OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2025-04-10-accounts

1

Mid Powys Youth Theatre

Trustees’ Annual Report

10th April 2025

Charity registration number: 1157724

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

2

Contents

For the Year ended 10[th] April 2025

Reference and Administrative Details – Page 3 Report of the Trustees – Pages 4-18 Independent Examiners Report – Pages 19-20 Receipts and Payments Account – Pages 21-22 Statement of Assets and Liabilities – Page 23 Notes – Pages 24-25

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

3

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity 1157724 Number

Registered Centre Celf
Ofice Tremont Road
Llandrindod Wells
Powys
LD1 5EB
Trustees the trustees who served during the
year and up to the date of this report
were as follows:
Megan Dauksta
Beth Treen
Kama Roberts
Jess Hall
Stephen Leadbetter
Liam Cole
Kristen Treen
Independent Davina Hutchinson ACMA
Examiner Garden Cottage
Brynwern Hall
Llanfhangel Brynpabuan
Builth Wells
LD2 3SE

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

4

Report of the Trustees

For the Year ended 10[th] April 2025

The Trustees present their annual report together with the Financial Statements of the charity for the year ended 10th April 2025.

The Reference and Administrative details above form part of this report. The Financial Statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Constitution and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Report by Charities (effective from January 2019)

Objectives and Activities

The objects of MPYT are:

to act as a resource for young people of all abilities by providing professionally led activities, programmes, advice and assistance in all aspects of theatre arts and related disciplines as a means of:

1: advancing in life and helping develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate more fully both in the immediate community and in wider society as independent, mature, confident and responsible individuals;

2: advancing education;

3: improving vocational opportunity;

4: providing artistic, recreational and leisure time activity in the interests of social welfare for people who have need by reason of their youth, infirmity or disability, poverty or social or economic circumstance with a view to improving the conditions of life of such persons;

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

5

Summary of the main activities

Principle activity is high-quality theatre workshops; master-classes; vocational opportunities; trips and exchanges; and live productions for young people aged 9-29. This includes our primary Big MPYT company (ages 14+): professionally-led and seeking to foster confidence, social skills, and high artistic ambition in a collaborative working ensemble.

Additionally, aligned with the same ethos. we run:

The trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Volunteers

Volunteers are instrumental in the vital and effective running of the Charity through:

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

6

d) providing transport, labour and logistical support for major events;

e) occasional guest workshops;

f) as part of our ’MPYT+’ young adult group, offering practical support both in terms of organisational management and activity provision as the opportunity and/or need arises.

Summary of main achievements

In April, we kicked off our year of change through the ACW ‘Create’ / Business Development project. ‘ Create’ is the single largest funding award MPYT has ever received (£46k). For the first time we looked forward to paying staff regularly and having three (part-time freelancers) in post – also a first - with Kama (Producer) and Melody (Co-ordinator) joining Ralph (Artistic Director)

Kama worked tirelessly, drawing on the support of our external consultants to deliver the project. The expertise and input of Tabby Milne (Audience Development) and Zoe Munn (Outdoor Arts; Fundraising) was priceless. We also benefited from the valued contributions of both Suzy West (Business Development) and Beth House (Fundraising).

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

7

Our business accounting systems and reporting had a wholesale upgrade. Our new-look board, with a terrific breadth and variety of skillsets, set to work with vigour on policies; safeguarding; financial management as well as strategic thinking on partnership and long-term artistic potential and funding strategies.

One strand of the Create project took a twin-pronged approach to succession planning: (1) How to draw in more professional expertise in an area with no professional theatre infrastructure; and (2) How to plan a future model of artistic leadership beyond the tenure of our current Artistic Director – and those associates who have served MPYT tirelessly since independence. This process of exploration is a long-term project that will extend beyond this financial year – and others.

--

The role of MPYT Co-ordinator, established by Ioan Zammit (see ‘People’ below) was taken up with gusto by another alum – Melody Watson. Melody set about revamping MPYT’s digital profile, as well as keeping on top of Admin and becoming a key player in our newly launched ‘Twenties/MPYT+’ outreach programme.

Melody’s work on the MPYT website and socials over the year has reaped rich dividends with our digital presence now stronger than ever; playing a major role in recruitment and donations as well as more broadly in straightforward stakeholder engagement.

