Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is one of those which will not be
funded by Arts Council England beyond the 31st March, 2009. The management
and its supporters, which include Guildford Borough Council, have determined
to fight backl to keep the theatre open, and issued the following statement:
ACE claims that Guildford's theatre has not managed to attract new
audiences :
Untrue; over the past 7 months 20% of bookings for Main House productions
have been by new attenders and in the Mill Studio this figure is
as high as 28%. Of bookings for Young Peoples' productions in the
Mill Studio, 23% have been made by new attenders.
ACE claims that Guildford's theatre is an organisation that tends
to "respond" rather than "lead", whatever that
really means :
Untrue; over the past 17 years Guildford's theatre has produced
or co-produced in Guildford 125 new productions which have toured
the UK for 706 weeks providing drama for over 80 different cities,
54 of these transferred to the West End. During this period Guildford's
theatre produced 64 new plays and 33 of these transferred to London.
Guildford's theatre has just co-produced two new plays with the Bush
Theatre, which began life in the Mill Studio, and are currently playing
at The Bush in London to excellent national reviews.
Last year Guildford's theatre co-produced a new piece of work with
the Vayu Naidu Company, which after a short national tour, toured
to India playing in Allahabad, Delhi and Chennai – how many regional
theatres in the South-East have toured to India in the past year ?
These are only a few examples of our activities.
Last year Guildford's theatre gave 619 performances in Guildford
to just under 155,000 people. In addition tours from Guildford gave
533 performances playing to over a further 107,000 people.
Guildford's theatre was built in the 60s with money raised by local
people and the support that the Yvonne Arnaud receives from its audience,
Guildford Borough Council and the business community is second to
none. It is extraordinarily sad that ACE no longer feels our work
and, indeed, our audience are no longer worth its support.
Despite this we are all determined that Guildford's theatre will
continue to present first class work and flourish.
Last week Guildford Borough Council confirmed to Guildford's Yvonne
Arnaud Theatre its funding for 2008 - 2009 as £334,920. James
Barber, the Theatre's Director said, "Guildford Borough Council
has been consistently supportive of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre over
many years. Its very large financial investment over decades has played
a huge part in the theatre's survival. We are extremely pleased that
the council recognise not only the contribution that Guildford's theatre
makes to the quality of life in the borough but also appreciates the
very considerable economic impact it has on the town. Everyone at
Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is very grateful to Guildford Borough
Council for its continued support."
In a letter of support to the theatre and the local community Dame
Judi Dench described the decision as devastating news, not just for
the theatre and the people of Guildford but for the hundreds of performers
and artists who work there every year
The actress continued, “The Yvonne Arnaud is a wonderful theatre
in a beautiful place. You always get an incredible welcome there -
it's an incredibly well run theatre. The programme of work in both
auditoria is rich and varied … Guildford's theatre is a place
for the community; it is not just the performances but it is also
a place people come to socialise and meet their friends, and the work
they do in the community, particularly the huge amount of work with
young people, is exemplary.”
Dench expressed her gratitude to the Guildford community and urged
them to continue backing their local theatre. “To all those people
- the businesses, the Council and the individuals,” she said,
“thank you for supporting this theatre and please carry on doing
so."
Artistic director James Barber said, “It is extraordinarily
sad that ACE now feels our work, and indeed our audience, is no longer
worth supporting. Despite this, we are all determined that Guildford’s
theatre will continue to present first-class work and flourish.”
