Burnham-On-Sea’s Princess Theatre has had a busy few months since re-opening, with 863 people attending across 12 events.
Beccy Armory, the theatre’s Business Development Officer, told town councillors at a council meeting on Tuesday (October 19th): “Our return to business has been wonderful and overwhelming in equal measure.”
“Day to day, the venue is working well but it is tricky navigating operations whilst guaranteeing appropriate staffing levels. Staff hours are being used solely for the operations of the venue and its calendar, leaving little room for anything else. As a result of this delivery, audiences and participants are returning with confidence.”
She added: “For shows that took place in the period from 01.05 – 31.08 we took £11,423.50 in ticket sales. A total of 863 audience members attended across 12 events. For this period, we have seen a Box Office profit of £4,090.57 in comparison to approx. £1561 across the same period for 19/20 where there had been no pandemic. That is an increase of 162% in ticket sales.”
And she said advance ticket sales at The Princess Theatre are going well too, adding: “For the period September 1 to December 31st we have sold £17,826 in tickets with a projected event hire income of £5148.”
“In the period since reopening, we have sold tickets across the whole programme to the
value of £32,914 to include shows into next year.”
“Our daily activities such as the Unroyal Community Choir, Open Art Studio and Kurling are
regularly well attended, drawing an average monthly income of £469. We will be introducing a new Parent and Baby music class; Baby Bluebirds. The plan is to fundraise, via FOTP, to continue adding activities such as these to our programme.”
She added: “Staff are committed to the high standards that we have set ourselves and it is
hugely encouraging that our incoming audiences and participants are enjoying all that we
have to offer.”
She also explained that further grant funding opportunities are being explored to help further refurbish and modernise the facilities.
During the meeting, councillors also approved the theatre’s draft budget for the year ahead, noting that the annual running costs would now be around £95,000.