--

The summer of 24 was eventful. Our development year, intended to support and build on the work Ralph has done for many years was waylaid

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

8

when we lost Ralph himself to illness for some months. Kama and Melody steadied the ship and moved forward. Following full recovery, Ralph rejoined the team late in the year and we were at last set for a three-person staff team.

There was more summer excitement when we sent five of our MPYT+ team off on an R & D project at Green Man Festival in August. Melody, Alice, Megan, Cai & Rosie spent four days scoping out the walkabout / outdoor arts; talking to artists and co-ordinators, and dreaming up ideas for a piece of their own for next year’s festival. (2025). Sounds like they had a blast:

‘Six Go to Green Man’

The MPYT+ cohort attendance at Green Man ’24 offered a unique opportunity to explore the landscape of outdoor arts, develop collaborative ideas, and connect with professionals - while experiencing one of the UK’s most celebrated festivals.

They immersed themselves in performance, installation, and walkabout work, building insight into the potential of site-specific and interactive arts in festival environments. Among them was Melody, playing a key role in planning and logistics; co-ordinating shared meals; daily scheduling and group cohesion. Melody took a particular interest in the audience experience and performance design in outdoor contexts.

“A standout was my spontaneous participation in ‘Sienta La Cabeza’, a live hairstyling cabaret. In front of a large audience, with a lively Latin music soundtrack, I underwent a dramatic hair transformation - complete with intricate styling, painting, and costume elements. It was a humorous, visually striking experience - a valuable insight into the power of participatory performance and of spectacle in capturing attention. It sparked conversation in our group about accessibility and playfulness - key themes we’re excited to explore further in our own work.” - Melody

Collectively, the group documented key performances, took part in informal networking with artists and producers, and held regular idea-generation sessions. These led to early ideas for a new walkabout piece, rooted in Welsh identity and outdoor storytelling. The cohort is working hard now to develop this concept going forward. (Watch this space for ‘Arian the Spider’ in 2026)

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

9

The autumn saw two new artists added to our roster in experienced theatre-maker Bethan Dear and acclaimed bilingual storyteller Tamar Williams. Each ran a series of workshops for both MPYT classes, in addition to outreach work at local primary and high schools. With Tamar we were able to offer these school sessions to both language streams – a first for MPYT and a further step towards being more visible and proactive in support for the Welsh language.

Embedded into the roles we asked of Bethan and Tamar was mentoring our cohort of young leaders. Melody, Alice, Ben and Megan were set on a training programme (see below), which included sessions as paid Workshop Assistants/Facilitators: gaining of a range of skills and strategies in addition to arts management and pastoral considerations.

Bethan ran the autumn Big Theatre Week with enthusiastic support from Melody and Ben. The ‘play in a week’ – was a momentous challenge and a great success that brought a number of young people into the fold as well as being a full-on crash-course for the leaders. Bethan’s experience and

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

10

expertise working with young people in a spirit of fun, nurture and respect shone through. She’s a terrific addition to the MPYT team.

Our four Trainee Facilitators, in addition to their mentored assistant work with Bethan, Tamar and Ralph, also had a brilliant placement day at Theatr Clwyd; a couple of full days exploring youth arts leadership and strategies; and a fab day out in Cardiff which ended with a visit to the theatre (luxury!) to see ‘The Women of Llanrumney’ at the Sherman. The Trainee Facilitator Programme is one we hope to really establish and build on in years to come.

Outreach was a central plank of our development year. In addition to the primary and high school work led by Bethan and Tamar, Ralph led a termlong lunchtime series of workshops at Ysgol Calon Cymru in Llandod and Ralph and Melody ran a short series of ‘MPYT tasters’ in Llanidloes with the varied objectives of member recruitment, profile, assistant mentoring, and venue partnerships, not to mention the critical importance of MPYT being seen and active in satellite towns from where we have historically drawn support.

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

11

Our relationship with Ysgol Calon Cymru has strengthened considerably this year, thanks to an enthusiastic and active response to our outreach from Drama, Art & Music department staff. We continue to build this going forward towards a major show in autumn ’25.

