2023-03-31-accounts

Company no. 6004929 Charity no. 1176855

Diverse City

Report and Audited Financial Statements 31 March 2023

Diverse City

Reference and administrative details

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Company number 6004929 Charity number 1176855 Registered office and 3 Manwell Drive operational address Swanage Dorset BH19 3RB

Trustees

Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Ayad Al-Ani Melanie Allwood resigned 10 May 2023 Naomi Baldwin Webb appointed 23 November 2022 Helen Costello resigned 20 March 2023 Sophie Cottle appointed 5 September 2023 Graham Devlin resigned 10 May 2023 Emma Hughes appointed 5 September 2023 Valentina Huxley appointed 5 September 2023 Ben Johnsen appointed 23 November 2022 Lucia Sherman appointed 23 November 2022 resigned 10 May 2023 Dimitrios Tourountsis resigned 7 March 2023 Joshua Ward appointed 5 September 2023 David Young Company secretary Dimitrios Tourountsis resigned 7 March 2023 Bankers Unity Trust Bank PO Box 7193 Planetary Road Willenhall WV1 9DG Auditors Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).

Structure, governance and management

Diverse City is a company limited by guarantee and a charity registered with the Charity Commission. In 2022-23 the company had a board of 13 trustees and is governed by our Articles of Association, adopted by a special resolution dated 22 December 2017.

Trustees are recruited by invitation, through specialist agencies and by open call out by the board in collaboration with the Senior Management team. Trustees are appointed according to identified skill gaps and in line with targets around representation and equality. Trustees meet quarterly to review progress against targets, risk register and quarterly management accounts.

Trustees are inducted into the company through meetings with the senior management team and Chair of Trustees. From time to time trustees are invited to form action groups to deepen their oversight and all trustees are invited to view work both in development and in performance throughout the year. The board has an annual away day where strategic plans and activity are reviewed.

Responsibility for the management of the charity is delegated to a four-person senior management team, comprised of two joint Artistic Directors, an Executive Director and a Finance Director who all report to the board. The SMT holds responsibility for strategic artistic, financial and organisational delivery of the three-year business plan. Financial management is led by the Executive Director and Finance Director.

Diverse City artistic leadership is held by Co Artistic Directors, Claire Hodgson and Jamie Beddard. The artistic and strategic planning for Diverse City’s circus collaboration, Extraordinary Bodies is shared equally between the charity and Cirque Bijou Limited. The collaboration’s working practice and discrete company responsibilities are governed by a collaboration agreement, reviewed annually.

In 2022-23, Diverse City operated a distributed core company team of 13 people (largely on parttime contracts). We do not have permanent volunteer staff. This year contractual and freelance professional performers and producers extended our team by 197 people. We also ran a regular, integrated youth ensemble called Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists, with annual and seasonal membership of 16-30 year olds participating in training, mentoring and performance.

Each strategic area of activity is held by distributed sub-teams (Making Work/Developing Talent; Tracking Impact; and Children and Young People) with delegated responsibilities for partnership development and tactical planning. Teams are stewarded by the SMT and supported by peers. The removal of Covid restrictions has meant the momentum of face to face and live work increased, supported by our shared online ‘office’. There were many more opportunities to meet as a whole company at performance events for Human, Delicate and Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

The charity is active in many new and established networks: What Next? Unlimited, Change Creation, NPO cohort, Jerwood Creative Fellowships, plus festival, touring and commercial networks. Claire Hodgson’s term on ACE South-West Regional Council came to an end; Jamie Beddard and Claire Hodgson are on What Next? Core Group and have advised DCMS; they work closely with the Clore Leadership Programme and have been part of the Agents for Change network working at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Bristol Old Vic and New Wolsey, Ipswich. The senior leadership team also hold trustee roles for a range of small and medium scale theatre and arts organisations in the South West and nationally.

The charity is a member of Independent Theatre Council, National Association of Youth Theatres, Living Wage Foundation and IETM and is registered with the ICO.

Extraordinary Bodies is the charity’s key partnership and a collaboration with Cirque Bijou Ltd. The partnership emerged out of our work together in 2012 Olympics and is governed by a collaboration agreement reviewed annually. The charity is also a ‘leading light’ of Lighthouse Poole, plus associate company of Bristol Old Vic.

The charity is a living wage employer and sets rates of pay for key management personnel based on equivalent sector market rates and level of artistic and fiscal responsibility. The charity aims to reduce the differentials between the top and bottom pay rates in the company.

Objectives and activities

The charity’s objectives

Our objectives are:

• The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit, including (but not limited to) those with physical impairments, learning disabilities and others experiencing barriers to learning, development and inclusion, by (but not limited to):

• The provision and promotion of the arts (including by promoting the widening of participation in (but not limited to) the performing arts);

• The provision of workshops, training programmes and coaching in the arts, in particular (but not limited to) the performing arts; and

• The advancement of education in the arts and raising awareness in equality and diversity.

• The promotion of social inclusion for the public benefit in particular (but not limited to) among individuals who are socially excluded from society, or part of society, as a result of their social position, in particular (but without limitation) through the promotion of performing arts, including widening participation in performing arts.

How the charity’s aims further its legal purposes

Diverse City is founded on the values of collaboration, justice, creativity and optimism and our vision is a healthy, just and civil society for all. Our inclusive public, performing arts practice widens participation in the arts and society, including by children and young people, and trains and promotes talented, diverse, independent artists.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

The charity’s strategies for achieving its stated aims and objectives

Our strategies are to lead the UK’s only integrated circus company Extraordinary Bodies in partnership with Cirque Bijou; to co-produce new work rooted in the stories and experiences of real people; identify, support and employ new and underrepresented performing arts talent on stage and off stage; to include the participation of diverse civic artists in the places we perform alongside the shows; and to lead a youth ensemble that exemplifies and paves the way for inclusive performing arts training. We want to see everyone on and off stage and in the audience, participating in the telling of stories with universal resonance, within diverse, activated and connected communities.

The criteria the charity uses to assess success in achieving goals

The charity assesses success in achieving goals through an annual review of our dynamic Story of Change and a quarterly review of annual SMART targets across all strands of our work. We measure the number of productions made and toured, commissions offered, partnerships forged, artists developed, audiences reached, and young people engaged. Our progress towards stated targets is reported quarterly to Arts Council England in line with our National Portfolio agreement.

