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2021-03-31-accounts

Company number 07287464 Charity number 1144025 Curlou8 Dlr•th• (Umlt•d by Guarant•• Roport and Flnanclal Slatsmonts forthe year onded 31 March 2021 Brncknian & Company Ltd Chartered Cortllled Accountants 49 South Molion Stro•t London W1K 6LH

Reference and Administrative Details 1 - 2
Director / Trustees’ Report 3 - 8
Independent Examiner’s Report 9
Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) 10 - 13
Balance Sheet 14
Notes to the Financial Statements 15 - 22

The company is a private company limited by guarantee registered in EW - England and Wales, company number 07287464 and its governing document is its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company is a registered charity, number 1144025.

As set out in the Articles of Association membership is open to individuals and organisations who apply to the charity in the form required by the directors and who are approved by the directors. The minimum number of members is three.

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 :

L Cosby S Crocker (Chair) L Elliott T Fitzgibbon O Hester S Johnston resigned 3 March 2021 K Mendl K Miles

Jack Lowe

Natalie Songer resigned 1 September 2021 Suzie Kirk Dumitru appointed 1 September 2021

Jack Lowe

Suzie Kirk Dumitru

Olivia Heffernan

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

Barclays Bank, 5 - 7 Red Lion Street, Norwich NR1 3QH.

St Simon and St Jude Church, 49 Elm Hill, Norwich NR3 1HG.

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The director and trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The reference and administrative details set out on pages 1 and 2 form part of this report. The financial statements comply with 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 principal activity of the company was that of theatre production with a particular focus on touring, working from their first permanent home in Norwich. The company activity is supported by Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Programme and the building by Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council.

’The future is already here - it’s just not very evenly distributed.’

This idea underpins our mission; to create theatre which uses the future as an inspiration for as many people as possible.

Since 2008, curious directive has explored life through the lens of science. In December 2018, we moved into 49 Elm Hill, a deconsecrated Grade 1 listed church in the heart of Norwich. Built in 1446, from here, we forge sustained relationships between science communities, theatre-goers and technology partners pursuing layered, emotionally charged science-led theatre.

Our business plan nurtures two national touring models. Firstly, a bi-annual mid-scale show like Fringe First Winner, Pioneer (2014), and Norfolk Arts Award Winner, Spindrift (2016). Secondly, our small-scale digital work connects cutting-edge technology with theatre. Both models grow our reputation, capacity and skill as a devised theatre company.

As stewards of theatre innovation, we were the first theatre company to use the ’Periscope’ app for live streaming (2014), the first ’Resident Theatre Company’ at a UK Science Festival (Cambridge, 2015) and have created VR cuing software for live theatre (2017). Critically acclaimed, with 15 prestigious arts-science nominations and awards, we’ve been published six times with Bloomsbury/Methuen.

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We regularly partner with Warwick Arts Centre, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Shoreditch Town Hall, have been commissioned by LIFT and NNF and regularly work with world-leading science institutes such as Wellcome Trust and CRUK. We have delivered workshops at the National Theatre and in 2018 collaborated with a Royal Society fellow on the role of theatre in science policy.

Internationally, we have toured to Hong Kong, Singapore, Norway, South Africa, Malaysia (2019), South Korea (2016), China, Australia and Indonesia (2018) with tours to the United States and further work in China planned in 2020. We’ve co-produced internationally with Brisbane Power House and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Australia (2017).

curious directive has become culturally significant in linking theatre and science. Our annual programme demonstrates curious directive’s ambition to be a leading local, regional and national voice in the rising cultural significance of theatre inspired by science.

Our annual business plan includes the opening and UK tour of a new show, R of new shows (for following years) and continued international touring. We are also further expanding our reach into community settings with Science Club (livestreamed ’alternative nights in’) and a technology project in Longfield care home, Essex (in collaboration with Magic Me, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation). Our work is monographic in subject matter: the pursuit of science in theatre. However, our projects are conceived in a poly-authored, devised process.

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)’.

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All projects follow bespoke public engagement activities. At every step of our charitable activities, we work with members of the public.

In our year ending 31 March 2021, we experienced significant impacts as a result of COVID-19. Planned tours were postponed, and in some cases cancelled. Activity was widely pivoted to online and a focus much more on locally in Norwich.

Our major projects for 2019/20 were FROGMAN and GASTRONOMIC.

Our Artistic Director successfully fundraised £1,000 which was dispersed to 10 professional artists living and working in Norfolk.

Our Artistic Director established a working group of professional theatre companies living and working from Norwich - the first of its kind. The established group did not know each other particularly well, however this group meets quarterly and has made a commitment to discuss and address challenges within our local context.

Despite residents not being able to attend in person, our co-working space of 15 retained its numbers.

With the support of the Norwich Freeman’s Charity, we successfully delivered:

An Introduction to Beekeeping An Introduction to Tropical Fishkeeping An Introduction to Dark Room Photography An Introduction to Horitculture An Introduction to Virtual Reality

Our data on this activity was as follows; 4 community volunteers, 5 disciplines (outlined above), 15 sessions, 81 care packages delivered, 151 registered participants, 202 participants.

