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Nineteenth-century buildings can work in a twenty-first century world if the resources are made available, says Nica Burns.

The Garrick Theatre

There is an astonishing statistic which tells us that from World War II to 2000, the four Shaftesbury Avenue playhouses made a combined profit of only £30m. This is less than the money spent on the refurbishment of the Royal Court Theatre. Since 2005, we have owned five small playhouses: the Lyric and Apollo on Shaftesbury Avenue, the Garrick, the Vaudeville and the Duchess. Apart from the Duchess (1929), they are all over 100 years old. Whilst the productions presented today and the expectations of a modern audience have totally changed since they were first built, the buildings themselves remain almost preserved in aspic.

Let’s look at the Garrick. This beautiful theatre, with one of the best front-of-houses in London, is a Grade II listed building which was built for WS Gilbert in 1889. I was somewhat shocked to discover from my recently commissioned buildings report that it has not been technically upgraded since then. The dock door is not wide enough to admit the technical flight cases, which contain everything from the lights to the wardrobe. This means bumping heavy equipment down the stairs to the stalls, often taking carpet and bits of wall with it. The technical facilities are antiquated: the flying and the grid are appalling, the electrics need massive investment, the stage needs levelling… Installing air conditioning would cost close to £500,000. Upgrading the theatre to be truly fit for purpose needs around £3m. Yet this year we will have presented two musicals with all the extra technical demands they need over a play. How is this possible? Ingenuity. Improvisation. Imagination. A longer get-in. Immense collaboration between the creative team and resident crew and much higher get-in and running costs.

So what is the solution? The Act Now1 report put a brilliant case for public money from the National Lottery. Rosemary Squire, current president of the Society of London Theatre, lobbied tirelessly, only to be knocked back by the Olympic funding requirements. The recent London Assembly report2 accepts that the there is insufficient profit from the theatres to fulfil twenty-first century upgrading. They, like the Act Now report, recommend adding a restoration levy to theatre tickets as one measure. First introduced by Delfont Mackintosh theatres a couple of years ago with wide acceptance from the public, the Ambassadors Theatre Group followed and we have just started. The restoration levy would bring in around £500,000 a year across all the theatres for refurbishment. Although this means £5m across 10 years, it is still insufficient to meet the aspirations of a caring theatre-owner. We are looking for sponsorship, commercial partnerships, alliances that will help us get the very best value for every pound spent. An example is our sponsorship alliance with American Airlines. They have not only assisted the productions by providing deals for flights, which is critical when doing American plays, but have also refurbished and improved our bars. We also need much more help from the government. There must be a private and public partnership. The Garrick, whose freehold is owned on behalf of the nation by the Theatres Trust, is a perfect candidate

We feel we have custody of these theatres for a short space of time. We are privileged to be the guardians of these beautiful cultural landmarks which are a crucial part not just of London’s but of Britain’s heritage. They are protected by law and regulated by many government bodies. With more government help we can, together, bring them into the twenty-first century.

Nica Burns is Chief Executive of Nimax Theatres.
w: http://www.nimaxtheatres.com

2008 is the centenary year of The Society of London Theatre. Celebrate the Play- Spotlight on Drama is launching in May to help commemorate London’s theatre, past and present. For more information on the events please go to: http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk

1 Act Now! Modernising London’s West End Theatres (2003) The Theatres Trust
2 Restoration Drama: investment in West End theatre buildings (2008) London Assembly