We evaluate the impact of our work on the attitudes and expectations of artists through internal ‘sense making’ sessions plus the use of the Culture Counts Impact and Insight toolkit. We investigate the response and demographic of audiences through both Culture Counts and Audience Finder surveys. From 2022 we employed the services of a specialist audience data analyst company Baker Richards to help us create a more detailed picture of audiences attracted by the work of our ACE project of national importance: ‘Touring diverse Led Circus’. We capture progression of artists and young people through and beyond our company, through case studies and by monitoring skill development, career progression and additional training pathways. We judge success on the impact and reach of our work through robust evaluation frameworks for all activity using self and peer assessment of personal and professional change catalysed by our work.

Significant activities undertaken and their contribution to the charity’s achievement of aims and objectives

This year was one of the busiest of the last five years with a substantial increase in output and achievement. This was particularly true regarding Extraordinary Bodies, our partnership with Cirque Bijou. Significant activities during this period were the successful second national touring leg of Human , a multi-layered and profound show created during the pandemic; the co-production (with Nordland Visual Theatre) and tour of a new, integrated studio show, Delicate , and the co-production (with Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Plymouth) of Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror , our most ambitious Extraordinary Bodies production to date. Delicate and Waldo’s were the second and third new shows created to tour to seven national partners as part of our high-profile ACE Project of National Importance. We continued to support small scale digital artist commissions: Delicate The Podcast, Mid Life: Stretch Marks radio pitch and Splash! animation, seeded in 2020.

This year also saw an acceleration of our contact and engagement with national communities through our three-year national Connecting Communities project and a substantial deepening of engagement with young artists, who had experienced such negative pandemic impacts. The period marked the completion of our the NPO ‘Extension’ period, “Towards a New Now”. We moved into position to start our 2023-26 business plan, “A New Now” having applied and secured our second, three-year ACE NPO grant where business plan activity was aligned to the ACE investment principles. We also looking forward to a period of pause and reflection to understand the ripples of our increased activity and heightened profile.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

How the charity delivers public benefit

The charity delivers public benefit by mitigating barriers to engagement and participation in the performing arts and by working to ensure that the cultural sector is inclusive and reflective of the widest number and range of people in our society. The charity’s trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Our goals

As the sector reopened post lockdown and audiences began to return, we saw the potential for a ‘New Now’. Radical change was in the air and our goal was to take advantage of the renewed appetite for rule change around whose voices and whose bodies were heard and seen on our national stages. We know we were an essential part of a cultural shift that recognised the ethical and economic value of pushing forward on cultural inclusion.

Our overarching goal was to grow the confidence of diverse audiences to return to live performance through making and touring new work supported by our Arts Council funded strategic Project of National Importance, Touring Diverse Led Circus. Central to this goal were two vital strands of work ‘Co-producing mainstream theatre partnerships to achieve equality in the arts’ (supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation) and ‘Connecting Communities through Diverse leadership’ (supported by National Lottery). We also wanted to build on the artistic explorations of 2021-22 through the continued integration of creative access, digital media, script, circus, and movement with support from our touring partners and co-producers.

Our goal was also to ensure that the charity used its resources, capacity and structure to create the biggest impact and that the artistic output of our flourishing partnership, Extraordinary Bodies, was as fully realised as possible to achieve our charity’s goals.

Our workforce comprised 13 full and part time roles with a freelance team of talented and diverse producers bringing new energy and insight in the making and touring of complex shows in uncertain times. Our overheads budget increased from approximately £415k to £485k by the end of the same period.

Grants

From 2018–2023 the charity has been committed to granting approximately £100k pa to Cirque Bijou for the shared management and delivery of our partnership collaboration, Extraordinary Bodies. The partnership fulfils our aims and objectives by embodying our ethos, vision and mission through creating practical artistic productions that promote equality and diversity and of social inclusion for the public benefit.

Volunteers

The charity currently has no permanent volunteer workforce and mainly works with volunteers provided by partner organisations. In 2022-23 we worked directly with two volunteers to support admin and data inputting, but their contribution was not significant to the charity’s ability to carry out our aims and objectives.

2022-23 progress towards achievement of aims Aim 1: To make excellent new work and develop talent

New work

“Delicate performed in Stamsund, Norway to a small but packed studio audience. A perfect run. The audience gave a massive applause at the end.”

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

2022-23 was a year of high ambition and high achievement. Having weathered the pandemic and completed our tour of Human , we were keen to turn the heat up on ideas that we had been planning for since 2018. We hit the ground running, ever mindful of the threats and risks presented by Covid.

We made a beautiful new Extraordinary Bodies show, Delicate by Jamie Beddard, in a coproduction with Figurteatret i Nordland (Nordland Visual Theatre) and Theatre Royal Plymouth. For the first time we cast online a small company of performers all of whom were new to us. Steered by neurodivergent circus producer Nicole D’Acourt Stewart, we built on learning around understudy plans that had originally been prompted by Covid which continued to have huge relevance for us as a company comprising D/deaf and disabled performers (and proved invaluable once we started on Waldo’s ). The small scale, studio piece premiered in Stamsund, Norway on 24 June 2022 before opening on 6 October 2022 in Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Drum Studio Theatre.

“Delicate was a wonderful production produced by amazing creatives, cast, company and all partners…. A richly deserved fulsome audience response was given to an excellent production... I thoroughly enjoyed and embraced the experience from day one on zoom, … weekly production meetings, a thrilling creative collaboration in Norway which I will cherish and then its eventual UK opening in the Drum at TRP and its tour.” H. Borthwick TRP

Our Delicate show experiments in creative access involved working for the first time in Norwegian Sign Language (NSL), prompting much head-scratching when we realised there is no NSL sign for the word ‘delicate’. We also created and delivered audio description in Norwegian with two local theatre makers who plan to continue this work in their own practice. The Delicate Podcast , a slow, diverse, artistic digital experiment, the seeds of which were sown during the pandemic, was also finished, and distributed via UK venues and Extraordinary Bodies’ website in November 2023.

Disabled puppeteer, Nikki Charlesworth, working with animator Emma Fisher, dancer Helen Cherry, choreographer/ creative enabler Jodie Cole and Digital producer Grace Okereke, finished the beautiful digital animation Splash! Based on an original 2019 outdoor circus show made and toured by Extraordinary Bodies in partnership with The Mighty Creatives. The animation will form the centre of a future SEND schools’ package.

