REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
31 March 2022
COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 03448268 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1071304
Frank Lachman 16b North End Road Golders Green London NW11 7PH
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES REPORT
YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2022
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES: Alice Pakenham Antonella Petrancosta Felix Cassel Gordon Hopkinson Lisa Cagnacci - resigned 3 November 2021 Michele Lena Gorgodian – appointed 21 April 2022 Rebecca Maltby Russell Levinson Paul Webster SECRETARY: Neil McPherson REGISTERED OFFICE: 118 Finborough Road London SW10 9ED INDEPENDENT EXAMINER: Frank S Lachman 16b North End Road Golders Green London NW11 7PH CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1071304 COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 03448268
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
The directors / trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTORS
Company Law, which is also applicable to charitable companies in England and Wales, requires the directors, who are also trustees of the company, to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the results of the company for that year.
In preparing those financial statements, the directors/trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed
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and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.
The directors/trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY AND CHARITABLE OBJECTIVE
The objects of the charity are to advance education for the public benefit through the promotion of the arts with particular but not exclusive reference to the dramatic arts. The principal objective of the company continued to be the arrangement and performance of works at the Finborough Theatre, and elsewhere.
ORGANISATION AND CONSTITUTION
The company was incorporated on 10th October 1997 and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The guarantees of individual members are limited to £1.
The day to day administration of the charity is under the control of the Artistic Director, Neil McPherson,.
The Board of Directors may from time to time and at any time appoint any member of the company as a member of the board of directors, either to fill a casual vacancy or to fill the board of directors, provided that the prescribed maximum be not thereby exceeded.
RISK MANAGEMENT
The company undertakes periodic reviews for different areas of risk including insurance cover, health and safety policies in the workplace and whilst performing; working with young children; financial affairs; personnel practices; and ICT technology.
ASSETS
The movement in fixed assets is shown in Note 6 to the accounts.
ACCOUNTANTS
A resolution proposing the re-appointment of Frank Lachman as Independent Examiner will be submitted at the Annual General Meeting.
ARTISTIC POLICY
In the financial year 2021-22, the Finborough Theatre has continued its multi-award-winning artistic policy.
The Finborough Theatre believes in supporting companies and individuals in their artistic development, and building a long-term partnership. The vast majority of work presented at the Finborough Theatre has been made and developed by artists with whom we have an ongoing relationship, and many companies and individuals produce a series of productions with us. The Finborough Theatre operates primarily as a presenting house, but its programme is strictly curated, and it actively seeks out plays and talent meeting its artistic policy, and works to bring them together to build its exciting programme. It also presents in-house productions, typically one or two per year.
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
We programme:
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Full length new plays from the UK, with a bias towards work on political, social, historical and cultural issues.
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UK premieres of work from overseas, with a slight bias towards plays from the English-speaking world.
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Ambitious revivals of neglected drama written after 1800.
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Adaptations of neglected books written after 1800.
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Music theatre from 1800 onwards.
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Plays about the local area, local history or personalities.
We do not present any play that has been presented anywhere in London in the last 25 years, including transfers from other London venues.
We positively encourage productions that place diversity at their heart, whether that might be from Global Majority artists, artists with a disability, or tackling gender equality and representation.
We strive not to be “London-centric” in our programming, and particularly welcome stories from around the British Isles and from overseas which may not be regularly represented on London stages. For example, we regularly programme work in the indigenous languages of the British Isles including plays in Welsh, Scots and Scots Gaelic.
2021-22 PRODUCTIONS
CLOSURE
The theatre was closed from 16 March 2020 until 28 September 2021 as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
THE FINBOROUGH THEATRE ONLINE
#FinboroughForFree
As a result of our venue’s forced closure, we continued the online work which we began in 2020. In January 2021, we moved on from concentrating from showing archive recordings of our previous productions to premiering new original work especially created for the purpose. These works included a web series by one of our Playwrights-in-Residence, filmed on location under socially distanced conditions; the world premieres of two new plays, one by a British playwright (and the winner of our ETPEP Playwriting Award) and one by an American playwright; a major festival/competition in partnership with another London venue; and a rediscovery of a play which originally had a controversial run at the Finborough Theatre in 1990. The web series, Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels , was awarded the London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation 2022, Best Theatre Online Award Winner, and was an OnComm Award Winner 2022 for Platform Based Work.
All of our online content was free to view, marketed under the branding #FinboroughForFree, to ensure that our work remained as accessible as possible to as wide and diverse audience as possible. We partnered with the online streaming website Scenesaver to provide subtitling for most of our online productions, so that our work would also be free to view and accessible for those who are d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Our professional invitation-only development group, the Finborough Forum, also moved online and made many of its sessions available to the wider public through YouTube.
We strongly believe that online work is an exciting new complement to our work, and are anxious to explore this new medium, embracing anything that can be presented digitally including film, livestream, audio, and hybrid. We are especially keen to develop digital work to increase our international engagement, and to ensure that our work is truly available for everyone, especially those who cannot easily access our auditorium.