During the first lockdown, when attending the office was impossible, our Artistic Director worked in the garden of our making space. He developed the garden to a point where it became clear that perhaps we could open it to the public. We therefore sought permission to open a Summer pop-up bar (and subsequently winter bar). This has led to a significant increase in earned income for the charity.

Phase 0 of our Capital works was completed. This included the installation of a Platform Lift - allowing patrons to access our first floor (for the very first time), as well as the inclusion of a freestanding Lighting truss system, and a further mezzanine floor in the Chancel of the building. This was achieved through New Anglia LEP Capital Funding.

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curious directive underwent significant company training including: curious directive underwent significant company training including:
First Aid - Duty Manager
Digital Marketing - Artistic Director
Negotiation - General Manager
InDesign/Photoshop - General Manager
Principles of Contracting - General Manager
Artists, creatives or specialists		 18
Staff 15
Audience (live) 202
Audience (broadcast, online, in writing) 19,208
Other users of your building or services 10,300
No. of new products or commissions 6
Period of employment for artists (in days) 218
Period of support for artists (in days) 318
No. of performance or exhibition days 15
No. of sessions for education, training or participation 15

Twitter: 3,896, Facebook Likes: 1,038

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curious directive has managed the COVID-19 crisis with (at times) weekly Board meetings.

The main income loss was from International touring (to USA, China and South Korea.

The company benefitted from JRS and Local Authority Grants (due to our status as tenants of our making space). This status served the company well during the crisis.

Our Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (£91,471) continued. This slight increase was due to inflation and therefore associated increase in our grant.

Our reliance on ACE subsidy has reduced from 45% to 33% during this financial year - with 66% earned income. In a year without the ability to tour, this is a significant achievement, and points to the importance of ACE’s investment and the ability of curious directive to ’make good’ their promise to grow alongside that investment.

Our reserves policy is to build to 4 months of operational activity which currently stands at £32,451 (for salaries/rent/overheads/legal fees/press release) - however this has not been achieved, instead, any cash surpluses have been allocated to grow our ability to build our earned income.

The charity is a company limited by guarantee.

The charity has a Chair and a further six Trustees who follow our Articles of Association as our governance document.

Recruitment of Trustees takes place after open discussion between the Artistic Director and The Board of Trustees during quarterly Board meetings.

The process of recruitment begins with an initial approach to an individual, followed by an informal meeting where an invitation is made to observe a Board meeting. The appointment is then put to a vote in the Board meeting, followed by a signature and a number of documents shared with the new Board member.

In 2020/21, we expanded our full-time team with the recruitment of a Duty Manager, Olivia Heffernan, who runs our co-working space and Botanical Garden Bar & Kitchen.

On a freelance basis, we also welcomed Head of Production to the team in 2020/21.

The ongoing pandemic has had a significant impact on the company’s activity over the year that these accounts represent and, with the continued uncertainty that COVID-19 is causing across our sector, these impacts will continue to be felt into the next financial year and beyond.

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Our approach to managing this remains a focus on ’resilience and innovation’. Our work with artists to create new theatre and revive existing work remains our priority and will be carried out within the shifting parameters of the pandemic. We continue to explore ways of expanding our earned income streams to support the growth and stability of the company as well as to build our cultural community in the local area, and we look forward to emerging from this crisis as a more resilient and cohesive organisation.

This report is prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 20th December 2021 and signed on their behalf by

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I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are set out on pages 10 to 22.

The trustees and the director 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:

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.

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:

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and

· 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.

49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH

20th December 2021

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¢ (n u> *

ACE NPO funding 91,471 89,818
HMRC Job Retention Scheme funding 15,370 -
Other grants/funding 40,110
146,951		 5,627
95,445
Donations 312 3,000
147,263 98,445
SSSJ funding 69,198 11,902
Box office/fees/guarantees 583 72,130
SSSJ earned income 56,501 11,353
Other income/reimbursed expenses 306
126,588		 8,942
104,327

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Salaries 63,875 54,041
Fees 32,614 47,710
Social security costs 2,612 2,076
Pension costs 1,377 1,253
Royalties - 1,795
Production costs 7,682 20,529
SSSJ 108,694 31,535
Travel/accommodation/subsistence 3,921 6,751
Marketing/promotion 157 2,522
Production research/development 34 1,067
Administration/sundries 32 2,570
220,998 171,849
Support costs - page 13 29,900 26,228
Governance costs - page 13 1,848
252,746		 2,268
200,345

