A Cornish theatre and concert venue says it is facing a financial crisis.
The Hall For Cornwall in Truro has made a loss of £100,000 and claims it may have to raise ticket prices or shut its doors if extra funding is not found.
Despite a rise in the number of ticket sales, managers claim the end of Objective One funding and rising maintenance costs are to blame. The venue, which opened in 1997, attracts about 180,000 theatre and concert-goers a year.
The hall is used for a wide variety of shows, from opera to rock concerts and pantomime to amateur dramatic performances. Over the past few years, audiences have risen by more than 40% and it has managed to attract bands such as Coldplay.
But there has been a series of financial problems as only a small part of money from ticket sales, on average about 20p in every £1, goes to the hall. Most of it goes to the teams and companies producing the shows. In 2000, a rescue package saved it from closure, and in 2005 it introduced a 50p levy on all ticket sales to raise money. Hall for Cornwall's annual review reflects on a rollercoaster year for the Cornish venue.
In a review of the venue covering April 2005 to March 2006, Director Tim Brinkman says the hall's extra grant funding from arts coucils and other groups is considerably lower than similar theatres elsewhere in the country.
Mr Brinkman added that Objective One European funding came to an end this year, and ticket sales alone could not fill the gap left. He believes the 50p levy may have to be increased to make up the deficit. "What we would have to do is make sure that we do it in such a way that it doesn't dissuade people from coming," he said. "But I would like to think people wouldn't mind giving us a few extra pence on top of the ticket price that we can use for theatre."
Trustee Denis Arbon said more grants were also needed from the Arts Council and local authorities. He said: "It can't rely solely on ticket sales, it has to be a combination of things. But we will continue to operate because, by all measures, apart form the fact that we're under-funded, the whole thing is very successful."
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk
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