From January 2022, we rebranded our online content with a new name – #FinboroughFrontier , curated by Artistic Director Neil McPherson and Playwright-in-Residence Athena Stevens. All our online content continues to be – as it was throughout lockdown – entirely free to view, and available in a subtitled version through Scenesaver. Our first releases featured a celebration of the vivid history and personalities of our community of Earl’s Court, filmed in the local area, and a new verbatim documentary play on Palestine, filmed in the UK and Hebron.
Our online programme for the year 2021-22 received nearly ten thousand views as at 31 March 2022.
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
ONLINE PROGRAMME
#FinboroughForFree
1 February – 20 April 2021 #FinboroughForFree
LATE NIGHT STARING AT HIGH RES PIXELS
by Athena Stevens A series of asides, streamed daily on YouTube Directed by Lily McLeish ★★★★ Four Stars, The Guardian ★★★★ Four Stars, North West End ★★★★ Four Stars, London Pub Theatres ★★★★ Four Stars, The Reviews Hub
★★★★ Four Stars, The Upcoming ★★★★ Four Stars, LondonTheatre1 ★★★★ Four Stars, iNews London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation 2022: Best Theatre Online Award Winner OnComm Award Winner 2022: Platform Based Work
1 April – 8 April 2021
#FinboroughForFree
PLAYFIGHT
by Julia Grogan The winner of the 2022 ETPEP Competition Directed by Blanche Mclntyre ★★★★★ Five Stars, A Younger Theatre ★★★★★ Five Stars, London Pub Theatres ★★★★ Four Stars, The Stage
★★★★ Four Stars, The Upcoming ★★★★ Four Stars, Mobile Theatre London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation Award Nomination
#FinboroughForFree
POPLARISM
Poplarism, a digital community arts festival celebrating the centenary of the Poplar Rates Rebellion of 1921, was co-curated with Poplar Union, a new venue in Tower Hamlets, and supported by an Arts Grant from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
We invited anyone with a connection to Tower Hamlets or Kensington and Chelsea to submit a proposal outlining their creative response to the events of 1921. The programming teams at Poplar Union and the Finborough Theatre selected ten submissions (five from Tower Hamlets, five from Kensington and Chelsea) to receive a micro-commission towards the creation of the work. The selected artists also received guidance and support from the Poplar Union and the Finborough Theatre in developing their pieces. The culminating festival was streamed across both Poplar Union and the Finborough Theatre’s YouTube channels. This celebration of cross-London partnership and reconciliation was the first such collaboration and community outreach project undertaken by the Finborough Theatre.
Poplarism was online for one year from May 2021-2 May 2022, and comprised:
A LOVE LETTER TO TOWER HAMLETS
by Shkembe Soup
POPLAR POWER
by Catastro/FILLE
HEAVY DATE
by Eliot Vernon
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
BEVS AND TIPPLES
by Phoebe and Rodger Wagner
THOUSAND PAPERS 千紙
by ShumGhostJohn
THE OTHERS by Kim Waxham
ROAMING THE RATES REBELLION
by Emily and Jodie
DARE TO DISSENT
by I SIS
DOWNGRADE
by Marianne Badrichani
TINY CAMEL
by Sam Tannenbaum
24 May – 20 June 2021 #FinboroughForFree
A BRIEF LIST OF EVERYONE WHO DIED by Jacob Marx Rice The world premiere rehearsed reading Directed by Alex Howarth OnComm Finalist 2022 for Recorded (Direct)
Live stream 15 June 2021. Online 22 June – 20 July 2021. #FinboroughForFree
LEATHER
by Peter Scott-Presland The first production in more than thirty years Directed by Patrick Kealey ★★★★ Four stars, North West End
★★★★ Four stars, A Younger Theatre
28 July – 25 August 2021 #FinboroughForFree MASKS AND FACES OR, BEFORE AND BEHIND THE CURTAIN
by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor The online premiere of a unique rediscovery Directed by Matthew Iliffe ★★★★ Four Stars, The Times ★★★★ Four Stars, Theatre Weekly ★★★★ Four Stars, West End Wilma ★★★★ Four Stars, LondonTheatre1 ★★★★ Four Stars, Reviewsgate
#FinboroughFrontier
28 January – 25 February 2022 #FinboroughFrontier AN EARL’S COURT MISCELLANY Devised and Directed by Catherine Harvey The online world premiere
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
31 January – 28 February 2022
#FinboroughFrontier
HOW TO MAKE A REVOLUTION
by Einat Weizman, with Issa Amro The online premiere of a new play Directed by Tommo Fowler ★★★★ Four Stars, Morning Star
LIVE PRODUCTIONS
The theatre was originally scheduled to open on 14 September 2021 with the final two weeks of the production that was playing to sell-out houses when we were closed down in March 2020 – the first new UK production for 40 years of Paul Kember’s Not Quite Jerusalem , an award-winning comedy-drama from 1980, the year the Finborough Theatre first opened, in celebration of our 40th anniversary year. Sadly, the production had to be postponed, due to Covid infections in the company.
