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2023-03-31-accounts

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Company number 4246467 Charity number 1089222

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Report and Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Breckman & Company Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants 49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Contents

Page
Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 - 9
Independent Examiner's Report 10
Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) 11 - 14
Balance Sheet 15
Cash Flow Statement 16
Notes to the Financial Statements 17 - 25

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Reference and Administrative Details

Constitution

The charitable company is a private company limited by guarantee registered in EW - England and Wales, company number 4246467, incorporated under the Companies Act and its governing document is its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company is a registered charity, number 1089222.

Directors and trustees

The directors of the charitable company (Dash Arts Limited) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees.

The trustees meet quarterly during the year to consider policy, review activities and objectives. Trustees are appointed by the existing trustees and in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees are ongoing and incorporated indirectly into the regular trustees meetings.

The trustees during the year and since the year end, were :

Joachim Fleury (Chair) Katherine Zeserson Olivia Scanlon Jerry Wattenberg Christine Shorrock resigned 1 April 2023 Magdalena Ziarko

Secretary

Josephine Burton

Chief executive/Artistic director

Josephine Burton

Independent Examiners

Breckman & Company Ltd, Chartered Certified Accountants, 49 South Molton Street, London W1K 5LH.

Bankers

National Westminster Bank Plc, PO Box No.549, 1-2 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1JH.

Registered office and operation address

Unit 22, Toynbee Studios, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6AB.

1

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a Directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The reference and administrative information on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and 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).

The Reference and Administrative details set out on Page 1 forms part of this report.

Statement of Public Benefit

Dash Arts is committed to making and promoting work that enriches the lives of audiences and artists alike. All our work breaks down barriers and assertively pursues an agenda of open creative communication and exchange. For audiences, a significant amount of our activities (as detailed below) have been offered free of charge or have been heavily subsidised. For artists, we are committed to providing support for the artistic development of emerging artists particularly UK-based artists who are migrants and refugees - many of whom participated in our Dido’s Bar engagement programmes and workshops programmes during this year. We develop programmes to provide training and support to help these artists negotiate the barriers thrown up by working in a new and sometimes challenging environment. During the covid pandemic, we pivoted towards digital work to ensure that we continue to reach and support our audiences and have continued to do so. For the sector, we continue to provide leadership on modelling ways to promote and develop international work in thrilling, respectful and authentic ways.

Objectives and Activities

In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public Benefit: Running a Charity (PB2).

The objects of the Charity are the advancement of education in contemporary culture and of cross-cultural dialogue and understanding by means of the encouragement of the arts, including (but not limited to) the provision of performances and events of multi-ethnic or international theatre, music, dance and art.

The Company has the overall aim of broadening horizons and encouraging a greater understanding of cultural diversity through the arts. The Company aims to:

It articulates its core values as:

Creative: We make great and innovative international work. Curious : We ask questions, listen to answers and always try to be open to new ideas. We seek to challenge our own and our audience's expectations and assumptions of stereotypes and simple answers. Boundary-Crossing We blur the boundaries between art forms, languages, nations and cultures.

2

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

Engaged: We investigate our place in the world, searching for an understanding of current issues and ideas, and conveying this understanding in artistic ways.

Collaborative: We create and support nurturing communities of artists, thinkers, inter-generational and diverse audiences and our own colleagues.

The main activities undertaken by Dash Arts Ltd in relation to these aims included restructuring of the organisation, recruitment of new team members, successful fundraising and the development and production of new productions and our ongoing Podcast programme.

Review of activities April 22 to September 23

The year ending March 23 has proven to be artistically creative and immensely productive, but also challenging once the Arts Council England funding review decisions were known.

Like all other organisations who were recognised in the Arts Council England’s National Portfolio, the first part of the financial year was devoted to the application for a further 3 years’ core funding from Arts Council England. The work involved in this application resulted in a clear 3 year business plan with focus on the delivery of 3 new productions with a further 3 in development for a premiere post 2026. We articulated our continued commitment to creating new work, working alongside communities and developing ways to bring their voices to our work. We learned in November that this application was however unsuccessful due to the Levelling Up agenda.