2022-23 marked the fruition of Extraordinary Bodies’ major new creation Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror , a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Bristol Old Vic. First conceived by Hattie Naylor in 2017, the script was co-written by Hattie Naylor and Jamie Beddard. Dramaturgs Tom Morris (Artistic Director Bristol Old Vic) and Ben Atterbury (New Work Producer Bristol Old Vic) prompted new questions and rewrites, while a year of casting and training ran alongside music research and development periods. Our expert producer stewarded the complexities of the team, the process and the partners with sensitivity and insight. Finally, Waldo’s began rehearsal in February 2023, directed by Billy Alwen, Claire Hodgson, and Jenny Davies, with a premiere on 21 March 2023 at Bristol Old Vic.

The largest show ever created by the company was a constant process of learning, adaptation, discovery, and problem solving. Waldo’s had a total on stage team of 17 artists and an off-stage team of 46 (producing, creative, technical, comms) including 17 access workers. The huge undertaking stretched the joint resources and ambitions of both Diverse City and our partner Cirque Bijou. Throughout, we kept in our line of sight one singular vision: a touring show for the mid-scale stage; filled for the first time with uniquely diverse talents; telling a compelling disabled-led story; shot through with captivating songs and circus; provoking debate about the past and the future; all wrapped up in a night of amazing entertainment and spectacle.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

During 2022-23 Diverse City’s performance work independent of Extraordinary Bodies focused on seeding projects for the future. A new integrated community engagement and performance model called SW!M was developed for performance in June 22 directed by Deborah Paige and Claire Hodgson. A collaboration with The Mowlem Theatre Swanage, SW!M performed in the Mowlem (with an accompanying Photographic exhibition), Swanage Museum and on Swanage beach in the Mowlem Theatre. The event was captured by documentary film maker Stephen Lake and forged into a short film funded by The Space.

"The show made me feel the real me" "Women are amazing. Would love to inspire younger women not to care about what their bodies look like" “Absolutely brilliant. Showed love, fun, RESPECT and what can be achieved by women. The world needs more of this THANK YOU xxx” “What an inspiration you gorgeous Ladies are! Come rain or shine, heat or freezing - you are 'in' - and putting the rest of us to shame! Thank you - and a great show! Xx Thanks Amanda! X Fantastic!! From Yvonne xx” “Fantastic optimistic energetic - even in your 70s you can still take part in life! Would like to see it next year.”

Diverse City ran a short initial research and development period for a new piece co-produced with Ad Infinitum, called All We Have , led by Jamie Beddard and George Mann. The Mid Life team put forward a digital pitch for – Mid Life Stretch Marks (originally Mid Life: What We Tell Our Daughters ) to Whistledown Productions/Radio 4 and reviewed the next steps for a remount of Mid Life, the show. In the summer of 2022 we also leapt at the chance to collaborate with Cirque Bijou on Disco Inferno for Camp Bestival in Dorset. This was a fantastic opportunity to take the ethos of integration onto a huge stage for a massive, mainstream audience and by the by, to break the Guinness Disco Dance World Record.

2022-23 was busy and challenging, not least because of Covid related interruptions and frustrations, but our progress towards our charity’s mission proved the strength of a resilience founded on a deep optimism and shared belief in our mission.

Talent development

Our strands of work to identify, train and network new D/deaf and disabled artists in the sector and our continued sharing of integrated artistic practice ran throughout the year. We discovered and met a huge breadth of new D/deaf and disabled talent through working for the first time with a casting director, Polly Jerrold, on Waldo’s . For example, brand new young talent Abbie Purvis, one of the Waldo’s leads, and young actor Ed Larkin from Plymouth, cast in Delicate .

Teams working on both Human tour, Delicate and Waldo’s all developed skills through show creation both in terms of understanding integrated ethos and practice and working in a multidisciplinary process. Human was partially recast for the second leg of the tour, with a total of 12 performers working across the whole show; Delicate had a total of six different performers including understudies, while Waldo’s stepped up again, employing 17 performers on stage.

Many of the cast of Waldo’s embarked on an extensive circus training programme right up until the start of, and throughout, rehearsals. Overseen by teacher and producer Kate Webb, the programme was designed to develop tight wire and ground-based work with D/deaf and disabled artists. Artists across various projects also continued to grow in creative confidence and skill in digital forms through animation development, audio, and film documentary pitches.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

For the first time since the pandemic, we were able to share artistic practice internationally. In June 22 the cast of Delicate plus Jamie Beddard, Eilis Bevan Davis and Lydia Harper all worked with Nordland Visual Theatre to integrate Norwegian sign language and AD into the show. Jerwood Fellow alumnus Jodie Cole was employed by us on Connecting Communities and supported to develop her independent creative practice, Bestival Disco Inferno, Splash! animation and Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists. We also restarted hosting work experience placements with an extended opportunity for Dorset-based Hatty Greenway (who previously worked on Breathe , our 2012 Olympics project). Hatty worked on Delicate FOH at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Waldo’s casting & Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists workshops.

The creative case

The increases during the year of underrepresented groups in our artist workforce reflects the overall increase in our output. The more work we can make, the more we can employ people missing from the mainstream. During the year, 33% (28% last year) of all our freelance workforce and at least 48% (14% last year) of independent artists identified as D/deaf, disabled, or neurodivergent; 24% (20% last year) of the artist workforce identified as being from the global majority and 63% (64% last year) of all freelancers and 51% (44% last year) of artists, identified as female.

We work towards equal representation (51% women; 16% GM; 20% D/deaf & disabled people) across our annual creative programme, and we ringfence at least 20% production access costs. This commitment extends to the make-up of our board and into our core team. It is always a consideration when approaching any recruitment process. We have diversified our producing team through key support from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Jerwood Foundation. Our recruitment processes have evolved to increase access for other roles because we recognise that power imbalances inherent in our current structure impacts our ability to drive change.

The employment of producers from the global majority, those who are disabled, with caring responsibilities or who are neurodivergent has brought many advantages. We can model to our partners different ways of working and being in all roles. Our accessible recruitment approach continued to be practiced wherever possible with new work around individual access riders helping to create a culture of access and inclusion across the company. We continue to gain from the Jerwood Creative Bursary Programme through the employment of alumnus Jodie Cole, an artistic leader who identifies as being from a low socio-economic background.

We support others to change who has power in the arts and to widen the range of voices that influence decision-making. This is reflected in our advocacy, action, and networking around Unexpected Leaders through the Connecting Communities programme.