28 September – 23 October 2021
HOW TO SURVIVE AN APOCALYPSE
by Jordan Hall The UK premiere Directed by Jimmy Walters ★★★★★ Five Stars, West End Wilma ★★★★ Four Stars, Daily Mail ★★★★ Four Stars, West End Best Friend ★★★★ Four Stars, North West End ★★★★ Four Stars, London Pub Theatres
27 October – 20 November 2021 THE SUGAR HOUSE by Alana Valentine The European premiere Directed by Tom Brennan ★★★★★ Five Stars, London Theatre Reviews ★★★★★ Five Stars, West End Best Friend ★★★★ Four Stars, London Pub Theatres ★★★★ Four Stars, Morning Star ★★★★ Four Stars, LondonTheatre1 ★★★★ Four Stars, North West End ★★★★ Four Stars, Time and Leisure ★★★★ Four Stars, The Spy in The Stalls ★★★★ Four Stars, Everything Theatre ★★★★ Four Stars, London Living Large ★★★★ Four Stars, Paul in London OffWestEnd Nomination, Production Standing Ovation Award Nomination, London Pub Theatres OffWestEnd 2022 Finalist: Director (Plays) Tom Brennan OffWestEnd 2022 Winner Justin Nardella for Costume Design
23 November – 18 December 2021
YES SO I SAID YES
by David Ireland The Great Britain premiere Directed by Max Elton ★★★★.5 Four and a half stars, London Pub Theatres ★★★★ Four Stars, The Guardian ★★★★ Four Stars, The Observer ★★★★ Four Stars, The Telegraph
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
★★★★ Four Stars, The Stage
★★★★ Four Stars, Broadway World ★★★★ Four Stars, Reviewsgate ★★★★ Four Stars, Close Up Culture OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Lead Performance in a Play, Daragh O'Malley OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Set Design, Ceci Calf Standing Ovation Award Nomination from London Pub Theatres
The productions in January and February – The Straw Chair and Bliss – were postponed until later in the year as a result of the upswing in Covid infections due to the Omicron variant, and the theatre reopened again in March with:
1 March – 2 April 2022
BACON
by Sophie Swithinbank The world premiere Directed by Matthew Iliffe ★★★★★ Five Stars, Pocket Sized Theatre ★★★★★ Five Stars, Everything Theatre ★★★★★ Five Stars, UKTW ★★★★★ Five Stars, London Pub Theatres ★★★★★ Five Stars, ajlovestheatre ★★★★★ Five Stars, London Living Large ★★★★★ Five Stars, To Do List ★★★★ Four Stars, iNews ★★★★ Four Stars, The Stage ★★★★ Four Stars, Morning Star ★★★★ Four Stars, The Reviews Hub ★★★★ Four Stars, Boyz Magazine ★★★★ Four Stars, Broadway World ★★★★ Four Stars, Reviewsgate London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation Award Nomination New Play OffWestEnd Award Nomination Director (Plays) OffWestEnd Award Nomination Production OffWestEnd Award Nomination Lead Performance in a play OffWestEnd Award Nomination for Corey Montague-Sholay Lead Performance in a play OffWestEnd Award Nomination for William Robinson
PLAYWRITING COMPETITION
THE ETPEP AWARD
The ETPEP Award is a playwriting prize for new UK playwrights who work in the theatre industry, run by the Finborough Theatre in association with the Experienced Theatre Practitioners Early Playwriting Trust (ETPEP). The Award’s purpose is to find and nurture a playwright who has worked in theatre for two years or more (but not in a literary department setting or as a paid script reader), who is looking to further their ambitions and skill in the art and craft of playwriting.
The first ETPEP Playwriting Competition took place in 2019. The ETPEP Award again selected the Finborough Theatre to run the award in 2021. For the 2021 award, we increased the top prize to £6000 and the winning script was published by Salamander Street, an independent publisher of theatre, performance, and live art, as part of the prize.
The winner of the 2021 award was Nina Millns for her play Service .
In addition, we continued the innovation from the 2020 award of awarding ten shortlisted entries £300 each including the two shortlist candidates – Nicole Joseph and Wela Mbusi.
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
The judges for the 2021 Award were Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre and playwright Neil McPherson; Literary Manager of the Finborough Theatre and playwright Sue Healy; actor Oliver Ford Davies; actor, playwright and activist Athena Stevens; and Clive Webster of the Experienced Theatre Practitioners group.
The ETPEP Award has again selected the Finborough Theatre to run the award in 2022. The 2022 competition was announced and opened for entries on 8 November 2021 and closed on 30 April 2022.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
FINBOROUGH FORUM
The Finborough Forum is an invitation-only group of playwrights, directors, designers, and other theatre creatives. Members attend monthly meetings, where they take part in a Q&A with a wide range of industry guest speakers, followed by a chance to socialise with fellow theatre practitioners.