The period from November 23 to the Spring was spent reviewing the business plan and funding model to recognise and devising a new strategy to replace the lost core funding so that might ensure the organisation had the correct structure and resource to continue with confidence.

We are grateful to the Arts Council for supporting Dash Arts with a transition grant for the period April to November ‘23 and continued support from Oak Foundation and key individuals. The organisation has good cashflow to allow it enough time to replace the lost core funding and to introduce a new business model which will ensure the delivery of the core business plan.

The loss of ACE NPO funding necessitated some changes to the organisational structure. In order to strengthen the organisation’s strategic, operational and revenue generating capabilities, it was decided in Spring ‘23 to recruit a part-time Executive Director. Moya Maxwell started in April 23. This has meant that some of Chief Executive Josephine Burton’s time has been freed up to focus on her role as Artistic Director and future artistic planning.

Dash Arts was able to strengthen its core team during the financial year, with the appointment of a General Manager to assist with the administration of the organisation. We created a new Head of Development role, replacing the Head of Individual Giving and the Trusts & Foundations grant writer, to manage and grow voluntary income across all income streams. Our new Head of Development joined us in June 2022.

The original strategy was to recruit a Senior Producer to take on elements of forward planning, strategy and leadership of the Producing Team which had been part of the Artistic Director role. We were unable to find an appropriate individual to fill this role. We have subsequently rethought this strategy, instead promoting the Dash Arts Producer this Spring to Senior Producer, after successfully delivering 3 new productions during the last 18 months, managed by the Executive Director.

The core permanent team is now in place - any further staff will be recruited to projects and their costs will be covered by project funding.

3

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

Making and Presenting new Theatre

Despite the turbulence caused by the ACE NPO funding decision, it was a very productive and creative year with the international premiere of 2 major new theatre productions: in April Dash Arts successfully delivered ‘The Great Middlemarch Mystery’ in Coventry; and in September ‘Dido’s Bar’ received its premiere in London followed by a national UK tour. In January, we also produced the UK premiere of ‘Crimea 5am’ as a staged reading at The Kiln.

Alongside this, we began research and development for three major new productions that will take us up to 2026; ‘Our Public House’, ‘The Reckoning’ and ‘The Degenerates’.

We have continued to deliver an ongoing programme of digital events and podcasts around our work, and to create new job opportunities within the artistic sphere including work for those from marginalised backgrounds.

Songs for Babyn Yar

“Wonderful… Very moving, profound as well as brave and daring in raising difficult questions” Alexander Kan, BBC World Service Arts and Culture Correspondent

A haunting music theatre performance intimately weaving languages, cultures and history to unearth abandoned stories and silenced songs from one of the most devastating periods in Ukraine’s past. September, 1941: Nazi occupying forces murder more than 33,000 Jews in the ravine of Babyn Yar in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine, over just two days. In the following two years of Nazi occupation, Babyn Yar becomes the site of over 100,000 deaths. November, 2021: 80 years later, three Ukrainian musicians – Yuriy Gurzhy, Svetlana Kundish and Mariana Sadovska – journey deep into their shared history, drawing on survivors' testimonies, traditional Yiddish and Ukrainian folk songs, poetry and storytelling, directed by Josephine Burton.

Our original tour of three performances took place in November and December 2021, in Berlin, London and Kyiv. We had an incredible response at every performance. Audience members commented on the beauty, poignancy and power of the piece, with many describing how deeply moved they were by the performers and the story that they told.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the continuing violence and suffering of its population make it even more important and pertinent for us to share this tragic piece of Kyiv’s history and gave rise to more performances in Germany in 2022: - mon ami in Weimar in August 2022, Cologne’s Orangerie Theater in October 2022 and two performances at the Munich Kammerspiele in November 2022.

The Great Middlemarch Mystery

“Suddenly theatre is firing on its newest cylinders. Immersive ingenuity... that stretches the vocabulary of the stage” Susannah Clapp for The Observer

Part-immersive theatre experience and part-mystery game, The Great Middlemarch Mystery put a modern twist on George Eliot's Middlemarch and its story of the hopes, dreams, disappointments and scandals lived out within a Midlands town.