Our audience development work strongly advised that we unify the naming of different groups - and revert to previous titles – so again we have ‘Little MPYT’ and ‘Big MPYT’. The groups are run consecutively on the same night by the same team. This gives more scope for mentoring, allowing the Young Leaders to explore their workshop skills and adapt these to suit different ages. The third strand of the re-naming strategy was MPYT+. We began running monthly classes for those aged 19-29, with a particular focus on script reading and improvisation. Numbers are small, and the great majority (though not all) of attendees are otherwise engaged with MPYT as young leaders or facilitators, but this - and the choice of work we look at – will evolve and develop as numbers grow.

--

This year has also seen a significant ramping-up of our efforts to support the Welsh language. Though we serve a very anglicised region of the country we are keen to help break the stigma around using Welsh in an everyday context. So, for the first time, all our publicity and digital content is bilingual. As noted above we have offered Welsh-language/bilingual activity and we are being more proactive in encouraging the everyday usage of incidental Welsh in all areas of MPYT operations.

Megan, our Chair, continued to lead on the eternal challenge of keeping policies and procedures relevant and current. As with the website, MPYT is

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

12

better set than at any time in its history. As with the website, this work is never-ending.

Finance and Funding

In addition to ACW ‘Create’ we had success with funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and a second grant from ACW’s ‘Resilience’ funding. Thanks go to Zoe Munn who was instrumental in these successful applications. Just as the financial year closed, we were awarded £5000 from the Gwendoline and Margaret Davies Trust and £3000 from the Llysdinam Trust.

Our good friends at Van’s Good Food were so generous in supporting MPYT for their anniversary. Great thanks go to our friend (and life-MPYTer), Rosie Powell. Ben Wilson and friends again walked across Wales to bolster our funds. Ben’s feet are in terrible shape every summer – but he brings the cash in! (Legend.)

Other Income

The funding climate is brutal, almost difficult to imagine it’s become worse. Our donations strategy becomes more critical than ever and, having made significant improvements this year we have further ambition in this area. We also seek to continually improve the ‘case for funding’ that we make and this means better systems and processes for documenting the success of the work we do.

Impact

Impact & Evaluation has been a focus of the development year, led by Kama and Audience Development Consultant Tabby Milne. Tabby, an ex

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

13

MPYTer herself, conducted extensive interviews with current and former members, and their families. Some testimonies include:

“From my perspective, as a parent and adult bystander, I find it extraordinary that such a tiny organisation, in a tiny Welsh rural town with incredibly limited resources can have such a powerful impact on so many people's lives. It’s so many orders of magnitude greater than one would expect from a tiny organisation. Its fingers spread outwards so far.” M – MPYT parent --

“I enjoyed how genuine everyone seemed able to be in that space. People were being themselves. I liked that there was no judgement. In the space of five minutes of being in the room you’d hear a bunch of bizarre conversations that you’d be worried to say out loud usually, but everyone's chill, having a great time. It made me think maybe all these things I worry about, aren't a problem?’ B – MPYT member

--

“Being queer and neurodivergent in a rural, farming community presented challenges. I was an outcast - definitely bottom of the pecking order. In such a rural area, people aren't particularly open minded sometimes. MPYT felt like a level playing field. We were never spoken down to. MPYT fostered that sense that we were doing something of professional standard and treated us with respect as you would working actors. That trust, responsibility, respect validation: I don’t remember that feeling in other aspects of my lives. Particularly school.” C – MPYT member. --

‘I think the standard setting: the ideas of quality and excellence that MPYT extols are so important in fostering a sense of aspiration locally. Your audiences and your community feel it, you know? People know, even if you're not an experienced theatre goer, you know the quality when you see it. It creates such a sense of pride to see young people of your area create something of such quality’. L – MPYT parent

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

14

People

During the year we had three Trustees step down. Molly and Liam - who had a wedding to concentrate on (congratulations, you two) - were a dynamic force during their tenure on the board. Stephen also stepped down towards the end of the year to focus on work and family. Those three individuals

have been a huge asset to MPYT during their years as Trustees. We are very grateful and dearly hope you will all stay involved at some level. Thank you.

Mary Bunney, our Treasurer since formation in 2013 – among many other critical voluntary support roles - stepped down from her responsibility for financial affairs. Our debt to Mary for her tireless endeavours over many years is huge. Thanks Mary.

Ioan Zammit completed his tenure as MPYT Admin Assistant to go on to pastures new. Thanks for your hard work, Ioan and best wishes on your new ventures.