The group originally started life in October 2017 as the Finborough Theatre Writers’ Group. After a successful two years, the group relaunched as the Finborough Forum in September 2019, expanding its remit to include theatre directors, designers and other creatives associated with the Finborough Theatre, to broaden the discussion and expand the camaraderie that has emerged between the playwrights in the group to other theatre practitioners. Volunteers working with us are also invited to attend Finborough Forum events.
During the closure of the theatre, meetings of the Finborough Forum moved online. Wherever it was possible to obtain permission, recordings were shared on YouTube to make the work of the Finborough Forum more accessible.
Guest speakers in the financial year 2021-22 were:
April 20 – Lolita Chakrabarti (not available on YouTube). July 21 – Lyndsey Turner (not available on YouTube). August 31– Sepy Beghaei, MENA Arts. November 8 – Alexandra Cory, agent. December 13 – Josh Azouz, playwright (not available on YouTube).
2022
January 17 – Adam Lenson, director and author. February 21 – Jennifer Farmer, writer and activist.
The Finborough Forum was generously supported by The George Goetchius and Donald Howarth Society of Friends Awards from 2019 to 2021. Following the sad death of playwright Donald Howarth in March 2020, the Society of Friends decided to withdraw their funding of the Forum. With the withdrawal of funding, the Forum is currently on hiatus until a new funding source can be found.
LOCAL HISTORY WEBSITE AND ARTICLES
In order to increase our community engagement and profile, we continued our work on our website on the history of the local area and community. In addition, Artistic Director Neil McPherson continued contributing a monthly series of articles on the rich and diverse history of the local area for our neighbourhood community magazine, The Court .
ENHANCING AFFORDABILITY
While our artistic strategy is central to our mission, it is also important to make the Finborough Theatre as affordable as possible for visiting companies, particularly for emerging theatre practitioners. The rent we charge is already one of the lowest in London for a theatre of our size and reputation. But recognising the costs faced by visiting companies, this year we have offered a more flexible business model to reduce the financial risk to visiting companies. This has been made possible by a generous donation from Philip Carne for the Carne Trust.
By opening up the theatre to a wider pool of talent, we will improve diversity and inclusiveness and further enhance the strength of our programming.
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
EQUITY HOUSE AGREEMENT
In January 2022 we signed the Equity House Agreement to guarantee stronger working conditions for actors, performers and stage management for all future in-house Finborough Theatre productions.
STAFFING
Our team is kept small to ensure that our costs to visiting companies are as low as possible to ensure that we are as accessible to as many people as possible.
We have just two paid full-time staff: the Artistic Director and a General Manager, and two paid part-time staff, our Technical Manager and bookkeeper.
Our General Manager Livvy Perrett left in September 2021, and was replaced by Matilda Russell.
Our staff at March 2022 were: Artistic Director | Neil McPherson Founding Director | Phil Willmott Resident Designer | Alex Marker Executive Director | Livvy Perrett
Playwrights-in-Residence | James Graham , Dawn King , Anders Lustgarten , Hannah Morley, Carmen Nasr , Shamser Sinha, Athena Stevens and Chris Thompson
Playwrights on Attachment | Abigail Andjel, Steven Hevey , Adam Hughes , Joe Marsh and Louise Monaghan Technical Manager | Angus Chisholm Literary Manager | Sue Healy Deputy Literary Manager | Rhys Hayes Literary Assistants | Robbie Nestor, Natalie Audley and Tabitha Hayward Literary Assistants (International) | Serena Haywood and Sian Rowland Associate Producer | Arsalan Sattari Associate Sound Designer | Julian Starr Casting Director | Aurora Causin Book Keeper | Patti Williams And our volunteers.
LITERARY TEAM AND POLICY
The Finborough Theatre’s Literary Team receives and reports on unsolicited scripts submitted to the Finborough Theatre. Unlike some publicly funded theatres, the Finborough Theatre welcomes unsolicited scripts at any time of the year.
We welcome scripts from both unrepresented and represented writers. We programme productions in accordance with the theatre’s artistic policy and additionally we maintain an extensive, pro-writer development process consisting of one-to-one dramaturgy and workshops. As a matter of policy, we do not believe in “development” for the sake of it and are always actively searching for playwrights and plays that we can actually produce.
We are not interested in just finding the “flavour of the month”, but building a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship with a playwright and working closely with them over a long period. For example, we produced plays by writer James Graham every year between 2005-2010 and by Anders Lustgarten every year between 2007-2013.
We seek to develop new work that is:
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Thematically expansive – “plays that matter on subjects that matter, regardless of fashion”. We are interested in playwrights and plays that present unique challenges to ideological assumptions about community, nation and world.
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Ideologically brave – The Finborough Theatre has developed an enviable reputation as an intellectual hot-house of ideas and confrontation. We are a theatre that programmes politically engaged plays to challenge the vanities, hypocrisies and oppressions of our times. We actively bring fresh voices into social and political debates about the world into a 50-seat theatre in Earl’s Court.
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Artistically ambitious – We actively seek playwrights who have moving and unusual insights into the nature of our social world, and whose theatrical voice and vision are unique. We welcome and encourage big, ambitious plays with large casts.