Dash Arts is proud of achieving the creation and production of a large-scale immersive experience, on time and budget, mitigating against Covid, and to a high-standard. We worked away from our usual home base, with a large cast and strong community participation programme, to successfully create an experience of being part of a bigger community for our company and audiences alike.

Opening in Coventry on 7 April 2022 for a run of six sold-out performances, Dash Arts invited audiences to step into the reimagined world of one of the greatest English novels ever written, and unearth a terrible secret at its heart. Audience members followed the drama unfolding between four historic venues in central Coventry

4

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

in an interactive adventure, exploring the interwoven lives of the townsfolk of Middlemarch, before coming together to solve the mystery.

A series of research and development workshops had been held earlier in Coventry with community participants who devised roles for themselves and developed methods of interacting with audiences using a variety of role-play, script-writing, movement and performance. We recruited 22 individuals who became embedded performers in the production. Participants came from a wide socio-economic background. Furthermore, of the 22 participants:

We recorded a mini-series of three podcasts dedicated to the making of The Great Middlemarch Mystery, in conversation with the creative team to explore the ideas, themes and processes involved in bringing George Eliot’s Middlemarch to life, learn about the real life stories that inspired the show, and hear about the cast and crew's experience of our very own version of Middlemarch. We also created a short film on ‘The Making of Middlemarch’ which was released in June 2023 and is available for viewing and download on YouTube and on our website.

Press Reviews

“Vitally, by making spectators forge their own links between sites, stories, factions and families, The Great Middlemarch Mystery goes to the core of Eliot’s project: to show life not as singular destiny but part of an infinitely complicated web.”

Dido’s Bar

Set in a music club teetering on the edge of belonging, this immersive theatre production featured sumptuous music and electrifying storytelling. Dido’s Bar is an epic retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid, a story of migration, love and assimilation retold for the 21st century through the eyes of refugees today. Conceived and directed by Josephine Burton, written by Hattie Naylor with music composed by Marouf Majidi. This production was the second major new production to receive its premiere in the year.

We undertook a final Research & Development session in Falmouth in May 2022 to finesse the script with the creative team and actor / musicians. The R&D periods were an opportunity for the creative team to work collaboratively on the script and score, ensuring that the story and music was fully integrated. Rehearsals began in London in August 2022. Dido’s Bar opened 23rd September 2022 in London, before touring to Manchester, Leicester, Portsmouth and Oxford.

In all we delivered 24 performances to a total audience of nearly 1,750 ticket holders. Just under 20% of tickets were made available for free distribution to partner organisations including refugee and asylum seeker groups. In London, we were able to offer discounted tickets for local audience members (22% of box office tickets sold) and to those 25 years of age or under (29% of box office tickets sold) reducing costs in order to remove barriers to attendance increase access to the arts in Newham (ACE Priority location) and to young people. We delivered one British Sign Language interpreted performance, two dedicated student performances with pre-/post-show discussions for local schools and universities, and one abbreviated, relaxed family performance.

5

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

Reflections from Josephine Burton on the reaction of the audience across the tour:

‘We were privileged to welcome refugee groups at every location. We chatted informally to the groups after each performance, hearing their reflections and observations. Many were eager to meet Marouf. After one performance in Leicester, an Iraqi Kurdish refugee said to the cast and Marouf with tears in her eyes, “I saw my whole life through your theatre”.’

Press Reviews

“ Go and experience this moving, sensitively written, expertly directed and brilliantly-acted, epically relevant story whilst you can." The Plays the Thing

“Dido’s Bar is one of the most diverse productions I’ve ever seen, not only in the casting but also in the theme’s natural incorporation into the music and script. The immersive theatre also takes on a new level of comfort in this music club setting as you are seated and treated to live music the entire time while the action happens around you. It’s definitely an amazing indulgence if you enjoy hearing original world music and very much worth the journey to the Royal Docks.” Jamie Tolentino, London Unattached

Crimea 5am

We continued our relationship with the Ukrainian Institute and in January 2023 worked with the British Council and Ukrainian Institute in Kyiv to present the extraordinary Crimea 5am - a verbatim documentary play telling the stories of the lives of 10 political prisoners, arrested by the Russian FSB and currently disappeared in prisons in occupied Crimea.

