BACKGROUND TO THE THEATRE
INTRODUCTION
These notes have been prepared as a brief summary of our recent history and the key
issues which have contributed to bringing us to where we are now. As importantly, however,
we have also included our development plans and the changes that will accompany them.
OUR HISTORY
The Theatre Royal was built in 1894 and is one of the best examples of the Victorian
Theatre Architect Frank Matcham’s work. In its many guises over the years it has been a
theatre, storehouse, cinema and latterly a bingo hall. In 1981 it was acquired by Wakefield
Theatre Trust and, following a public appeal during which three-quarters of a million pounds
was raised, it was re-opened to the public as a theatre in 1986.
In 1995 the theatre was successful in achieving a £250,000 Arts Lottery bid and with this
money some much needed refurbishment took place. This included the re-decoration, reseating and re-carpeting of the auditorium plus the acquisition of additional sound and
lighting equipment. A further element was the basic design work for a Phase II extension
which is to occupy land belonging to the theatre and adjacent to it in Westgate (see below).
In 2002, as a result of a successful application for Heritage Lottery and ERDF Funds, a twostage project to re-seat the Gallery to provide 107 comfortable theatre seats took place and
was completed in 2003. The overall project costs amounted to £278,000 and included in the
scheme was a new ventilation system designed to improve the audience experience,
particularly in the warmer weather.
The Theatre now has an auditorium seating 499, consisting of Stalls (247), Dress Circle
(145) and Upper Circle (107). There is a raked stage with a full counterweight system and
the usual backstage “offices” and scene dock. Front of house accommodation is very
limited indeed with a small foyer, stalls café/bar, dress circle bar and - on the top floor - the
administration offices.
THE BUSINESS
The Theatre Royal was initially conceived as a “receiving house” hosting a range of both
professional and amateur events across a wide spectrum. In 2003 we decided to develop a
producing role and we now produce a number of in-house and touring productions each
year which are a regular part of the annual programme.
In 2011 we formed a relationship with John Godber (see below). John comes from
Wakefield, trained at Bretton Hall and taught at Minsthorpe Community High School, prior to
moving to Hull 28 years ago. The relationship with John exists on two distinct levels:

The theatre is a co-producing partner with The John Godber Company which he set
up in 2011 and which currently produces two national tours annually
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
John occupies the role of Creative Director at the theatre and plans are afoot to
introduce a first resident drama season
Overall, the programme is very broadly-based, including drama, dance, music, opera,
comedy etc. with a number of key, large-scale events designed to attract popular attention.
Classic drama has never been particularly successful, but music theatre is enjoying
increasing popularity and is fast becoming a significant programming strand.
The theatre’s produced work breaks down into 4 elements:
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The annual pantomime
Wakefield Youth Music Theatre – musicals
National/regional touring (in association with JGC)
Work that is specific to Wakefield (John’s creative input)
In 2003 the Trust decided to produce its own pantomime (having previously worked with a
commercial producer). Since then these shows have developed enormously and are a
major step forward from the type of purely ‘commercial’ show staged in previous years. We
commission a new version for each year’s pantomime which is specifically created for
Wakefield, in Wakefield. With attendances continuing to grow the run of Jack and the
Beanstalk in 2013/14 broke all previous box office records, playing to 27,700 attendances
over 5 weeks. This year’s production of Beauty & the Beast will be extended to five and a
half weeks with a target of 29,000 attendances.
A key element of the Trust’s policy is focused on work for and with young people. This led to
the establishment of our Wakefield Youth Music Theatre Company and the introduction of
professionally staged youth productions. Over the past 10 years we have staged 16
productions, of which the most recent were What’s the Buzz and Miss Saigon - School
Edition last year. In September we shall be producing Oliver and we have been offered the
rights for Cats in September next year.
The theatre’s first “in-house” drama production took place in June 2004 with John Godber’s
Beef & Yorkshire Pudding opening in Wakefield and subsequently transferring for 3 weeks
to the Edinburgh Festival. This was followed by Bouncers, a new play about the miner’s
strike entitled All the Fun of the Fight by Jane Thornton, a new version of the Fairy Tale
Hansel & Gretel in 2009 and in March last year a new adaptation of Stan Barstow’s A Kind
of Loving by John Godber which played for 2 weeks in March. We are now in the midst of
finalising plans for a youth version of the Wakefield Mystery Plays to take place in the
summer 2015 in Wakefield Cathedral.
Performances by local organisations have always been a significant part of the programme.
This enables them to benefit from the professional support of our staff and ensures an
important income stream for us. Our sixteenth full-length, amateur play festival takes place
at the end of May with entrants from Ireland and the South of England, as well as Cheshire,
Lancashire, Yorkshire and the North East. Overall this work represents almost 30% of our
programme and is an important community activity.
A NEW RELATIONSHIP
In March 2011 we announced a new relationship with John Godber. After leaving Hull Truck
John decided to set up his own company – The John Godber Company – and we are
working with him as his co-producing partner. There are currently two tours annually playing
throughout the UK and of course each of them opens at Theatre Royal Wakefield. We
provide production, marketing and finance/admin services, thus enabling us to develop not
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only the theatre’s profile but also that of Wakefield. This culminated in an invitation to
perform Losing the Plot at the Edinburgh Festival 2013 with daily performances throughout
the festival period.