Achievements against objectives set

Each of the following objectives addressed by the ‘Create’ project has made significant progress, with more growth to come:

a) diversify income streams;

b) overhaul communications and profile (both digital and real world);

c) maximise recruitment and demographic reach;

d) professionalise the board of trustees;

--

Each of the following objectives addressed by the ‘Create’ project has been addressed and initiated, with optimism for work in progress:

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

15

a) realise the potential of our alumni body;

b) embed principal strands of core activity within our financial model;

--

Our primary challenge remains the question of realistic succession planning.

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period

MPYT has £44409 at bank: of which £38438 is restricted funds.

Income for the accounting year is by far the highest since MPYT was established as an independent charity in 2013. Hence the staffing and the volume of work being done across all areas of business. This makes the picture look healthier, although unrestricted funds remain – as expected - low. The significant challenge is to maintain – and indeed improve on – this relative financial health. Whilst we may have seen the worst of a bleak financial picture since Covid and have much to be pleased with the future, beyond 2025-26 remains difficult.

Reserves Policy

MPYT is a project-funded organisation. We are now making progress in moving to more core security in our financial position. The development of unrestricted income streams will enable us to build reserves at 10% of income, ensuring at least three months of funds are available to successfully and ethically wind down the company if needed. The plan to build reserves will be through unrestricted income generation activity: core cost grant applications; community fundraising; individual giving and donation schemes.

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

16

Amount of reserves held

£5971

By volume, the Charity’s principal source of funds in the reported year are:

a) Grants

b) Donations and individual giving;

c) Members subscriptions

d) Community Fundraising

A description of the principal risks facing the charity

Succession planning for artistic leadership and professional delivery (of activity) is a critical threat. We have begun to explore this area through our development year, and will continue to push this modelling work but we should all understand this remains a clear and present danger to the longterm viability of the organisation.

It bears repeating that the long-term impacts of austerity, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have deeply impacted the organisation: both financially and in terms of participation (numbers). Young people are more anxious – and in poorer health; families have less money. Competition for grantfunding has increased exponentially.

Trustee selection methods

By advertisement and selection: initially advertisement by email and social media posting to local communities and among friends and supporters. We also consider ‘head-hunting’ to identify individuals from the wider body of friends, supporters and alumni – or the professional arts sector - to meet the demands of a specific expertise.

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

17

We are proactive in targeting younger trustees from the local community and from further afield who retain ties to the community and are available to conduct business remotely.

At each AGM, the two longest-standing trustees must stand down. They may, if they so wish, then apply for re-election.

Organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works

Our Board is currently 4 trustees. One of whom is Chair.

Our chair leads on Impact and Evaluation and Policy and Procedure, in close liaison with the Artistic Director and Executive Producer.

Our accounts are prepared by a book-keeping accountant.

We work closely with local partners Celf o Gwmpas; Wyeside Arts; Ysgol Calon Cymru; Green Man Festival; Shakespeare Link; CARAD; and others. We consult frequently with Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations. Beyond Powys we have good working partnerships with Theatr Clwyd and National Youth Arts Wales. We are in the early stages of building a partnership with Heart of Wales Community Rail and Mess up the Mess (Ammanford).

We are striving consistently to reach and bring in high-quality mid Wales artists who can bring their skills and experience to bear in enhancing our participants’ engagement with MPYT.

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

18

Charity’s principal address:

Centre Celf, Tremont Road Llandrindod Wells Powys LD1 5EB

Approved by the board on August 21[st] 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Megan Dauksta – chair of trustees

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

19

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Mid Powys Youth Theatre

For the Year Ended 10th April 2025

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Mid Powys Youth Theatre (the Charity) for the Year Ended 10th April 2025.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

As the Trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. The accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. The accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of the accounts set out in the

Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

20

requirement that the accounts give “a true and fair view” which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

