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Like Captain James T. Kirk, here at Cambridge Arts Theatre we hope that for us, space will prove to be our final frontier. In 2011, as we celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of our creation by the economist and statesman John Maynard Keynes, we have found the space to secure our theatre’s future for the twenty-first century and beyond.

The Stanford management academic, Jim Collins, challenges organisations to set themselves BHAGs – Big Hairy Audacious Goals. A BHAG typically takes ten to thirty years to accomplish, takes longer to achieve than the tenure of most of the staff involved, and can profoundly motivate all those touched by its accomplishment. At Cambridge Arts Theatre our BHAG will see us build a sustainable future by creating dramatic new foyer spaces and a studio theatre to complement our strategy of producing more of our own work in house.

Our theatre has survived the financial uncertainties of the 1990s and the withdrawal of our Arts Council funding in 2008, and has emerged as an artistically vibrant and financially viable institution. Our strong artistic programme attracts the best available national tours, our own productions are thriving and we have a loyal and supportive audience. But as we have become more successful the limitations of our existing facilities have become ever more apparent. Our new space will enable us to move our Theatre to the next level. It’s been a long time coming.

As Tim Foster mentions in ‘Designed to be different’ (p5), having a prominent identity in the townscape is a vital commodity for any artistic venue. Squeezed amongst medieval buildings and university accommodation, we have a very limited visual presence within Cambridge and are unable to provide enticing front of house facilities for our ever-discerning theatregoers. The visionary acquisition of the two buildings next to our theatre will allow us to create the street presence that we have long needed, enhance our customers’ front of house experience, generate new income streams and build a spectacular 210 seat studio theatre in a space that was previously occupied by our struggling restaurant!

As Jan Winter mentions in ‘Juggling with heritage’ (p6), we have found that adapting old buildings creates unique, but ultimately rewarding challenges. Our architect, Mark Foley of Burrell Foley Fischer, has created designs that combine respect for the listed buildings around us with our vision to create a thriving arts venue which will inspire and nurture a life-long love of the performing arts. However, we are under no illusions, although we can and will change the spaces, it will be the quality of the theatre we both present and produce that will bring people into the building. Paraphrasing Bill Clinton, ‘It’s the show, stupid’ will remain our mantra.

I am in no doubt that if the arts are to succeed in these challenging times, it will be by setting ourselves BHAGs that combine long term artistic vision with the dramatic use of our spaces.

THIS week Dave has contemplated learning to tap dance after Crazy for You at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, been awed by Ian McKellen’s performance in The Syndicate at Cambridge Arts Theatre, and been astonished by Rupert Goold’s reworking of The Merchant of Venice in the incredible new theatre at Stratford.

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