Hiring the right balance of skilled D/deaf, disabled, and non-disabled diverse performers continues to be a challenge in circus and theatre. Advanced physical skills are a challenge to the most seasoned actor if they haven’t started training early and the most daring physical performers inevitably struggle with voice projection and character if they haven’t had access to actor training. Financial and physical barriers to training mean that many still do not have universal access, so young people coming from less traditional backgrounds are still put off from thinking a career in the arts is for them. Following the pandemic, we’ve seen this talent gap ever more clearly. We know that our work on stage increases the sense that a career on and off stage is possible for D/deaf and disabled people. However, to find and train D/deaf and disabled talent, particularly in circus skills requires a 10-year commitment. Our sights are therefore turning to developing and funding strategic talent development programmes long term.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Creative access

The creative access experiments in Delicate were designed to be deliberately light touch for flexible touring. For the second time we worked with BSL user David Ellington to record BSL and captions to run alongside and interact with the show on screen. Tech difficulties and timing issues created some shortcomings in our access provision (recorded BSL and captioning was not responsive to changes on stage and often went out of sync), and sightlines meant that this was not as successful as hoped.

The digital aesthetic explored in Human was developed again through digital images juxtaposed with the live action. We experimented with a live screening of Delicate at Lowry and learned more about the complexity of incorporating AD and BSL and captions live. The Delicate Podcast provided another point of access for all audiences particularly those with sight loss. The podcast explored the lived experience of making and working as an artist in challenging times.

Waldo’s casting and creative process took us towards a more bi-lingual approach with two BSL users in the cast (and one additional deaf actor). We used caption screens to caption the show throughout every performance and used a recorded AD track - challenging at times with such a script heavy show that evolved throughout the process. Waldo’s enabled us for the first time to work with a brilliant creative BSL performer on stage throughout the show and to trust hearing audiences to understand the meaning of sections told entirely in BSL.

Digital stories were created as part of introducing Waldo’s cast to audiences and garnered high levels of engagement. They were designed to open the people and process to potential audiences and build a sense of trust and curiosity in those who might only be just coming back to live performance.

Aim 2: Reaching audiences and tracking impact

Our ACE funded project of national importance was the cornerstone of a drive to increase the number and range of people experiencing our work. The aim was to diversify audiences, engage communities, diversify leadership and gather insights across a range of places nationally. Of course, our audience targets for the whole project were revised down to 30% (of an original target of 12k) post pandemic based on venue feedback: Our partners reported low take up from audiences for anything other than comedy or musicals with some venues struggling to reconnect with circus audiences and others with reduced capacity and experience in their teams. Venues felt that audiences had become more risk averse and were just looking for a guaranteed good night out at the theatre. They also saw that the cost-of-living crisis was beginning to bite into the frequency of visits to all their venues.

However, Touring Diverse Led Circus gave us an opportunity to test out how to build back audiences across shows, years and places in this unprecedented context. To establish audience demographic changes over the course of the project, we worked with our data partner Baker Richards to create a new online audience dashboard.

Following Human’s premiere and tour in 2021-22, we continued to take the show out to those venues that had delayed programming because of the pandemic. Delighted audiences in Plymouth, Sunderland, Sheffield, Brighton, York, and Exeter engaged in seven chilled performances bringing the total audience numbers across both legs of tour to 3,798 people (2021-23).

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

In Autumn 2022 on return from Norway, Delicate embarked on a 26 date UK tour to 11 studio theatres with 26 chilled performances to 2,017 people plus another 223 people who listened to Delicate the Podcast. We visited Theatre Royal Plymouth; Arts Centre Washington Sunderland; The Lowry, Salford Quays; Woolwich Works, London; Lighthouse, Poole; The Connaught, Worthing; The Junction, Cambridge; MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton; The Civic Theatre, Barnsley; Jacksons Lane, London; and The Gulbenkian, Canterbury.

The year ended with Touring Diverse Led Circus plans in place for a six venue, 29 date national tour of Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror . Diverse City and Cirque Bijou worked closely together to recruit an Extraordinary Bodies marketing professional who co-designed with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Bristol Old Vic beautiful, compelling assets for Waldo’s . The planned tour for 2023-24 includes return visits to Bristol Old Vic; The Lowry Salford Quays; Theatre Royal Plymouth; MAST Mayflower Studios Southampton; Lighthouse Poole; and Brighton Dome.

In the post pandemic recovery period, our continued forays into accessible digital content were valuable to those still shielding or whose confidence in public cultural attendance was curtailed. We were delighted with the extended online distribution of Diverse City’s short film Mid Life: The Skin We’re In which was selected for Wine, Women & Film Festival; and shortlisted for the TENA Ageless Award at Women Over Fifty Film Festival WOFFF. It was also screened to audiences of 353 people in 12 venues including Riverside Studios, London, Depot, Lewes, East Sussex plus libraries and places of worship, and mainstream cinemas. Most recently the film was also selected for WOFFF Moving Pictures - a short film DVD aimed at people living in three elder care residential homes and older groups in six community venues. Next year a further 20 screenings with an estimated projected audience of 300 are scheduled to take place was part of WOFFF Best of the Fest on Tour in 2023.

In 2022-23 other digital work planned or distributed included our open source Accessible Circus Tool Kit which continued to attract lasting interest; a digital exhibition to accompany Waldo’s ; new digital assets for Delicate ; online availability and a one-off screening of Human digital capture at MAST; planned digital stories with Waldo’s cast; and a digital capture of Waldo’s at Bristol Old Vic.

The company continued to experiment with ways to bring community voice into the development and response to creative work. For example, our integrated community performance SW!M in June 2022 involved 50 local women as dancers, actors, writers, and swimmers. The event attracted 1,645 live and 3,000 online audiences. Our major project Connecting Communities, which began during the first lockdown, built up renewed momentum. Funded by the National Lottery, the project encouraged Unexpected, community cultural leadership on independent creative community projects stimulated by Extraordinary Bodies’ touring work, Delicate . This was a time of getting to grips with the external, ‘post’ pandemic context, establishing a brilliantly diverse and skilled core team, and reconnecting with our national cohort of Unexpected cultural leaders. For them we programmed professional development to increase confidence at work or work experience interviews; grow work and interpersonal skills; increase self confidence in presentation; and build confidence in disclosing complex access needs. Following Delicate’s community sharings in Poole, Rochdale and Plymouth, Waldo’s creative community projects also got underway in Plymouth, Rochdale, Poole, Southampton, and Brighton. This work tackled themes of hidden identities and the mask of the clown through character work and photography.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Having created a growing body of work, Diverse City started investigations into remounting shows, particularly those that had reached limited audiences through lockdowns or social distancing. We started our Mid Life remount plan with initial investigation into the touring market, commercial options, community groups and funding targets. We also explored a new community focused package in consultation with 50 women.