Date: 21/08/2025

Davina Hutchinson ACMA

Garden Cottage Brynwern Hall Llanfihangel Brynpabuan Builth Wells LD2 3SE

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

21

Receipts & Payments Account

For the Year Ended 10th April 2025

2025 2024
Restricted Unrestricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Receipts
Subscriptions - 1,610 1,610 1,015
Donations - 2,288 2,288 5,619
Grants3 64,553 - 64,553 23,457
Fundraising - 141 141 2,845
Ticket sales - - - 924
Refunds 83 - 83 54
__ __ __ __
Total receipts 64,636 4,039 68,675 33,914
__ __ __ __
Payments
Fundraising costs 1,680 - 1,680 -
Workshop leaders &
assistants 2,770 3,075 5,845 1,700
Staf costs 31,847 - 31,847 8,469
Training 6,370 - 6,370 110
Rent & venue hire 3,886 1,002 4,888 2,510
Travel 604 - 604 215
Admin & ofice costs 303 (29) 274 628
Marketing - - - 1,464
Insurance 181 - 181 495
IT 353 - 353 -
Bank charges - 64 64 79
Independent examiner’s - 200 200 -
fee
Projects & Productions
Production team - - - 2,000
Workshop
leaders/facilitators - - - 4,016
Project management - - - 1,700
Set & wardrobe materials - - - 60
Marketing, printing &
translation 1,341 - 1,341 792
Venue hire - - - 1,672
Travel & accommodation 576 - 576 -
Writer’s fee/copyright - - - 510

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

22

__ __ __ __
Total payments 49,911 4,312 54,223 26,420
__ __ __ __
Net receipts / (payments) 14,725 (273) 14,452 7,494
__ __ __ __
Transfers between funds - - - -
__ __ __ __
Funds at 11th April 2024 23,713 6,244 29,957 22,463
__ __ __ __
Funds at 10th April 2025 38,438 5,971 44,409 29,957
======== ======== ======== ========

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

23

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

For the Year Ended 10th April 2025

For the Year Ended 10th April 2025
2025 2024
£ £
Assets
Cash at bank 46,143 30,295
Cash in hand 50 50
__ __
Total Assets 46,193 30,345
======== ========
Current Liabilities
Creditors 1,784 388
======== ========
Total Assets Less Liabilities 44,409 29,957
======== ========
Cash Funds
Restricted funds 38,438 23,713
Unrestricted funds 5,971 6,244
__ __
Total Cash Funds 44,409 29,957
======== ========

Approved by the Trustees on August 21[st] 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

24

Notes to the Accounts

For the Year Ended 10th April 2025

  1. These accounts have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Commission. There has been no change in basis since last year.

  2. There are no employees.

3. Grants received

Restricted Unrestricted Total 2025 Total 2024
£ £ £ £
Millennium
Stadium CT - - - 2,500
ACW Lottery
Business
Development 20,957 - 20,957 20,957
ACW Lottery
Resilience Fund 13,800 - 13,800 -
Awards for All 19,296 - 19,296 -
Oakdale Trust 500 - 500 -
Rix Thompson 5,000 - 5,000 -
G&M Davies 5,000 - 5,000 -
__ __ __ __
Total grants 64,533 - 64,533 23,457
======== ======== ======== ========

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724

25

4. Analysis of funds

4. Analysis of funds
At 11.04.24 Income Expenditure Transfer At 10.04.25
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds
Davies Trust 494 - - - 494
CFIW Ashley
Foundation 136 - - - 136
Millennium Stadium
CT 2,126 - (1,890) - 236
ACW Lottery
Business 20,957 20,957 (34,397) 7,517
Development
ACW Lottery
Resilience - 13,883 (12,824) - 1,059
Awards for All - 19,296 (800) - 18,496
Oakdale Trust - 500 - - 500
Rix Thompson - 5,000 - - 5,000
G&M Davies - 5,000 - - 5,000
__ __ __ __ __
Total restricted 23,713 64,636 (49,911) - 38,438
======== ======== ======== ======== ========
Unrestricted funds
General fund - 4,039 (4,312) 6,244 5,971
PCC 313 - - (313) -
_Designated_funds
MPYT Development
fund 19 - - (19) -
Minibus training
fund 67 - - (67) -
Performance
reserve fund 5,845 - - (5,845) -
__ _ __ __ __
Total unrestricted 6,244 4,039 (4,312) - 5,971
======== ======= ======== ======== ========
Total funds 29,957 68,675 (54,223) - 44,409
======== ======= ======== ======== ========

Mid Powys Youth Theatre Trustees Annual Report 24/25 Charity 1157724