Crimea 5am celebrates the sheer determination and activism within this oppressed community, the bravery of the prisoners in documenting abuses, and its defiant women holding the ravaged community together. A cast of actors, activists and journalists staged a reading of Crimea 5am in the UK at The Kiln, London, followed by a post-show chat co-hosted by Index on Censorship. This show received one sold-out performance on 16th January 23.

“I found it very affecting. (The facts made large so to speak, it woke me up. I hadn't realised how de-sensitised I had become to the news) As many people as possible ought to see the work and maybe we wouldn't be so collectively passive” - Crimea 5AM Audience

Podcasts 2022/23

We continue to expand our reach with our podcasts and special digital events which allow us to share our work with audiences outside of London and internationally and with those who have difficulty attending live events. It is core to our values that we share with our audiences and listeners the journey of discovery and subsequent discourse and debate that is integral to the research and development for all our projects

Our series of free-to-access podcasts, released monthly, cover a range of topics and take on big issues through an artistic lens, exploring the challenges facing society today with artists, filmmakers, musicians, theatre makers and more. In each episode Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton hosts conversations delving into movements, legacies and ideas that continue to shape the cultural landscape worldwide.

In 22/23, we produced 8 new podcast episodes. At the end of the reporting period we had 12,083 downloads, and our podcasts were downloaded a total of 2326 times from 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2023.

6

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

The majority of our audience (almost 50%) were in the UK, the next largest audience segment was from the USA (19% - up from 16% last year) followed by Europe (11% across Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Ireland - showing a slight increase from last year) and India (4%).

Future Work

During the period April 22 to September 23 we also continued research and development on the following new projects, which will we aim to premiere in the period 25/26

The Reckoning

A new work of documentary theatre on the darkest days of Ukraine’s recent past. A Dash Arts and Reckoning Project Production. The Reckoning Project gathers stories from survivors and witnesses to the current atrocities in Ukraine. Long after most journalists have moved on, their legally trained reporters spend months taking in depth testimonies across Ukraine.

Dash Arts will continue to work with long-term friend and collaborator Peter Pomeranzev (we launched Peter’s book Nothing is True and Everything is Possible in 2015 at Dash Cafe) and journalist Natalya Gumenyuk from the The Reckoning Project, Ukrainian co-writer Anastasia Kosodii (co-writer of Crimea 5am) and UK director Josephine Burton to create a new piece of theatre, rooted in the stories within their enormous archive of audio and visual testimony.

The Degenerates

Following our performance of Songs for Babyn Yar we have been able to further develop our relationship with Munich Kammerspiele, and Dido’s Bar writer Hattie Naylor and are planning a new theatre piece to be coproduced with them exploring the legacy of Dr Prinzhorn on the art world of the 20th century and today. His work with the inmates of mental institutions post WWI and his fascination with the artwork they produced has had a profound influence on the way the 20th century considers what is art and who is allowed to call themselves an artist.

Speech! Speech!/Our Public House

Robust public debate and the freedom to make arguments and counterarguments are essential to democracy. Today, however, political dispute is ever more sectarian and angry, fears of misinformation are widespread and political discussion is often confined to groups of like-minded people talking to each other online.

Together with our partners Birmingham University and University of East Anglia, we began our exploration in 2023 into this 'crisis of rhetoric' with a series of workshops exploring persuasive speaking across diverse communities in England. Our research will eventually lead to Our Public House, a state-of-the-nation theatre production, inspired by the speeches and writing of our national participants, from writer Jude Christian and director Josephine Burton.

The following project was also conceived during this period and initial research was held to develop a project for further fundraising.

Embassy 2098

Embassy 2098 is set in a bold high tech future society of Artists and Diplomats. Created by an artistic collective drawn from the UK, the US, India and Australia, Embassy 2098 is a new form of interactive site-specific promenade theatre experienced through audio devices set around a body of water, and involving small audiences of two or more. Further development of this project will take place once funding for the research and development is secured.

7

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

Financial Review

The charity managed its budgets prudently and at year end reported an overall operating surplus of £37,624. The charity’s reserves to carry forward totalled £171,560 split £14,351 unrestricted funds and £157,209 restricted and designated funds. Designated funds are those which have been designated by Trustees for developing and touring the following year’s productions as that is core to Dash Arts’ objectives. Unrestricted general funds can be used as directed by the Trustees on the furtherance of the general objectives of Dash Arts and have not been designated at year end for other purposes.

