Shakespeare North Playhouse hopes to secure £3m naming rights deal

The Shakespeare North Playhouse in Knowsley, Merseyside is hoping to secure a corporate naming rights partner – the first established UK theatre to do so.

The deal, which could be worth £300,000 a year over 10 years, is in the process of being brokered by Cultural Capital Partners, a new organisation co-owned by Martin Prendergast and Elliot Willis.

Willis previously secured the £35 million naming rights deal for the Manchester venue Aviva Studios.

Shakespeare North Playhouse chief executive and creative director Lisa Allen said sponsorship was needed because of the challenges of running the venue, which is owned by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council and leased to the Shakespeare North Trust.

She added: “The building still feels new and it’s still seen as a new organisation and when this opportunity came to us, why would we not jump at that chance, really?”

Allen also said the deal “wouldn’t just be about naming rights, but it could potentially be about what we could do for our communities as well and for young people.”

The Playhouse is an Arts Council England NPO and also receives funding from the local council.

James Duncan, chief executive of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, said they were “looking for a like-minded partner” who will work with the venue and also on community initiatives.

Speaking recently at The Stage’s Future of Theatre conference, Prendergast said naming rights deals were “the way that the industry is going to go”, adding that with funding becoming more scarce, they are “potentially a big lever for arts institutions to pull”.