Teechers is currently on tour until the beginning of May and we shall be presenting new
productions of On the Piste this autumn and Bouncers in spring 2015. We have exciting
plans to develop our produced work even further and are planning an initial, short resident
season in 2015/16 with the intention of developing this in subsequent years.
LEARNING & PARTICIPATION
We have already mentioned our work with young people, and the youth music theatre
performances form part of the overall remit of the Learning & Participation Manager. This
initiative started in 2004 and over the last 9 years has had a profound effect on the theatre
both in terms of what we do and how we are perceived. Projects for the LEA and PCT were
followed by multi-partnership arts projects and a major year-long schools progamme. The
department also works with a wide range of young people across the district in both formal
and informal settings.
In January 2011 we launched our Performance Academy, the provision of regular weekly
classes in acting, singing and dancing and we now operate in two centres, one in Wakefield
and one in Pontefract with 130-140 young people attending each week. Demand is growing
and we are looking at ways of increasing the number of opportunities available across the
district. .
We commissioned a new play about Barbara Hepworth to celebrate the opening of the
Hepworth Gallery, with the production touring to primary schools in the district and playing to
an invited audience in the Gallery. A second tour took place last year and we are now
looking at ways of diversifying this work into other areas.
These programmes are a key feature of our strategic development and will have an
increasing influence on our work over the next few years, including the developing touring
programme and heritage learning as we seek to fully restore the theatre.
RESOURCES
The theatre’s turnover is now in excess of £1.6 million annually. We receive regular funding
from Wakefield Metropolitan District Council who are extremely supportive, despite
reductions in central government funding to local Authorities. Although classed as an Arts
Council RFO for many years, we are no longer in receipt of annual revenue funding. This
has been replaced by project funding for specific elements of our work.
We have recently had three successful G4A awards - £100k towards the establishing of a
new fundraising department, £30k towards the commissioning of a new adaptation by John
Godber of Stan Barstow’s A Kind of Loving, and £10k to enable us to complete a Research
and Development project to develop ideas for a new production of the Wakefield Mysteries.
We have been given permission to apply for two further G4A’s for the commissioning of the
Wakefield Mysteries and a capital bid for the planned restoration.
Although we are still grant funded we have to earn over 85% of the money it takes to run our
business. We therefore attach great importance to the ways in which we generate sales for
everything we do. We are always looking at ways of maximising ticket yields and seeking
opportunities for raising value added spend from trading other activities.
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Fundraising is now a major element in our business model and affects much of our thinking
both in terms of what we do and how we present ourselves. It is no longer sufficient to focus
purely on promoting our activities – we must now seek to build relationships with our
stakeholders in a way that encourages them to participate actively in helping to sustain and
develop the theatre.
CAPITAL DEVELOPMENTS
In 2005 the Trust developed a scheme to extend the theatre on to land in their ownership
and located immediately adjacent to the theatre on Westgate. In addition to providing much
needed additional foyer space, the scheme includes a studio theatre, new education,
interpretation and hospitality accommodation, café, bars and access to all levels of the
theatres. These spaces will be animated by a range of activities of both a formal and
informal nature. Back-stage the scheme provides for new dressing rooms and production
areas with additional storage and staff accommodation and a new stage-door office. Lifts to
all levels both FOH and backstage will greatly facilitate day to day activities.
The scheme has been split into two phases. The first phase provides for a complete and
authentic restoration of the existing theatre building. This has been costed at £2.7 million
with the Heritage Lottery Fund as a key supporter. An initial application to them was
successful at Stage 1 but rejected at Stage 2 and, as a result, discussions are ongoing with
HLF about a revised time-scale for re-submission.
The second phase is the new build – to be housed in a 4-storey extension fronting
Westgate and returning along the rear of the building, replacing the existing 2-storey
dressing room block. This will provide the much needed additional accommodation outlined
above. Our intention is to seek Arts Council funding for this phase as the key element,
fundraising for the balance from other external sources. Once completed Theatre Royal
Wakefield will be fully able to present itself for the 21st century!
THE FUTURE
Our future is bound up in achieving a reliable business model which includes an appropriate
level of public funding supported by a focused fundraising and sponsorship programme and
with the ability to maximise earned income from ticket sales and secondary spend. Our
sales revenues have held up extremely well and the 2013/14 pantomime Jack and the
Beanstalk produced our highest sales figures in recent years. Trading remains remarkably
buoyant and with the advent of the new touring programme and well-subscribed courses
and classes we are optimistic about the future.
We are closely involved in the plans to bring Unity House immediately opposite the theatre
on Westgate back to life as a cultural centre. This building includes a hall with a seated
capacity of 500 and standing at 700. It is the intention to mount a limited performance
programme focusing on music (principally for the under 30 age group) and comedy. We
have been asked to provide a significant range of contracted series to the Hall which will
ensure that there is maximum co-operation in terms of programme planning.
We play an important part in the cultural life of the district and are seen as a key player,
something which has been very significant in delivering continued support. Wakefield’s
cultural aspirations lie at the heart of their regeneration policy - our community values us
and we plan to build on this over the years ahead.
Murray Edwards
Executive Director, Wakefield Theatre Trust
April 2014
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