Dash Arts aims to hold approximately six months equivalent of operating costs in its overheads reserve (£50K). At year end March 23 it held £50,000.

Aside from the last year’s NPO funding received from Arts Council England (ACE) (£91,656) other core funding was received from Oak Foundation (£53,065). Dash Arts was also awarded Transition Funding from ACE to cover core costs from the period April ‘23 to November ’23, to the value of £53K which gives the organisation time to replace the lost funding.

Support Costs

The core administrative team work in a fiscally responsible manner to keep support costs to the minimum.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

1. Funding

The organisation has to replace the lost NPO funding with new grants from charitable trust and foundations. This market has become increasingly competitive, partly due to the lack of other funding from local government and other public grant givers. One of the ways to reduce reliance on grant income is to look for opportunities to earn income from projects and assets which the organisation owns or can develop. Dash Arts is developing projects which can be marketed to the corporate sector, but time and resource will be needed to research and develop the product.

  1. State of UK touring sector

The precarious state of many theatres’ finances, hit first by COVID and then by the increase in utility bills, has meant that they have very little money to invest with co-producing partners. In order to balance their books the theatres’ programming is relying on commercial product to ensure box office return. This means that there is less opportunity for companies like Dash Arts to present their work whose work is viewed as less commercial. Dash Arts has developed good relations with a number of key partners and individuals (both in the UK and internationally) over many years and is able to involve co-producing partners in the new work’s development (through inclusion in script writing workshops, thereby building commitment to new commissions.

  1. Lack of Resource

As a small team there is often the need to prioritise the short term and immediate needs of the organisation over more strategic work and relationship building. This means that small charities are not able to devote resources to growth or changing their business model. By investing in the appointment of an Executive Director, Dash Arts hopes that this role can develop new funding streams and create new relationships which will bring new earned income. This new organisational structure frees up the Artistic Director to nurture the current relationships with producing partners and creatives.

8

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Report

Fundraising Declaration

Dash Arts adheres to the best practice guidelines laid out by the Institute of Fundraising, of which our Development Associate is a member. It operates in a professional manner at all times and has received no complaints about its fundraising activities or practice.

The Trustees’ Annual Report has been approved by the trustees on 6 October 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Joachim Fleury Chairman

9

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Dash Arts Limited

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 11 to 25.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to an audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

ꞏ examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;

ꞏ follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and

ꞏ state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements: ꞏ to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and

ꞏ to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities

have not been met; or

  1. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Richard Nelson FCCA Breckman & Company Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants

49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH

6 October 2023

10

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2023

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
Notes
£
£
Income and endowments from:
2
Donations and legacies - page 12
164,998
-
Charitable activities:
Theatre/festival - page 12
72,130
293,282
Other - page 12
109,057
-
Total
346,185
293,282
Expenditure on:
Raising funds:
Fundraising
8,227
-
Charitable activities:
Theatre/festival - page 13
243,787
349,829
Total
252,014
349,829
Net movement in funds:
Net income
4
94,171
)
(56,547
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
71,085
62,851
Total funds carried forward
13, 14
165,256
6,304		 2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
£
£
£
164,998
200,819
-
365,412
52,742
91,943
109,057
-
-
639,467
253,561
91,943
8,227
40,584
-
593,616
184,919
66,168
601,843
225,503
66,168
37,624
28,058
25,775
133,936
43,027
37,076
171,560
71,085
62,851		 2022
Total
£
200,819
144,685
-
345,504
40,584
251,087
291,671
53,833
80,103
133,936

The notes on pages 17 to 25 form an integral part of these financial statements.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.