Producers as change makers (supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation) has been a hallmark of this period. We found and extended real expertise around supporting and planning for taking diverse group of people on tour. We benefitted massively from the lived experience of our diverse team who shared insights and supported each other as projects moved forward. One of our producers shared her learning in an Arts Professional Article titled 'Practising humane producing' which drew strongly on her experiences with Extraordinary Bodies:

“I’d like to see the conversation shift from building resilience in individuals, to building sustainability sector wide. The producer’s role is paramount to seeing this change happen - we hold the budgets, we contract the teams, we facilitate the creative process. If we put sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion at the heart of our practice, a huge shift will follow.” Kate McStraw, in Arts Professional.

Audience impact

Delicate attracted an audience of over 2,000 people across all venues. It is exciting to find that half of survey responders knew nothing about Extraordinary Bodies before seeing the show, so we opened new audiences to this work. In venues, between 4%-52% of audiences were new to the venue with Jackson’s Lane attracting 52% of new audience members (most likely because of the beautiful new renovation which meant many disabled colleagues came to that space for the first time) and of course for Washington Arts Centre, a new venue, it was 100%.

Audiences rated Delicate in a similar way to us: responses suggest that the show content and concept were both judged to be interesting and relevant to today’s world. Interestingly there was a noticeable difference between the judgement of our peers and our audiences on the show with our peers rating the show lower across all dimensions. Of audience respondents, 43% said it was different to what they expected with 33% finding the highlight to be the range of physical skills. 93% rated the experience either good or very good overall and our net promoter score showed 60% of audience responders likely to recommend Delicate to a friend or colleague.

There was an overarching impression from audience feedback of their having had an inspiring and positive experience. Most respondents said that the show had either made them think about for the first time, or reinforced, the idea that inclusion and diversity should be celebrated. “It reminds me that being differently abled doesn't mean we can't be amazing” “I couldn't see how they were being held back, only how they were propelling themselves forward. So positive!”

There was an acknowledgement that the experience had changed some attitudes to circus – its adaptability and potential to be inclusive. "Circus is very diverse and can be used effectively for different purposes” “contemporary circus does not need to mean clowns and fire jugglers - it can more diverse and inspiring.”

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Some people felt that the work was too short (the show ran under 60 mins) and others that it “was a bit too optimistic” . There was interest in the fact that the show wasn’t just about disability. There were mixed responses to the text and circus combination – some felt “text and circus are uncomfortable bedfellows” while others noted that “the interweaving of narrative and physicality worked well” . “It was really brave and interesting to use this amount of text with movement. And the projections/signer opened up new opportunities”.

Majority of survey completers (71%) were women, and 59% were people over 40 years old, although the age spread was relatively even across all age ranges. Of survey responders we attracted, 25% of people identified as disabled and around 26% of people were ‘non white’.

Most people came to be inspired and entertained. Many of our audience participate or follow the performing arts and for 24% of survey responders this was the main motivation. The most important way for this theatre savvy audiences to find out about us is through word of mouth or theatre newsletter.

Delicate is our second show in Touring Diverse Led circus, where we are focusing on increasing the level of welcome for diverse audiences in venues. It is gratifying therefore to see that 90% of people felt comfortable in the venues to which we toured.

Impact of online audience for creative content

The charity gained new online audiences in this period despite the spotlight being firmly on the Extraordinary Bodies partnership. We had a combined (Extraordinary Bodies and Diverse City together) digital reach of 1,155,030 people. There was a good response to Diverse City in ‘activist mode’ and audiences are beginning to identify the company as a source of digital content as well as in real life performance. Our partnership with Cirque Bijou Extraordinary Bodies significantly increased its online audiences in tandem with the touring and creation of new shows. In the coming year we will work to ensure that as the needle swings back over to Diverse City we do not lose these new audiences.

The stand-out digital audience of this period was very clearly Swim Club documentary, which drew in whopping audiences online of over 20k with a huge 43% of viewers watching the whole thing. This is both a reflection of the size of the country’s burgeoning and highly connected online swimming population and the fact that it was a partnership with promotional powerhouse of The Space. In contrast, without a partner distributor, the Delicate Podcast didn’t find a significant audience. It was distributed late rather than alongside the show and it is a new way for audiences to enjoy content from us.

All commissioned creative digital content is captioned and separately BSL interpreted and audio described content received good views showing conclusively that we have a strong BSL audience: BSL videos represented 22% of Extraordinary Bodies total views, which suggests Deaf people represent 22% of our online viewers (0.04% of population are BSL users).

E-newletters had higher than industry standard open rates. Once opened, we had a combined click rate of a 98% which means that once opened almost our entire audience wanted to know more. This is mostly driven by newsletters from both companies sent in September 2022, covering ticket sale links for Delicate , and a variety of blog posts, in particular information about Delicate from Extraordinary Bodies and Humane Employment from Diverse City, both of which did well.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

We posted a broad variety of content on our website and found the blog posts doing best by far were on our progressive stances around employment, the environment, and our community programme. Venue sites also directed traffic to Extraordinary Bodies website for more information about the touring shows and company.

Impact of community performance

This year our community engagement work was fully activated. However, we continued to adapt to an uncertain landscape post pandemic. We navigated community changes and challenges, exacerbated by pressures on the arts organisations that support them.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation support coupled with funding from National Lottery allowed us to extend our reach through Community Cultural leadership nationally. Six Unexpected Leaders continued their leadership journeys and supported grassroots co evaluation training. They talked to the audiences that came to Delicate , engaging them with confidence and tact in conversation around the issues raised by the show such as environmental and physical delicacy.

The period saw successful connections with five community groups in Plymouth x 2, Poole x 2 and Rochdale, culminating in three public creative sharings (online and live). In Plymouth the work culminated in a beautiful short film ‘ Delicate Is ...’ in Poole ‘Broken and Golden’ community performance, and in Rochdale ‘ Written in Stone’ supported people across winter, accessing nature and creativity sessions. These communities created three creative responses to Delicate and reached audiences (online and live). Seven community groups visited the show ‘ Delicate’ throughout its national tour to studio theatres in four places.

Alongside developing the creative voices of communities, we consulted with people in Barnsley and Sunderland to understand and respond to the complex challenges of those places and people. We also continued our work with The Orpheus Centre (a residential college for young, disabled adults) in Surrey, and began to work with a group of people on the autistic spectrum linked to MAST Theatre, Southampton. The year ended with more groups ready to respond to and support Waldo’s just prior to the show taking off on tour.