In the financial year 2021-22, the Literary Team received 378 unsolicited scripts. The average number of unsolicited submissions a month was 29 scripts, and 65 scripts have received a second reading during the year.
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME
The charity embraces the importance of developing the future generation of artists and creatives through a volunteer programme. Our volunteer programme offers practical experience to bridge the gap between academia and the world of professional theatre. As the Finborough Theatre is such an intimate space, our volunteers gain invaluable experience from this programme as they are immediately thrust into the heart of the action, and get to closely interact with our staff and visiting professions. Each volunteer is also offered mentoring advice to provide support on pastoral issues, personal development to help prepare them for a career in professional theatre and obtaining paid employment elsewhere.
Many of our previous volunteers have gained excellent paid employment through the experience gained with their work with us, many of our former volunteers are now working in high profile positions in UK and overseas theatre. Others have formed their own theatre companies together with other professionals and volunteers they have met through working with us.
We ensure that the volunteer programme is designed so that volunteers can also continue with paid employment. We make every effort to work round the personal circumstances of each individual to ensure that anyone from any socio-economic background is able to volunteer with us if they wish.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the theatre, volunteer placements were suspended until August 2021 and have operated again since that date.
MEMBERSHIPS
The Finborough Theatre remains a member of the Independent Theatre Council, Musical Theatre Network, The Earl’s Court Society, and the Society of Independent Theatres.
PRICING POLICY
Our pricing policy reflects our strategy of offering affordability and access to our theatre productions to a wide public, especially members of our local community. Concession tickets are available for all our theatre productions. Full price tickets to our theatre productions range from £18 to £20 with concessions being limited on Friday and Saturday evenings as these are our busiest nights and a full house is essential for the organisation’s financial sustainability. Our regular concessions apply to every other performance on Mondays through Sundays. These consist of:
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A £2 discount on the full price ticket for full time students, senior citizens, under 16 years old, unemployed and disability claimants.
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A group offer for 10 tickets at the price of 9.
Further concessions are available for all performances during the first week of our main shows with £10 tickets for those aged 30 and under, £14 tickets for everyone attending preview performances, and for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on the first Saturday evening of each production, and concessions for members of Entertainment Unions on Sunday matinees. Additionally, all tickets are priced at the concession rate for everyone on Tuesday evening performances.
As a result of Covid safety measures, from our reopening until June 2022, we made the decision to reduce our audience capacity to 80% and temporarily increased our ticket prices to reflect this.
All our online productions were and are available to watch for free. Free subtitled versions of our online releases were simultaneously made available through our partner platform Scenesaver, to further increase accessibility.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
The Finborough Theatre operates a policy of equal opportunity for employment, training and advancement.
The aims of our Diversity Policy are to promote “equality of opportunity for all; a workplace where people are treated with dignity and respect and valued for who they are and the contribution they make to the organisation; active opposition to all forms of prejudice, discrimination, bullying and harassment on the grounds of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, colour, creed, age, class, caring responsibilities, marital status, sexuality, physical ability or mental health”.
Equal opportunity statistics for those who worked for us in the financial year 2021-2022: white British 48%; any other white background 36%; mixed / multiple ethnic groups 8%; South Asian / South Asian British 4%; East Asian / East Asian British 4%; not deaf or disabled 80%; deaf or disabled 4%; 48% identify as heterosexual; 24% identify as bisexual; 4% identify as queer; 4% identify as queer/questioning; 4% identify as androsexual; 76% are aged 20-34; 12% are aged 35-49; 8% are aged 0-19; and 4% are aged 50-64; 64% are from a middle socio-economic class, and 20% are from a working socio-economic class. We are actively working on action points in order to address the lack of diversity in our team. We are actively listening and learning and commit ourselves when we reopen to being a more welcoming, inclusive and representative space.
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FINBOROUGH THEATRE
DIRECTORS’ AND TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued)
COVID POLICY
As one of the most intimate theatre venues in London, we have taken, and continue to take, every possible precaution to ensure the safety of performers, staff, and audience members during the current pandemic.
From our reopening until June 2022, we reduced our audience capacity to 80% and temporarily increased our ticket prices to reflect this.
From our reopening until the present time, masks were mandatory at all times for all staff and audience members.
We operated Covid passes from our reopening until the abolishment of Covid passes in May 2022, and audience members were temperature-checked upon their arrival at the theatre. In order to ensure that the Finborough Theatre is still accessible for those who are CEV (Clinically Extremely Vulnerable) or those who would just prefer it, all Sunday matinee performances from April 2021 onwards are designated as Covid Pass Sundays when we will ask for proof of vaccination as well as mask wearing.
We have been reviewing these protocols every month and will lift them as soon as it is safe to do so.
Although our members of staff have had to endure a small amount of negative feedback from “anti-vaxxers”, we have won the overwhelming support of our normal customers. Indeed, we received the following mention for our Covid policies in a theatre review of Bacon , our March 2022 production.
