Theatre

Peterborough's Key Theatre has been saved by Selladoor, which operates the local New Theatre.

The venue closed earlier this week despite attempts by campaigners and the local council to keep it open.

It was Peterborough's only subsidised theatre and a home to Mask Theatre and the Kindred drama group.

The city said Key Theatre was forecast to lose £300,000 per year and that it will "look for different, more cost effective ways to deliver services".

Efforts to find a commercial operator came to fruition on Thursday (January 20), thought the deal is still subejct to final negotiations.

A council spokesperson said aspirations outlined in a new cultural strategy remain.

"We are fully committed to maintaining and improving the city’s cultural offer, however our budget position may challenge this work.  

"We will face some difficult decisions going forwards and we have to be realistic in our ambitions until we are operating in a financially stable way."

Community groups may soon be able to take over a theatre at risk of closure.

Thurrock Council has changed its position on selling the Thameside Complex, which contains a library, museum and Thameside Theatre.

It now says handing the theatre over to campaigners is the best option.

Sam Byrne of the Save Your Thameside Campaign said "we have a long way to go".

"We are pleased that the people of Thurrock's voices have been heard. However, this is not a done deal by any means.

"If the community were able to take the Thameside Complex on, the financial support from the council for this transformational project would have to be right to ensure its success."

A bid for an injunction to prevent Dudley Hippodrome's demolition has failed.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove decided against intervening in Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council's £25m plan to redevelop it into a campus for health education.

The Theatres Trust says it is appealing to Historic England to save the 1930s variety theatre, which once hosted the likes of Bing Croshy and Laurel Hardy.

"This is a wasted opportunity to provide the type of live performance space that Dudley is lacking, which could be a catalyst for growth in the town."

But Councillor Simon Phipps said demolishing the mothballed venue was the next step towards creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

"This has been a long, drawn-out process but we owe it to the people of Dudley and students of the future to get this done."

Performances of The Rhythmics at Southwark Playhouse have been cancelled before they officially began.

Significant disruption has prematurely ended the production's run: there have been absensces in the company due to illness, two press night performances were delayed, and there is "ongoing uncertainty in the wake of recent Government announcements".

Producers Aria Entertainment, Metta Theatre and Edward Prophet said the show closed on Sunday (December 11), ahead of the press night and three weeks earlier than planned.

"With the necessary self-isolation requirements for confirmed Covid-19 cases, and the fact that productions of this scale are unable to contract and rehearse significant understudies, the decision has been taken to cease performances entirely."

On Wednesday (December 15), the National Theatre announced it had cancelled upcoming performances of Hex and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time due to illness in the company.

"As the Omicron variant rapidly works its way into the population, theatres everywhere are faced once again with tough and urgent decisions, despite the rigorous regimes in place, in order to keep their companies and staff safe," Director Rufus Norris said.

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre faces a funding cut it says could damage itself, its council and its community.

Guildford Borough Council is considering cutting funding to the theatre in phases until 2024, or charging rent for its Old Mill Studio site.

Director and Chief Executive Joanna Read said she appreciated the pressure on council finances but that the theatre is in "an equally critical place".

"We believe that cutting the grant to the Arnaud too quickly or too deeply will damage Guildford and, in the medium and long-term, the revenues of the council".

A recent economic impact study by the University of Surrey found the theatre contributes at least £1.5m to the local economy.

87% of theatre visitors would not have come into town otherwise, the study found.