Aim 3: Building resilience

We started the year in a positive position to restart more of our planned work that had been interrupted by the pandemic. During 2022-23 Diverse City employed nearly 200 independent creatives (26% of whom were freelance artists). We worked tirelessly to accommodate continuing high levels of stress, anxiety and access needs to enable freelancers to experience a working environment of access, respect, and care. Cirque Bijou and Diverse City companies worked more closely than ever to decide on the best way for Extraordinary Bodies to keep D/deaf and disabled artists on the mainstream radar, our work on mainstream stages and attract audiences back to brand new work.

Arts Council England continues to recognise the charity’s strong leadership from the executive team, supported by clear partnership arrangements, strong planning and good financial reporting to the board.

13

Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Our core team is not as representative as we would like, but we have started to benefit from the learning around inclusive recruitment gained from Jerwood Foundation Creative Fellowship organisational development programme. We have employed several neurodivergent producers who bring skill and insight to our work and teams. We employed marketing and PR talent from the global majority, and we have also forged a second partnership with Rising Arts On Board programme to recruit new young, diverse trustees. We will continue to monitor our approach, to train our team in inclusive approaches and to promote opportunities through platforms that specifically target job seekers from the global majority.

Our excellent, experienced, and diverse freelance team grew again as we navigated new conversations partnership needs and external challenge. They were critical to the charity’s professional and ambitious approach to national touring. Connections with communities were firmly activated and the power of diversifying delivery teams was central to the credibility and success of this work.

The senior management and wider team contributed to the sector through trusteeships, Co-chairing responsibilities, What Next? and People Make it Work. We targeted our consultancy input on organisations that were already in our sights as strategic partners. For example, Barnsley Civic, MAST, Lighthouse Poole, Bristol Old Vic, Dorset Community Foundation and Roundhouse. Nearly 600 people convened by over 11 organisations experienced consultancy work. Our focus continued to be on relationships that build the impact of our creative output, with clear strategic benefits.

Aim 4: Offering experiences for children and young people

Our sustained commitment to grow pathways into professional training for disabled young people, ramped up in this pandemic recovery year. We continued to work across all media, integrating film, animation, audio, and photography across Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists’ shows. Till We Win triumphed in a full scale, public platform at The Dome during May’s Brighton Festival, accompanied by a brilliantly entertaining Q&A. The show engaged a matinee of 500 people prior to our evening performance of Human.

Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists also created new work as a key player in Extraordinary Bodies’ national touring community project Connecting Communities. Their creative response to Delicate created alongside local writing group, produced a scratch performance around the themes of delicacy called Broken and Golden. Rohan Gotobed emerging Director/writer Co-director, was part of the event team; the work was composed by Harry Bassett, emerging disabled artist, and shared at on the stage of the venue’s Studio theatre.

We also began a popular new, integrated aerial training partnership with GEMS Circus Arts School, Southbourne. Alongside offering supported Arts Award this was another opportunity to extend and support the skills of this promising next generation of talent through piloting a new inclusive training opportunity in our region.

The success of progression pathways for our new artists is built on careful supported professional and personal growth. To this end, a partnership with Damn Cheek Theatre Company provided high level individual coaching for those making the transition onto pastures new by identifying future goals and aspirations. It was an opportunity for four artists (an eclectic mix of writers, actors, dancers, choreographers, aerialists, and activists, all disabled and in their late 20s) to emerge from the pandemic and dream about their future individual creative ambitions.

14

Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

We celebrated the progression of current and past Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists. Josh Ward, Jess Skelton, Rebecca Gear, Clarissa Hustler and Kira Proctor started employment either professionally or through work experience as performers, facilitators, or teachers in film, spoken word, circus, and theatre or as front of house staff, both with us and with other creative organisations. These young artists are in demand and looking forward to more great creative performance and development opportunities in 2023-24. Our long-term commitment of their careers means that we are confident that one day they will all move beyond our support and strike out as fully independent artists.

Financial review

2022-23 was Diverse City’s fifth year as a charity and as an ACE NPO. The original four-year plan being extended by an ‘Extension Year’.

In 2022-23 income rose by approx. £169k compared to the previous year. Increases in income of £552k were driven by show development and touring activity. Our three-year ACE Project of National Importance: Touring Diverse Led Circus was in full swing this year with all three shows, Human (re-tour), Delicate and Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror touring. In comparison, the previous financial year included activity relating to one show, the first leg of Human. Decreases in income of £383k related to the timing of grant income and the end of the Job Retention scheme.

The main increases in income were as follows:

• Partnership income increased by £165k due to a number of Co-Productions. Theatre Royal Plymouth and Nordland Visual Theatre supported the development and touring of Delicate. Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Plymouth supported the development and touring of Waldo’s. In addition, The Space commissioned us to create a documentary called Swim Club telling the stories of people who are part of the sea swimming group in Swanage;

• Performance income increased by £41k due to the second tour of Human, the Delicate Tour and Waldo’s performances at Bristol Old Vic. The remainder of the Waldo’s tour (five venues) happened in April - June 2023 so the income will be in the next year’s accounts. Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists also performed their show Til We Wi n at the Brighton festival in May 2021;

• The increase in Access to Work income of £67k relates to grant payments due for support workers on Delicate, Human and Waldo’s;

• Trusts and Foundations income was £7k higher than last year due to a successful application to the Dorset Community Fund; this will support the Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists to take part in the For/With/By Festival in 2023;

• The accounts include Theatre Tax relief accruals of £266k in relation to Human, Delicate and Waldo’s. The claim will be submitted alongside the annual accounts and the income is expected early 2024. In comparison the previous year contained income of £32k relating to Human and Mid Life;

• Bank interest of £7k was received following the rise in interest rates; and

• In kind income increased by £30k, the majority of this related to Delicate for rehearsal space and travel and accommodation in Norway.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

The decreases in income related to:

• The majority (90%) of the ACE Project of National Importance grant (£716k over 3 years) was received in previous financial years, £287k of which was received in 2021-22. This was due to Covid delaying the touring project and delaying the spend. In 2022-23 a payment of £37k was received and the final payment of £34k is due in 23-24 when the project is wrapped up;

• The remaining decrease of £100k in grant income relates to the end of funding streams relating to the Cultural Recovery Fund and Women Leaders South-West scheme;

• The Job Retention scheme ended in September 2021 representing an £8k reduction in income compared to the previous year; and

• Training and consultancy income was £24k lower than budget due to the Transforming Leadership project taking place in the previous financial year.