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----- Start of picture text -----
Telephone/internet 187 28
Insurance 2,248 1,989
Repairs/maintenance 1,915 348
Depreciation of production equipment 5,485 2,940
Depreciation of fixtures/fittings/equipment 3,283 1,439
13,118 6,744
Fees 4,420 4,393
Training/development 973 376
Travel/transport 2,524 3,585
Computer/IT costs 897 843
Printing/postage/stationery 10 605
Advertising 1,238 1,400
Subscriptions/licences 3,054 3,186
Sundries 52 89
13,168 14,477
Bookkeeping/accountancy software 2,776 4,508
Bank charges 234 499
Bad debts 604 -
3,614 5,007
29,900 26,228
Legal/professional 48 48
Accountancy/consultancy 1,800 2,220
1,848 2,268
31,748 28,496
----- End of picture text -----

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----- Start of picture text -----
Tangible assets 36,447 7,737
Debtors 15,172 63,077
Cash at bank and in hand 12,231 1,445
27,403 64,522
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year (8,329) (37,846)
19,074 26,676
55,521 34,413
(1,500) (1,500)
54,021 32,913
Unrestricted funds
General fund 8,064 30,873
Restricted funds 45,957 2,040
54,021 32,913
----- End of picture text -----

For the year ending 31 March 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors’ responsibilities:

· The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476;

· The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

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 20 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by

The notes on pages 15 to 22 form an integral part of these financial statements.

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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 notes.

The company is dependent on the continued support of grant aiding bodies. The trustees believe that the company will continue to receive this support and accordingly consider that it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis.

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

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

Theatre 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.

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Donated services or facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. On receipt, donated services and facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The company operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefits of its employees. contributions are recognised as expenditure when due.

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Individual fixed assets costing £300 or more are capitalised at cost.

Depreciation is provided at annual rates calculated to write off the cost less residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

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 and trade discounts due.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The total incoming resources for the year have been derived from the principal activity undertaken wholly in the UK.

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Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 8,768 4,379
Independent Examiners’ remuneration
- independent examination 1,200 1,200
- other services 600 1,020

The trustees received no remuneration during the year (2020 - £nil).

The aggregated amount reimbursed to trustees during the year was £nil (2020 - £nil).

Salaries and wages 63,875 54,041
Social security costs 2,612 2,076
Pension costs 1,377
67,864		 1,253
57,370

No employee earned £60,000 or more during the year (2020 - nil).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees and the Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £65,252 (2020 - £55,294).

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

Production 2 2

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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 £1,377 (2020 - £1,253).

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.

----- Start of picture text -----
1 April 2020 11,756 6,342 18,098
Additions 20,362 17,116 37,478
31 March 2021 32,118 23,458 55,576
1 April 2020 5,880 4,481 10,361
Charge for year 5,485 3,283 8,768
31 March 2021 11,365 7,764 19,129
31 March 2021 20,753 15,694 36,447
31 March 2020 5,876 1,861 7,737
Trade debtors 10,039 33,769
Other debtors 4,050 4,050
Prepayments and accrued income 1,083 25,258
15,172 63,077
----- End of picture text -----

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Bank overdraft overdraft - 5,967
Loan 450 450
Trade creditors 2,108 5,803
Other taxation/social security 2,659 1,646
Other creditors 1,312 1,695
Accruals 1,800 1,800
Deferred income (note 13) -
8,329		 20,485
37,846
Loan 1,500 1,500
Balance at 1st April 2020 20,485
Amount released to incoming resources )
(20,485
Balance at 31st March 2021 -

Deferred income relates to box office/fees/gurantees received in advance.

The private limited company is registered in EW - England & Wales, is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. Each member gives a guarantee to contribute a sum, not exceeding £10, to the company should it be wound up. At 31 March 2021 there were 7 members.

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General fund 30,873 204,656 (232,048) 4,583 8,064
Fixed assets 2,040 28,500 - (4,583) 25,957
Science Club - 10,213 (10,213) - -
- -
Magic Me 20,485 (10,485) 10,000
SSSJ - 10,000 - - 10,000
2,040 69,198 (20,698) (4,583) 45,957
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This fund consists of grants/donations received specifically for the purchase of fixed assets. The funds are transferred to the general fund over the expected useful life of the assets. The balance at 31 March 2021 is attributable to:

Production equipment

25,957 25,957

This fund supports the delivery of our research and development programme that brings artists, scientists and the local community together for a series of events exploring scientific concepts and their artistic potential.

A multi-year programme of activity that curious directive is delivering in partnership with Excelcare and Magic Me for a care home in East Anglia.

curious directive is proud to continue their funding relationship with Norwich City Council who have funded them to consolidate and build upon their community-facing activities in 49 Elm Hill.

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----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Fund balances at 31 March 2021| |are represented by:| |Tangible fixed assets|10,490|25,957|36,447| |Net current assets|(926)|20,000|19,074| |-| |Long term (liabilities)|(1,500)|(1,500)| |8,064|45,957|54,021|

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At 31 March 2021 the company had future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, with payments falling due as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
||| |---|---| |-| |Within one year|1,250|

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During the year the trustees made donations to the charity of £nil (2020 - £3,000). All donations are freely given with no conditions attached.

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