

In a statement, he said: “Part of the ethos of the theatre is to support local community groups who need access to a fully functional theatre. The theatre currently supports 24 groups which include drama groups and schools.

“In the period between October 2022 and July 2023 the theatre was hired out to such groups for 97 days and these groups are eligible for a discount of up to 50 per cent against the normal commercial hire fee.

“The financial impact of this on the theatre is quite substantial. Ninety-seven days’ hire at the normal commercial rate, including VAT, would have earned the theatre £92,000. The actual hire fees charged totalled £44,000, a difference of £48,000.

“There are no cost savings associated with hire to a local community group and the difference is in effect a direct subsidy to the group, which adversely impacts the theatre’s financial situation.

“The theatre has no wish to withdraw the discount as it is a key component of the relationship between the theatre, the local community groups and the wider community.

“That said, if the community wants the Kenton Theatre to continue, it must become financially viable and, in that objective, it is going to need the help of the town council in supporting local community groups.”

Mr Oliver, a trustee of the theatre, told a meeting of the council’s finance strategy and management committee that the Kenton had been in financial difficulty.

He said: “The truth is that the revenue and the surplus that we get from shows is inadequate in its own way to support the theatre as it’s being run.

“We don’t want to take that discount away from them [community groups]. I mean, we’ve given them a commitment that the discount will remain in place for at least another 20 months.

“What we are doing is asking you to help us to help them and the theatre to continue to fly in the coming period.”

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak asked whether the theatre could cover the £28,000 in lost fees if the council awarded it £20,000.

Mr Oliver replied: “We are going to see if we can get something from South Oxfordshire District Council. We’ve raised £20,000 in the last two months from high wealth individuals in the locality. We are looking at sponsorship and we’re in conversation with a number of organisations about sponsoring the bar facility.

“We’re in the process of making brand applications to help fund specific building projects. For example, we are desperately short of office space.” Tara Macleod, who chairs the theatre’s trustees, said: “We are very grateful that you’ve helped us out with a loan. It is a loan. You haven’t given us any money. We are paying for it at 5.61 per cent per annum.

“You did give us a grace period of two years. I’m aware of this. Just to be clear, it’s not a gift, it is a contractual arrangement. We are asking for something quite different at the moment.

“We’re looking at all our programming to make sure that we actually put on shows and we make money and so does the community.

“At the same time, we’re desperately trying to protect our community players and that’s why we’re asking for this. But, going forward, we have to create new business streams which all of us and our trustees are trying desperately to do.

“Due to your good grace in allowing us to borrow money from you, we have kept the lights on but still we’re not out of the water by any stretch of the imagination.

“I can assure you that we are very focused. We’re very clear for the first time and just need a bit more support.”

The committee agreed to a £20,000 grant for a year and a final decision will be made by the full council.