Bosses at Blackpool Grand Theatre announce move to consult staff as venue fights for its future

Bosses at Grand Theatre have announced their decision to consult with their staff as they look to battle their latest fight for survival.
Grand Theatre enters into consultation with staffGrand Theatre enters into consultation with staff
Grand Theatre enters into consultation with staff

Chief executive Ruth Eastwood said it was 'with great regret' the board had taken the step towards collective consultation but 'given unprecedented circumstances, the charity had no choice.'

The operations at the Grand since their closure on March 17 have been run entirely by six staff from handling cancellations and refunds to production postponements.

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In total 53 staff were put on furlough, with the theatre supporting wages through the job retention scheme but financial contributions from the government are due to change in August, meaning employers will again pick up part of the costs for paying staff.

The 126 year venue in Church Street, is kept running through its productions, with 91 per cent of its income coming from ticket sales. But a majority of the 2020 programme has been wiped or postponed, with still no official word on the earliest theatres can open.

During its closure the remaining team have been proactive in running online series 'At Home with the Grand' and launching a Recovery Fund and #playyourpart campaign to raise awareness of the plight of theatres owing to the pandemic.

Chairman of the charity, Anthony Stone, said: “While we can see that offices, restaurants and the like are re-opening, the Theatre is unique in that it must have productions in the pipeline to re-open for.

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"Here is where we do not have the certainty and foreseeability of work that we would like.

"You have been kept appraised of all the productions that have been cancelled and / or postponed.

"We are of course regrettably not alone in this as Britain’s world-leading performing arts sector has effectively been brought to its knees and faces a very uncertain future which we must plan for.

“That said, with a view to best safeguarding the Theatre, I must now announce that we will be commencing a period of collective consultation with all members of staff.

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"This will effectively be a discussion process in which we will be seeking your views as to how best to move forward.

"We will also develop some proposals which we will also wish to discuss with you. To be clear, I would have to say that all options are on the table given the uncertain future ahead and unknown length of time it will take to get back to anything near to business as usual.

“I am very grateful for your commitment, patience and support so far. We are looking to our amazing staff to find a way through this together, as we move through this pandemic and try and get back to as normal a state of play as soon as possible”.

The theatre received an emergency grant of £193,000 from Arts Council England to help towards wages and running costs for the theatre and a much-reduced creative learning programme online.

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The autumn schedule and the planned reopening for September remain in the air due to the questions surrounding an official time line for theatres allowing greater visitors through the doors. Social distancing measures make the running costs of many productions financially unviable.

Chief executive Ruth Eastwood said at the moment tickets for the 2020 pantomime 'Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs' remained on sale. The company will learn from its producers shortly whether it will go ahead.

She said “The Government’s five-step road map to reopening has only reached step four – theatres can reopen so long as they adhere to the social distancing rules, implement deep cleans between every performance and, should a performer or staff member be asked to self-isolate for 14 days through track and trace, see that they are obliged to do so.

"This combination of factors has made it too financially risky for many producers to invest in the creation of shows to tour to theatres like the Grand.

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"In addition, as a 126-year old Grade II* Listed heritage building, with narrow corridors, cramped back stage areas, small toilet blocks and limited internal public space, The Grand faces even bigger challenges in implementing social distancing rules whilst maintaining a financially viable capacity.

The Grand theatre has furloughed the 53 staff who were working with us when we closed in March and has just 6 staff members working to handle cancellations, refunds and postponements.

"The Job Retention Scheme changes in August, when companies must begin to contribute financially, and ends altogether in October. So, with great regret, given these

unprecedented circumstances, the charity has no choice but to begin a collective consultation”

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