Commercial enterprises at Coventry’s Belgrade have realised £350,000 in the past year and almost £1 million since 2007, according to the theatre’s annual report.
Since reopening five years ago the Belgrade has diversified in a bid to become less reliant on public funding and ticket sales.
This led to the creation of Belgrade Production Services (BPS) which builds sets for theatres around the country, an events and conferencing service, and the introduction of commercial theatre workshop programmes for children and young people.
Those commercial ventures helped the theatre earn 51% of its own income in the past year—up from 30% four years ago.
The Belgrade’s executive director Joanna Reid said, “Our commercial enterprises have proved to be a jewel in the Belgrade’s crown and we’re extremely proud of them.
“Not only do they provide a financial contribution to the theatre, they also enable us to create jobs for skilled workers in the city.
“Recent funding cuts from the Arts Council combined with an additional 25% funding cut from Coventry City Council mean this income is more important than ever to ensure that we can continue to provide a varied and life-enhancing programme of artistic work, alongside our valuable work in the community.”
The annual report shows the theatre was one of the main entertainment attractions for the people of Coventry and beyond, with 138,568 tickets sold in the past year and 681,164 since 2007.
In the past year the theatre staged 374 performances of 72 productions, six of which were its own shows.
The full report is available at www.belgrade.co.uk.