King's Theatre reduce show times

The Festival City Theatres Trust are facing a £300,000 budget cut resulting in major reductions in show hours.

These cuts come after the King’s Theatre announced last year that it would not be able to complete its planned refurbishment. The City Council slashed their proposed £6 million budget to just £2 million, after it was decided that spending on “medium and low political priority projects” should be put on hold.

The Festival City Theatres Trust owns both the King’s and Festival theatres and decided to take action after suffering a 15 per cent decrease in audience numbers. As a result, the Trust is now in a 60 day consultation with BECTU, the independent media and entertainment trade union in the UK. Through talks with BECTU, the Trust will determine where and when cuts should be made to staffing across both theatres.

Chief executive of the Festival City Theatres Trust, John Stalker, said that the figures were evidence of a decrease in leisure spending amongst the public as a direct result of the economic downturn.

“Reducing staff numbers is never a pleasant task because one of our key resources are our people,” he said. “We will discuss with the trade union the overall need to make savings and the level of these, then look at how we do that.”

Aside from potential job cuts, the King’s Theatre plans to cut its 24 week programme of performances to only 15 weeks during its 2011/12 season. The number of touring productions is set to decrease, however, the theatre’s annual pantomime and Edinburgh International Festival events will not be affected.

Emma Robertson, Education and Audience Development Officer for the Festival City Theatres Trusts commented on the importance of theatres to the city and its universities:

“The Festival and King’s Theatres hugely value our student attendees.

“We understand that students are making choices on where to spend their money and we’re delighted when they choose to attend one of our productions. The best way you can help your local theatres survive in the current economic climate is to buy tickets; see as much as you can.”

The theatres provide various ticket offers to students including the £10 Student Standby ticket, which allows students with a valid ID to purchase the best available seats from midday on the day of a show.