“I wanted to finish this review by mentioning the front of house staff. Not usual in a review, but I wanted to highlight the very polite yet firm way in which the Finborough’s people went about ensuring that temperatures were taken, covid documentation was checked and, above all, getting the entire audience to be masked throughout. Too many venues currently talk the talk about keeping audiences and their casts safe and then conspicuously fail to walk the walk. Not so here and it certainly helped to lower my blood pressure and enjoy the performance all the more – many thanks for sticking to your guns.”
THE FINBOROUGH THEATRE BUILDING
The Finborough Theatre building was purchased in January 2021 by entrepreneur and property investor Jason Collins – who has been and continues to be supportive of the theatre.
During the closure for lockdown, the entire building was extensively renovated and refurbished. Major changes include an entirely new roof which will end the water leaks which made backstage life a misery; the staircase to the theatre has been transformed including the addition of a skylight; the flat above us has been entirely redesigned and refurbished including the installation of state of the art soundproofing above the theatre auditorium; all the windows in the theatre have been completely replaced with double glazing, substantially reducing noise from the street during performances; and our electrics have been upgraded and replaced, with the support of The Theatres Trust, enabling us to be far more ambitious in the future with the technical needs of our productions.
Due to the ongoing building works, there was no tenant for the pub during the financial year 2021-22 and the pub remained closed during that period. It is understood that a new tenant for the pub will shortly be announced.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
The Finborough Theatre is making a commitment to uphold the highest standards of sustainable operation in its activities, and to minimise the impact of its activities on the environment. We endeavour to continually improve our environmental performance, and to aim to achieve standards that exceed minimum levels required by legislation and local codes of practice.
We believe that it is our social duty to do whatever possible to reduce dependence on natural resources, and aim to conserve energy, water, wood, paper and all other resources as a matter of course. We also believe it is our responsibility to minimise our waste output by reducing, reusing and recycling where possible, and to apply these values equally to procurement of goods. The services we use we expect to have a similar ambition, and we will do our utmost to ensure that all contractors share our values.
We recognise that the Finborough Theatre is in a position to educate and inform a high volume of people about its aspirations. We will communicate wherever possible with our staff, users, local authority, suppliers, and local community.
We take our responsibilities seriously, and will continually review our performance to address any shortcomings.
As a result of the building works, we are pleased to report that we now have our own separate 100% green electricity supply . Whilst there is still work to do before we are 100% carbon neutral, this is a major step towards that goal.
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| Alice Pakenham | Lisa Cagnacci(resigned 3November2O2L) |
|---|---|
| AntonellaPetrancosta | PaulWebster |
| FelixCassel | RebeccaMaltby |
| GordonHopkinson | Russell Levinson |
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts of Finborough Theatre
(COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 03448268)
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31st March 2022 which are set out on pages 10 to 16 .
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the ‘2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's report
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
0 (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as 0
(2) the accounts do not accord with those accounting records; or
(3) the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
(4) the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Frank S Lachman Chartered Accountant Independent Examiner
16b North End Road London NW11 7PH
Page 14
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) For the Year Ended 31st March 2022
| Restricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Total Restricted | Total Restricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | Funds Funds | Funds | Funds | |||||
| Notes | Designated | General | 2022 | Designated | General | 2021 | |||
| Income | |||||||||
| Grants and donations | 2 | 62,500 | - | 100,259 | 162,759 | - | - | 135,003 | 135,003 |
| Investment income | - | - | 5,728 | 5,728 | - | - | 6,229 | 6,229 | |
| Charitable activities | 3 | - | - | 25,001 | 25,001 | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| ___ | ___ | _ ___ _ | ___ | __ | __ | ||||
| Total income | 62,500 | - | 130,988 | 193,488 | - | - | 141,235 | 141,235 | |
| ___ | ___ | _ ___ _ | ___ | __ | __ | ||||
| - | |||||||||
| Expenditure | - | ||||||||
| Charitable Activity Costs | 5 | - | - | 157,841 | 157,841 | - | - | 114,689 | 114,689 |
| ___ | ___ | _ ___ _ | ___ | __ | __ | ||||
| Total expenditure | - | - | 157,841 | 157,841 | - | - | 114,689 | 114,689 | |
| ___ | ___ | _ ___ _ | ___ | __ | __ | ||||
| Net Income | 62,500 | - | (26,853) | 35,647 | - | - | 26,546 | 26,546 | |
| Reconciliation of Funds | |||||||||
| Funds brought forward | - | 198,622 | 56,462 | 255,084 | - | 171,000 | 24,333 | 195,333 | |
| Value adjustment on current | |||||||||
| asset investments | 8 | (3,274) | 19,710 | - | 16,436 | - | - | 33,205 | 33,205 |
| Movement on current asset | 8 |
390 | (19,397) | (19,007) | - | - | - | ||
| investments | |||||||||
| Transfers | - | - | - | - | 27,622 | (27,622) | - | ||
| ___ | ___ | ___ _ _ | ___ | __ | __ | ||||
| Funds carried forward | 11 | 59,616 | 198,935 | 29,609 | 288,160 | - | 198,622 | 56,462 | 255,084 |
| ___ | ___ | ___ _ _ | ___ | __ | __ |
The statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Page 15
| Notes | 2022 | 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixedassets | ||||
| Tangible assets | 6- | |||
| Currentassets | ||||
| Debtors | 22,336 | 18,743 | ||
| Financialassets | 258,551 | 198,622 | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 20,6s7 | 45,719 | ||
| Totalcurrent assets | 301,544 | 263,084 | ||
| Creditors-amounts fallingdueyvithin | ||||
| oneyear | 13,384 | 8,000 | ||
| Netcurrent assets | 288,160 | 9 | 255,084 | |
| Netassels | 288,160 | 255,O84 | ||
| The Funds ofthe Charity | ||||
| Designated | 198,935 | 198,622 | ||
| Restricted | 59,616 | |||
| General | 29,609 | 56,462 | ||
| TotalCharity Funds | 't0 | 288,160 | 255,0U |
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st March 2022
1 Accounting Polices
(a) The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
The Steam Industry meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
(b) Tangible Fixed Assets
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:
Fixtures, fittings and equipment
25% straight line
(c) Income 0 0
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Income from grants, whether capital or revenue grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants has been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
(d) Expenditure
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party. It is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Costs are allocated to a category either because such costs are directly incurred in relation to such category, or because they are support costs in respect of which an apportionment has been made between the categories.
