RECISTERED CHARrrY NUMBER: 1156051 CHARITY OMMISSION EPORT OF TRUS AND NAUDITE FINANC TATEMEN FOR TH YEAR EN ED3LD EMB R202 FOR BRIG NOPE A TR THEATRE FI CRT Limited Flat 24 Wellingtonia Court Laine Close Brigbton East Sussex BNI 6TD BRIGHTOIY OPEN AIR THEATRE CIO CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 Report of Ihe Trnstees 1 10 5 Independent Examinerl$ Report Statsmenl ofFinaD¢ial Actlvlti¢s Balance Sheet otes to the FiDanelAI Statem¢nts 9 to 16 BRIGHTON OPEN AIR THEATRE cio REPORT OF THE TRUSfEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 The trustees present their rq)ort wilh the financial statements of the charity for the year 31 December 2024. The trustees have adopted th¢ provisions of Accoimting and Reporting by Charities: Statemert of Recommended Practice applicable to charitAes preparing their accoill)ts in accordance with the Financi￿ RewrtRDg Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective l January 2019k OBJECTIVES AND AcTI￿lEs Objectlves and aims Biighton Open Air Theatre ha5 beffl egablisbed in order to create Brighlon and Hov¢,$ frst d¢di¢ated open air park theatre venue. Our charitable aim is "The advancement of arts and ¢ulture thmugh the e5tablithmenl and m8intenan¢e of an open air th¢atre in Brighlon and Hove for th¢ use of residents and visitors. Our objectives ore: l. To create a unique new cuhural venue for the cty that ensures the bigbest possibl¢ production perEomance and exhibition and wbi¢h diversifi&s the type of WO￿ that can be enjoyed in the open air, 2. To work with the City's festivals, prO￿a￿merS and curators to attract high quality touring prOd￿tiOnS and events. 3. To create a ¢onxnuDity of local artists and practitioners tbat make new wort( for the opeD air. 4. To engage with the local community to provide a platfo￿ for cuitlwal a¢tiviry and for creative learniThg. 5. To bring an under used opeD spa¢e back to lift &8 a vibrant green ¢ultural facility. values for outdoor Publle benellt Tbe trustees CODfirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Coromission'9 general guidan¢¢ on public benefit wben reviewing the Clwitys aims and obje¢tives and iti the planDin8 of fuiure activities. Tbe trustees believe that the para8fdphs, specifically on the Y)bjectives and Activities, and 'AchievenJents and Perforrnance, for the year r¢latC ID detsil the benefrt that the Charity provides to the publi¢. Page I . BRtGHTON OPEN AIR THEATRE cto REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECETrIBER 2024 Charitable aclivitiey From January to ApriL extcnsive work w&8 carried out on site to replace all the wooden sle￿rS in the auditorium with sustainably sourced oak slewer5, which sbould l&st 25+ yws. We also created Deiw wheelcbair space&, which raised our wheelthair capacity to 8. Tn addittoo we invested in replacing most of the on-site pathwa￿ with a recycl¢d plastic resin. Tbis was done to improve a¢ce&8&)iiity and reduce run-off on to the stsge during heavy rai￿ The pathways were onstNcted by Oltco. A big change onli)Je transferring tick¢ting platforn￿. from Ticketsource tt) Ticketsolve. Ticketsolve allows far more flexibility and a greater scope for analysi5. Ticketsolve facilitates control of all Corr¢spot￿nCe that goes out to rustom¢rs and offers fimctionality to sell Gift Vouchers and baT PTe-sales onSiDe. In future, we cao sell merchandise and introduc¢ a FrieJ]ds or Membership s¢hellK. It is generally a far njore sophistic￿ed $ystenb and is essentially cost-neutral lo as we pay for it via a booking fee passed on to the custs)mer (as was ihe case with Ticketsourre). The season began OD the first weekend of May. This was all anniversary year, being BOATS tenth season. To mark the o¢¢a8ion, we collaboraied wilh Brighton Little Tbeatre - a mainstay of all of BOATS summer seasons - to produce a revival of Adrian BuDting's most famous play, Kemble's Rioi. This production opeDed th¢ season an4 Considering ivs not a knowll titl¢ to n)ost people, sold renjarkably well. Throughout May we hosted Brighton Ftinge sbows drawinbi in audiences of a]1 sizes but Dot helped by aD Ullgeasonally cold month. Tbe fu)al week of May saw us bost Hornestead and a doub16 bill by Rogue Sbakespeore, which colle¢tively drew good numbers. Our spokeft word highligbt for May was the Poetty Slam. In June we bad success￿1 rung of As You Like It from DDke's Theatre Co and The Vicar of Dibley froD] Brighton Llttle Tbeatre, as well as our always-popular Summer Comedy Festival from Funny That Comedy. As alway8, the bi8 names sold out quickly (Romesh RaDganathan in record time). The Sounds of Maricy brou¥bt to us by Africgn Night Peyer along with some tasty Jamaican food was Iwgely popular. At the eJMI of June ive had 4 perf0m￿nCeS of HO￿llbIe Historics which 501d well. but due to the higb c4)sts illvolved we may nol be able to include this show goillg ftjrward despits ils popul8rity. July saw plenty of solid success with theatrical runs of Brief Encounter, The CouDt of Monte Cristo, Julius C￿S￿r and Present Laugbter. As the sutnmer holidays apPr￿he