11

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Year ended 31 March 2023

Income from donations and legacies
Grants
COVID-19 emergency funding
ACE - Cultural Recovery Fund
ACE - National Portfolio
Oak Foundation
Donations
Sundry donations
Income from charitable activities
Theatre/festival
Earned income
Fees/box office/reimbursed expenses
Promoter fees
Project specific funding
Grants/donations
DWP Kickstart Scheme
Project donations
Other project grants
Other trusts & foundations
Other
Theatre Tax Relief (TTR)		 2023
£
-
91,656
53,065
20,277
64,895
7,235
3,256
6,110
263,916
20,000		 £
-
144,721
20,277
164,998
72,130
293,282
365,412
109,057		 2022
£
38,959
91,656
44,696
25,508
51,642
1,100
10,107
11,866
33,370
36,600		 £
38,959
136,352
25,508
200,819
52,742
91,943
144,685
-

12

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Year ended 31 March 2023

Expenditure on charitable activities
Theatre/festival
Production/project costs
Fees
Marketing
Production costs
Travel/transport/accommodation/visas/subsistence
Production wages
Social security costs
Production pensions
Support costs - page 14
Governance costs - page 14		 2023
£
244,077
16,888
67,604
80,771
1,184
20
560
411,104
168,637
13,875
593,616		 2022
£
78,012
6,701
13,381
19,594
-
-
-
117,688
121,992
11,407
251,087

13

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Year ended 31 March 2023

Support and governance costs
Support costs
Office overheads
Office rent
Website fees
Telephone/internet
Insurance
Computers/IT/software
Marketing (core)
Research
Depreciation of fixtures/fittings/equipment
Administration costs
Salaries
Fees
Social security costs
Employer pension costs
Staff recruitment
Travel/subsistence
Meeting costs
Printing/postage/stationery
Memberships
Sundries/research/visas
Professional/financial
Legal/professional
Bank charges
Governance costs
Accountancy
Bookkeeping		 2023
£
3,988
198
442
920
106
1,364
115
-
130,047
18,776
6,653
2,863
-
243
955
378
740
175
13
661
3,400
10,475		 £
7,133
160,830
674
168,637
13,875
182,512		 2022
£
3,626
264
419
998
1,212
1,326
36
313
62,726
44,745
440
1,225
3,150
162
147
63
-
45
335
760
2,900
8,507		 £
8,194
112,703
1,095
121,992
11,407
133,399

14

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Balance Sheet 31 March 2023

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
9
Current assets
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year
11
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
The funds of the charity:
Unrestricted funds
13
General funds
Designated funds
Restricted income funds
14
Total charity funds		 2023
£
135,395
46,382
181,777
)
(10,217		 £
-
171,560
171,560
14,351
150,905
165,256
6,304
171,560		 2022
£
36,689
143,602
180,291
)
(46,355		 £
-
133,936
133,936
3,868
67,217
71,085
62,851
133,936

For the year ending 31 March 2023 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 6 October 2023 and signed on its behalf by

Joachim Fleury Katherine Zeserson Chair of Trustees Trustee

The notes on pages 17 to 25 form an integral part of these financial statements.

15

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 March 2023

2023 2022
Notes £ £
Cash flows from operating activities 18 )
(97,220		 57,225
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments - -
Purchase of property, plant and equipment - -
Net cash provided by investment activities - -
Change in cash at bank and in hand in the reporting period )
(97,220		 57,225
Cash at bank and in hand at the beginning of the reporting
period 143,602 86,377
Cash at bank and in hand at the end of the reporting
period 46,382 143,602

16

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies

1.1. Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (issued October 2019) 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)), and the Companies Act 2006.

The charity 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).

1.2. Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when:

- Donations and legacies

Grants/donations are recognised in incoming resources in the year in which they are receivable, except as follows:

- Charitable activities

Theatre/festival income - income from box office, performance fees and sundry other theatrical income is included in incoming resources in the period in which the relevant show takes place.

Project specific funding - when donors specify that donations and grants are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds when receivable.

- Investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

17

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

1.3. Expenditure

All expenditure is included on an accruals basis inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered and is recognised when:

- Costs of raising funds

Costs incurred in attracting donations, and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

- Charitable activities

Theatre/festival production costs - costs incurred in production and running of productions toured in the year.

- Support costs

The administrative and overhead costs associated with running the office from which the company operates as well as governance costs. Support costs are wholly attributable to theatre production costs.

- Governance costs

Costs associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity.

1.4. Fund accounting

Funds held by the charity are either:

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Fixtures/fittings/equipment

25% straight line method

18

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

1.5. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid after taking account of any trade discounts due.