The principal funding source for the charity was grant income from the Arts Council of England, and Trusts and Foundations. Our Paul Hamlyn Foundation grant continued to support investment in staff and producer support. Grant income supports the charity’s objects of ‘the promotion of equality and diversity and of social inclusion for the public benefit through: the provision and promotion of the arts, workshops, training programmes and coaching; the advancement of education in the arts and raising awareness in equality and diversity; and the widening of participation in performing arts’. Grant income was supplemented by income generated from Delicate performances at 11 venues, Delicate and Waldo’s co-producer funds in cash and in kind plus a small amount of income from the charity’s consultancy services.

The year-on-year expenditure increase of £796k related to increased project activity (£818k) following touring of all three shows, Human (re-tour), Delicate and Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror, as part of our Project of National Importance: Touring Diverse Led Circus. This was offset by decreases in core overhead expenditure, the previous year had included additional spending on consultancy, business support and Covid planning of £36k, funded by the Cultural Recovery Fund.

The position at the end of the year was a decrease in funds of £404k, ending the year at £899k. The funds were expected to decrease as the designated/restricted funding for Touring Diverse Led Circus had been allocated/received in previous years and rolled forward to offset the planned expenditure.

Risk register

The charity maintains a risk register identifying risks, analysing potential impact and recording actions to mitigate them, reviewed regularly at trustee meetings. This risk register continues to include specific risks associated with the global pandemic. The major financial risks faced by the charity are from funding bids or co-producing pitches being unsuccessful, from a possible failure to find a sustained demand or market for touring shows and the inability to recruit adequately skilled, integrated artistic teams for our creative programme.

The charity takes the following actions to mitigate these risks: to develop a long-term funding strategy, employ independent advisors, internal fundraising training, and invest in relationships with funders; to keep an open conversation with touring partners about the market and future risks and plans; and to collaborate with training partners, casting directors and other performing companies to cast our talent net as widely as possible.

16

Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Reserves policy

Trustees have created a reserves policy that aims to build a reserve equivalent to four months of overheads expenditure over a period of four years. Trustees track cashflow and forecasts on a regular basis to highlight any potential low points and to plan for this.

Review of the reserves

The total funds held by the charity at the end of the reporting period was £899k. The breakdown of the funds were as follows:

• Restricted funds £254k – where the donor has specified the funds are to be spent on a particular activity. The funds consist of the ACE Project of National Importance Grant that supports Touring Diverse Led Circus £304k, offset by the National Lottery funded Connecting Communities Project (£49k). The National Lottery fund was in deficit at the year-end due to the timing of the payment relating to the March 2023 activity report being received in April 2023.

• Designated access/rehearsals £11k – Extraordinary Bodies rehearsal fund.

• Designated project activity funds £212k – designated to support creative activity relating to Children and Young People activities, Mid Life and All We Have production, Community Evaluation, Producer Support and future Extraordinary Bodies projects.

• Designated organisational support fund £223k - designated to support essential organisational expenditure in 2023-24.

• Designated cultural recovery funds £8k – these funds continue to support longer term activity including website development and depreciation in 22-23.

• General reserves £190k – this is in line with the reserves policy where there is a commitment to increase reserves by £30k per year to support the long-term resilience of the charity. The aim is to achieve 4 months' overheads buffer. This is tracking as planned.

Fundraising

In 2022-23 most fundraising activity was managed in-house by our senior management team and by our Executive Director and Finance Director in particular. Our focus was on the development and submission of our 2023-26 Arts Council NPO grant, which included a request for an uplift, plus managing and reporting on our National Lottery grant. Our ACE NPO application draws from our, 2023-26 Business Plan: ‘A New Now’ and maps our programme against the ACE Investment Principles and Let’s Create Outcomes and Elements. The charity’s submission for continued NPO funding status was a success with a welcome 9.7% uplift increase to £536,478 pa for three years, a total of £1,609,434. The plan includes a pathway to increased fundraising capacity, but dependent on organisation’s financial health and impact of cost-of-living crisis. Our attention was also focused on the delivery of our strategic project Touring diverse led Circus for which we successfully renegotiated the grant phasing to ease cash flow and redistribute capacity.

We were grateful to receive a small cost of living increase from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and we were successful in securing funding from Dorset Community Foundation for Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists showcases at high profile platforms such as the international for/With/By Festival in 2023. We also submitted applications to a range of trusts and foundations to increase training capacity including Talbot Village Trust. Lastly, we made a successful application to The Space for funds to create a documentary ‘Swim Club’ that captured the impact of SW!M in Swanage. We retained headphone sponsorship from Silent Disco King for Human .

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

We started to use the case for support for Extraordinary Bodies to build new unrestricted funds. We also began to work on partnership applications to The Arts and Humanities Research Council (led by Exeter University), to Jubilee Fund (led by Mowlem Theatre) to support community project SW!M in Swanage and to Arts Council strategic funds (Circus Around and About2 led by Rural Touring Forum/Take Art). Working in partnership with our peers creates more effective joined up approaches and boosts fundraising heft.

Diverse City has voluntarily subscribed to the Fundraising Regulator. Payment of the Levy signals our commitment to fundraising best practice, positively contributing to ACE Dynamism Investment Principle.

No complaints have been received by the charity or by a person acting on our behalf for the purposes of fundraising about fundraising activity.

The charity is registered with the ICO, has an up to date, GDPR compliant privacy policy and regularly reviewed procedures. The charity follows the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice and fundraising activity does not include asks to an individual person unless they have explicitly consented to be contacted for this purpose. General asks for individual donations are currently limited to occasional Crowdfunder Campaigns for our work with Children and Young People or through specific, identified fundraising events.

Going concern

The trustees consider that the charity will continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from the date on which these financial statements are approved for the following reasons:

• The majority (95%) of the subsidy for the touring programme has been received from the Arts Council and ringfenced to support venue fees and overhead support in relation to the 23-24 final tour Waldo’s tour dates and the wrap-up of the project;

• The charity holds reserves of £0.9m at the end of 2022-23. This consists of restricted funds of £254k, designated funds of £455k and general reserves of £190k (approx. 4 months' running costs);

• The budget for 2023-24 includes income targets of £1.1m, 76% of this income is already confirmed. The funds forecast at the end of March 2024 are £426k (restricted £54k, designated £182k, general £190k);

• The net cash reserves forecast at the end of March 2024 are £480k (restricted £11k, designated £279k, general £190k); and

• The charity has no debt.

