Box office returns vital after SAC withdrew funding

Nov 29 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

Dear Editor, – I was interested to read the comments made in Mr Roy Flitcroft’s letter (November 22) concerning Pitlochry Festival Theatre (PFT) and the Perthshire Amber Festival.

In June 2010 we received news of the Scottish Arts Council’s unexpected and inexplicable decision to end its £300,000 annual funding to PFT. In order to ensure that Scotland’s famous Theatre In The Hills could enter its 60th anniversary year on a sound financial footing and able to deliver the quality and scale of theatre work that its audiences so value, we had to implement a number of measures designed to generate much greater levels of box office and other income in 2011.

One such was the programming of a new autumn production in October and November 2011, directly after the end of the summer season. Using this period for an in-house production would allow us to carry through many of the talented actors from the summer ensemble into the production and maintain the audience momentum that the summer season generates.

One unhappy consequence of this decision was that we were unable to offer the organisers of the Perthshire Amber Festival the hire of PFT at the same time as in previous years. Although we offered alternative hire dates to the organisers, they decided, quite understandably, that they wished to retain the historical dates for the festival and chose to hire venues in Dunkeld instead.

Our decision to programme an autumn production this year has been more than justified by the outstanding success – both artistically and financially – of the show. During its critically acclaimed, three-and-a-half week run, the revival of ‘Whisky Galore – A Musical!’ played to 68 per cent of capacity, attracting some 10,350 paid attendances and generating £275,000 in ticket sales with a net contribution to PFT of £164,000. By comparison, the 2010 Perthshire Amber Festival concerts in Pitlochry earned PFT just £13,000 and attracted only 1873 paid attendances.

As that comparison makes clear, adding just one new programme element to the autumn schedule has not only benefited PFT but has also helped the Perthshire economy by attracting many thousands of additional visitors to Pitlochry, who spend in restaurants, shops, hotels, B&Bs and other visitor attractions. I`m already being asked by local businesses what the autumn production for 2012 will be.

Having helped to establish the Perthshire Amber Festival in 2005 and supported it keenly ever since, it is a matter of great regret that the festival is not currently part of our autumn programme. However, in the difficult circumstances which PFT has faced since the Scottish Arts Council decision last year, the continued operation of an organisation that attracts 110,000 visitors to Highland Perthshire every year, contributes between £13m and £20m annually to the local economy, and supports 220 jobs throughout Tayside has had to take priority.

John Durnin,Chief executive and artistic director.