1.6. Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1.7. 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.

1.8. Pensions

The company operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. Contributions payable are recognised as expenditure when due.

1.9. Financial Instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value, and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

1.10. Significant Accounting Estimates and Judgements

In determining the carrying amounts of certain assets and liabilities, the charity makes assumptions of the effects of uncertain future events on those assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date. The charity's estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience and expectation of future events and are reviewed annually.

2. Incoming resources

The total theatrical income for the year has been derived from the principal activity. The proportion of theatrical income derived from outside the UK amounted to 18% ( 2022 - nil% ).

3. Other income

Other income
2023 2022
£ £
Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) 109,057 -

19

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

4. Net income for the year is 2023 2022
stated after charging: £ £
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets - 313
Independent Examiner's Remuneration:
- independent examination 3,400 2,900

5. Trustees' emoluments and reimbursed expenses

The trustees received no remuneration during the year (2022 - £nil).

The aggregated amount reimbursed to trustees during the year was £nil (2022 - £nil).

6.
Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2023
£
131,231
6,673
3,423
141,327		 2022
£
62,726
440
1,225
64,391

No employee earned £60,000 or more during the year (2022 - nil).

The total benefits of the key management personnel of the charity including fees paid were £45,752 (2022 - £43,688).

Staff numbers

The average numbers of employees (including casual and part time staff) during the year was made up as follows:

up as follows:
2023 2022
Number Number
Support 4 2

7. Pension costs

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme in respect of its employees. The scheme and its assets are held by independent managers. The pension charge represents contributions due from the company and amounted to £3,423 (2022 - £1,225).

20

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

8. Corporation taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

9.
Fixed assets - tangible assets
Fixtures/
fittings/
equipment
£
Cost
1 April 2022 /
31 March 2023
1,822
Depreciation
1 April 2022 /
31 March 2023
1,822
Net book values
31 March 2023
-
31 March 2022
-
10.
Debtors
2023
£
Other debtors
1,842
Prepayments/accrued income
133,553
135,395
11.
Creditors: amounts falling due
2023
within one year
£
Trade creditors
4,162
Other creditors
1,134
Accruals
4,921
10,217		 2022
£
3,767
32,922
36,689
2022
£
39,405
-
6,950
46,355

21

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

12. Limited by guarantee

The private company is limited by guarantee, registered in EW - England and Wales, and does not have a share capital. Each member gives a guarantee to contribute a sum, not exceeding £1, to the company should it be wound up. At 31 March 2023 there were 6 members.

13. Unrestricted funds
Brought
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Carried
forward
resources
resources
forward
£
£
£
£
£
General fund
3,868
346,185
252,014
)
(83,688
14,351
Designated funds:
Designated project funds
-
-
-
79,000
79,000
Staff and Marketing
18,000
-
-
)
(18,000
-
Overheads reserve fund
26,960
-
-
23,040
50,000
Development Fund
22,257
-
-
)
(352
21,905
71,085
346,185
)
(252,014
-
165,256		 Unrestricted funds
Brought
Incoming
Outgoing
Transfers
Carried
forward
resources
resources
forward
£
£
£
£
£
General fund
3,868
346,185
252,014
)
(83,688
14,351
Designated funds:
Designated project funds
-
-
-
79,000
79,000
Staff and Marketing
18,000
-
-
)
(18,000
-
Overheads reserve fund
26,960
-
-
23,040
50,000
Development Fund
22,257
-
-
)
(352
21,905
71,085
346,185
)
(252,014
-
165,256
165,256

Unrestricted Funds

We are holding £50K designated to core reserves. Our policy is to have 3 - 6 months of overhead costs in reserve as is best practice. We currently are holding 3 months' core costs. As Dash Arts has lost its NPO funding it will be increasing this target to hold 6 months' core costs.

We have designated £79,000 to project funding in the coming year, which is our core charitable objective. The funds will be spent on developing the planned new projects in the coming year. The main projects are: Our Public House (a series of speech writing workshops held nationally are taking place this year, culminating in script workshops in January); The Reckoning - a script writer has been commissioned to write a new script for the stage plan and a series of research and development weeks with the script writer and actors are being held throughout the year; Prinzhorn/The Degenerates - a research trip has been planned to Germany to view the archive and script writer commissioned; and 3 other new projects for which some money has been designated to further develop ideas prior to commissioning a script writer.