Support costs consist of infrastructure costs for salaries, premises, office administration. Such costs are apportioned on a reasonable and consistent basis to the various categories with a view to determining, as accurately as possible, the total resources expended for each category. The basis of apportionment used is either a function of staff time applied to a given activity, or an estimate of the proportion of costs associated with the same, or a combination of both.
Direct and Support costs are separately shown by natural classification in Note 5 to these accounts for each category of cost.
(e) Taxation
The company as a registered charity ( number 1116776 ) is exempt from taxation on most investment income insofar as it is applied for charitable purposes. The company is also exempt from taxation on capital gains.
(f) Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
Page 17
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st March 2022
(g) Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
- 2 Grants and donations
| Grants and donations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Restricted ** | Unrestricted | **Restricted ** | Unrestricted | |||
| Funds | Funds | 2022 | Funds | Funds | 2021 | |
| Grants | ||||||
| Arts Council England Cultural Recovery | ||||||
| Grant | - | 35,699 | 35,699 | - | 53,617 | 53,617 |
| C Tod Charitable Trust | - | - | - | - | 500 | 500 |
| Earls Court Development Fund | - | 12,000 | 12,000 | - | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| ETPEP Award | - | 3,300 | 3,300 | - | 3,500 | 3,500 |
| Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea | - | 6,500 | 6,500 | - | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Garrick Charitable Trust | - | 5,000 | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Mayor's Back to Business | - | 5,000 | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Poplar Union | - | 4,000 | 4,000 | - | - | - |
| Theatres Trust | - | 5,000 | 5,000 | - | - | - |
| Donations | ||||||
| The Richard Carne Trust | 50,000 | - | 50,000 | - | - | - |
| Gift Aid Claimed | 12,500 | - | 12,500 | - | - | - |
| Friends | - | 10,880 | 10,880 | - | 15,184 | 15,184 |
| General | 12,880 | 12,880 | - | 53,202 | 53,202 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | |
| 62,500 | 100,259 | 162,759 | - | 135,003 | 135,003 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
3 Charitable activity
| Charitable activity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | |||
| Funds | 2022 | Funds | 2021 | |
| Fees, commissions, co-productions & hires | ||||
| Theatre hire visiting production company | 25,001 | 25,001 | - | - |
| Sundries, hires recharges and royalties | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | |
| 25,001 | 25,001 | 3 | 3 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | |
| NET INCOMING RESOURCES | ||||
| Net (outgoing)/incoming resources are stated after charging: | ||||
| Examiner's fee | 1,000 | 1,000 | ||
| ______ | ______ |
- 4 NET INCOMING RESOURCES
Page 18
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st March 2022
| Support | Charitable | Governance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | costs | Costs | Costs | Total 2022 | |
| **Unrestricted ** | **Unrestricted ** | Unrestricted | |||
| Direct costs | |||||
| Creative team fees and royalties | - | 63,512 | - | 63,512 | |
| Production costs | - | 15,422 | - | 15,422 | |
| Marketing and publicity | - | 1,232 | - | 1,232 | |
| Support costs | |||||
| Insurance | 2,667 | - | - | 2,667 | |
| Rent | 34,494 | - | - | 34,494 | |
| Utilities | 1,367 | - | - | 1,367 | |
| Repairs and maintenance | 32,585 | - | - | 32,585 | |
| Telephone, fax, computer, website and e-mail | 2,382 | - | - | 2,382 | |
| Accountancy | - | - | 2,620 | 2,620 | |
| Bank charges, ticketing and transaction costs | - | - | 323 | 323 | |
| General expenses and subscriptions | 1,237 | - | - | 1,237 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | ||
| Total 2022 | 74,732 | 80,166 | 2,943 | 157,841 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | ||
| During the year the company had no employees. (2020: none) | 0 |
| During the year the company had no employees. (2020: none) | During the year the company had no employees. (2020: none) | 0 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ||||
| Support | Charitable | Governance | ||
| COMPARATIVES 2021 | costs | Costs | Costs | Total 2021 |
| **Unrestricted ** | **Unrestricted ** | Unrestricted | ||
| Direct costs | ||||
| Creative team fees and royalties | - | 48,506 | - | 48,506 |
| Production costs | - | 2,965 | - | 2,965 |
| Marketing and publicity | - | 1,592 | - | 1,592 |
| Support costs | ||||
| Insurance | 1,499 | 681 | - | 2,180 |
| Rent | 29,967 | - | - | 29,967 |
| Utilities | - | - | - | - |
| Repairs and maintenance | 17,471 | - | - | 17,471 |
| Telephone, fax, computer, website and e-mail | 1,893 | - | - | 1,893 |
| Accountancy | - | - | 2,620 | 2,620 |
| Bank charges, ticketing and transaction costs | - | - | 6,714 | 6,714 |
| General expenses and subscriptions | 781 | - | - | 781 |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | |
| Total 2021 | 51,611 | 53,744 | 9,334 | 114,689 |
| _ | _ | _ | _ |
Page 19
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st March 2022
6 Tangible fixed assets
| 6 | Tangible fixed assets | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixtures | |||||||
| fittings & | |||||||
| equipment | Total | ||||||
| Cost | |||||||
| At 1st April 2021 | 29,990 | 29,990 | |||||
| Additions | - | - | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| At 31st March 2022 | 29,990 | 29,990 | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| Depreciation | |||||||
| At 1st April 2021 | 29,990 | 29,990 | |||||
| Charge for the year | - | - | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| At 31st March 2022 | 29,990 | 29,990 | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| - | |||||||
| Net book value | - | ||||||
| At 31st March 2022 | - | - | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| At 31st March 2021 | - | - | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| 7 | Debtors | ||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Loans to Production | Companies | 7,559 | 9,959 | ||||
| Other debtors | 6,154 | 11 | |||||
| Prepayments | 8,623 | 8,773 | |||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| 22,336 | 18,743 | ||||||
| _ | _ | ||||||
| 8 | Financial assets | Restricted | Unrestricted | 2022 | Restricted | Unrestricted | 2021 |
| Valuation 1st April 2020 | - | 198,622 | 198,622 | - | 171,417 | 171,417 | |
| Additions in Year | 62,500 | - | 62,500 | - | - | - | |
| Movement in year | - | - | (6,000) | (6,000) | |||
| Value adjustment | (2,884) | 313 | (2,571) | - | 33,205 | 33,205 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | ||
| Valuation 31st March 2021 | 59,616 _ |
198,935 _ |
258,551 _ |
- _ |
198,622 _ |
198,622 _ |
9 Creditors - amounts falling due within one year
| Creditors - amounts falling due within one year | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |
| Trade creditors | 12,282 | - |
| Deferred income | - | 8,000 |
| Accruals and other creditors | 1,102 | - |
| _ | _ | |
| 13,384 | 8,000 | |
| _ | _ |
Page 20
FINBOROUGH THEATRE
Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31st March 2022
10 Reconciliation of movements in Funds
| Investment | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at | Value | |||||
| 1 April | adjustment/ | Balance at 31 | ||||
| 2021 | Income | Expenditure | Transfers | Movement | March 2022 | |
| Unrestricted Funds | ||||||
| - General | 56,462 | 130,988 | (157,841) | - | - | 29,609 |
| - Designated | 198,622 | - | - | - | 313 | 198,935 |
| Restricted Funds | - | 62,500 | - | - | (2,884) | 59,616 |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | |
| 255,084 | 193,488 | (157,841) | - | (2,571) | 288,160 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
The above funds comprise:
General Fund: are moneys which can be used by the Trustees at their discretion for any purpose and which have not been designated by them previously
Designated Fund: is intended to match the cost of the investments. The company uses the interest from this - fund to pay the actors, technical crew and creative team on Finborough Theatre i - company can reallocate this fund to general use at any time and for any charitabl
Restricted Fund: can only be used for the purpose specified by the donor when making the donation.
11 Analysis of net assets between Funds
| Tangible | Net Current | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets | Assets | Total 2022 | Total 2021 | |
| Restricted Funds | - | 59,616 | 59,616 | - |
| Unrestricted Funds: | ||||
| General | - | 29,609 | 29,609 | 56,462 |
| Designated | - | 198,935 | 198,935 | 198,622 |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | |
| - | 288,160 | 288,160 | 255,084 | |
| _ | _ | _ | _ |
12 TRUSTEES
During the year, apart from shown below, none of the trustees received any remuneration from the trust and no expenses were reimbursed or paid to any of them or paid on their behalf
Russell Levinson was reimbursed £28 for expenses.
Page 21