We have designated £21,905 to our Development Fund, which is for ongoing core and project fundraising and development as a part of Dash Arts Oak Foundation funding.

22

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

14. Restricted funds Brought Incoming Outgoing Carried
forward resources resources forward
£ £ £ £
Babyn Yar 4,546 - )
(4,546		 -
The Great Middlemarch Mystery - 40,380 )
(40,380		 -
Commun - 5,209 )
(755		 4,454
Kickstart - 3,256 )
(3,256		 -
Crimea 5am - 26,000 )
(26,000		 -
Speech Speech - 2,000 )
(150		 1,850
Dido's Bar 58,305 216,437 )
(274,742		 -
- - - -
62,851 293,282 )
(349,829		 6,304

Babyn Yar

We completed the tour in Autumn 22 with performances in Germany. We received no additional funds during the year, but brought forward £4,546 which was spent during the year on delivering the final performances.

Kickstart

Funding continued to employ a Marketing Assistant for 25 hours per week until the end of July 22.

Dido's Bar

Premiered in London in September 2022 as the finale of the EUTOPIA season, Dido's Bar is a new work of theatre, a site-specific, contemporary retelling of Virgil's Aeneid, through the prism of migration to Europe today. Dido's Bar explores migration, European identity, the future of free movement, and cultural understanding through theatre.

We received £214,437 in 2022/23 through grants, trusts and foundations and donations, including Greater London Authority £54,000, Genesis Foundation £7,500, Arts Council England 120K, ArtReach £15K, Cockayne, London Community Grants for the Arts £10K, The Stuart and Ellen Lyons Charitable Trust £1K, The Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust £1000, The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation £1.5K and individual

The Great Middlemarch Mystery

£40,380 further funding was raised in 2022/23, from Coventry City Council £5,690 and AHRC Funding (£34,800). Production ended in March 2022 with performances in April 2022. The production brings to life the world of one of the greatest novels written in the English language, George Eliot's Middlemarch, as a site specific theatre experience on the streets of Coventry as part of Coventry City of Culture, and working with local talent and participants.

Crimea 5am

We received grant £26,000 from British Council Ukraine for the production of a new documentary theatre piece, Crimea 5am, which received its premiere at The Kiln, London in January 23. The play written in 2020 explores the experiences of Tatar political prisoners in Crimea today under Russian occupation.

23

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

Commun

We received funding to the value of £5209 from COMM.UN, charity number 1188634, to support the Ukrainian artist in residence, Olga Tkachenko who was resident with Dash Arts2 days per week from 17th April to 17th July 2023 inclusive.

Speech Speech

We received £2000 from the Big Give Challenge '22 for the research and development of a new speech writing project, called Speech! Speech! We begin our exploration in 2023 into this 'crisis of rhetoric' with a series of workshops exploring persuasive speaking across diverse communities in England.

15. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
General
Designated
Restricted
funds
funds
funds
£
£
£
Fund balances at 31 March 2023
are represented by:
Net current assets
14,351
150,905
6,304
14,351
150,905
6,304		 Total
£
171,560
171,560

16. Related party transactions

Four trustees made donations to the charity in the year totalling £4,990.

17. Analysis of changes in net funds

Opening
balance
£
Cash at bank and in hand
143,602
Net funds
143,602		 Cash
Closing
flows
balance
£
£
)
(97,220
46,382
)
(97,220
46,382		 Cash
Closing
flows
balance
£
£
)
(97,220
46,382
)
(97,220
46,382
46,382

24

DocuSign Envelope ID: 9A6B4F54-31C5-4C3F-8C7C-524566D252F3

Dash Arts Limited

(Limited by Guarantee)

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

18. Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cashflow from operating activities

Net income/(expenditure) for the
reporting
period
(as
per
the
statement of financial activities)
Depreciation
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
Net cash outflow from operating activities		 2023
£
37,624
-
)
(98,706
)
(36,138
)
(97,220		 2022
£
53,833
313
)
(31,596
34,675
57,225

25