The trustees therefore consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis for the preparation of the accounts, as detailed in note 1 to the financial statements.

Plans for future periods

Our future direction is articulated in our 2023-26 business plan: ‘A New Now’. Three key, strategic aims thread through all our activity: We will continue to diversify the national cultural offer, represent; respond to and engage with diverse audiences; and create opportunities for the next generation of artists. Our vision is a healthy, just and civil society, led by diverse and relevant performing arts culture. New work will evolve and grow whilst during this period whilst we respond to opportunity and reflect on the intense learning of the recent past.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

All We Have, a future co-production with Ad Infinitum, also an Associate Company of Bristol Old Vic. will take shape. In 2022-23 the show will develop slowly with Diverse City Co-Artistic Director, Jamie Beddard and Ad Infinitum Co-Artistic Director George Mann. The production is a meditation on male mental health: Framed by the story of Donald Crowhurst’s doomed solo voyage that ultimately led to his suicide, this is a journey through the mind of someone falling to pieces - the chaos and the acuity. When internal or external storms rage, we are brought face to face with the idea that we are all indeed, All We Have.

The seeds of a new concept touring show Swimmers will be tested in SW!M75 a low-fi collaboration with Super Culture (previously Theatre Orchard and Culture Weston) to celebrate 75 years of the NHS. This is part watery flash mob, part exhibition and part confessional. The concept explores how the ‘pooling’ of women’s bodies, minds, stories, and histories helps us resist the shaping of our lives by external forces. Eventually Swimmers will become a live story swap on a road trip to cafés & village halls across the region and country.

A package of work to accompany the short digital animation Splash! will be developed for SEND settings with young students in the SEND education sector. We will create a realistic funding and national re-touring plan for Diverse City’s Mid Life with our tour booker and building on interest from Plymouth, Salford, Brighton, and Brixton House.

We will extend and share the integrated practice of Extraordinary Bodies Young Artists beyond Dorset through testing out a national residency scheme in partnership with key players. We will widen the talent net to ensure that this Next Generation hub is finding and supporting the best of D/deaf and disabled artists for the future.

Extraordinary Bodies will be focused on the learning from 22-23. We will reflect on the impact of the last three shows – Human, Delicate and Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror – and the implications for the future of the shape of this longstanding partnership with Cirque Bijou. We will explore the potential of the creative network of 7 venues, communities, and national relationships with coproducing partners, and we will test the market for remounting shows and for new work.

The legacy of Covid continues to stress test our sector and continues to have impact on partner resources and capacity. However, the crisis has generated a radical rethink about touring models to which we will contribute and lead. Trustee recruitment will continue to be a focus for next year since we are facing a substantial changeover of trustees. We will be embarking on a recruitment process to ensure we have skills and capacity to manage the increasing demands on this critical team, with a particular emphasis on recruiting young trustees and on succession planning for two new co-chairs.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

We are confident in our sustainability and continued impact. Our collaboration with Cirque Bijou has been a strength and the partnership has built a profile and track record that forms a solid foundation for the next steps in its journey. We are resilient and experienced arts managers slowly building our influence with the cultural sector. Together we will continue to create the conditions for a working practice founded on values of justice and inclusion, anti-oppressive practice, and generosity. In 2324 we will be embarking on a new NPO period and will be adapting to its new demands. We will work to secure the resources to move forward in a sound, careful and financially responsible way, and we will be recruiting new posts to relieve pressure on the senior management of the team. We are moving slowly toward the creation and remounting of performance work and as we do so feel our way through the needs and limitations of the reshaped landscape. Our shows will continue to embody our ethos and values and showcase talents of our incredible artists. They will also be made and offered in different configurations to ensure that communities and places are receiving work that is surprising, relevant, and engaging. We look forward to building on established, and finding new, partnerships that will take us into this ‘New Now’.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• ▪ Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable UK accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

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Diverse City

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as auditors to the charitable company during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 22 November 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Ben Johnsen - Trustee

21

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Diverse City

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Diverse City (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

22

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Diverse City

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the information given in the trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us;

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns;

• certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not obtained all the information and explanations necessary for the purposes of our audit.

Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

23

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Diverse City

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

(2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:

• Identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations, and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

• Detecting and responding to the risk of fraud, and whether they were aware of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and

• Designing and implementing internal controls to mitigate the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud.

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

(7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:

• ▪Testing the appropriateness of journal entries;

• ▪Assessing judgements and accounting estimates for potential bias;

• ▪Reviewing related party transactions; and

• ▪Testing transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

24

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Diverse City

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charityʼs members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charityʼs members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charityʼs members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Alison Godfrey

Date: 23 November 2023

Alison Godfrey FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of:

GODFREY WILSON LIMITED

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

25

Diverse City

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Restricted Note £ Income from: Donations - Charitable activities 3 50,258 Other trading activities 4 - Investment income - Total income 50,258 Expenditure on: Raising funds - Charitable activities 365,491 Total expenditure 6 365,491 Net income / (expenditure) (315,233) Transfers between funds - Net movement in funds 7 (315,233) Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward 569,708 Total funds carried forward 254,475	Unrestricted £ 37,918 1,244,535 13,280 6,991 1,302,724 93,259 1,297,968 1,391,227 (88,503) - (88,503) 732,759 644,256	2023 Total £ 37,918 1,294,793 13,280 6,991 1,352,982 93,259 1,663,459 1,756,718 (403,736) - (403,736) 1,302,467 898,731	2022 Total £ 15,179 1,131,381 37,325 395
			1,184,280
			98,420 861,478
			959,898
			224,382 -
			224,382 1,078,085
			1,302,467

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 16 to the accounts.

26

Diverse City

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2023

Note Fixed assets Tangible assets 11 Current assets Debtors 12 Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year 13 Net current assets Net assets 15 Funds 16 Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Designated funds General funds Total charity funds	£ 454,372 673,716 1,128,088 (239,857)	2023 £ 10,500 888,231 898,731 254,475 454,320 189,936 898,731	2022 £ 12,230 70,332 1,250,989
			1,321,321 (31,084)
			1,290,237
			1,302,467
			569,708 572,894 159,865
			1,302,467

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

Approved by the trustees on 22 November 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Ben Johnsen - Trustee

27

Diverse City

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Cash used in operating activities: Net movement in funds Adjustments for: Depreciation charges Dividends, interest and rents from investments (Increase) / decrease in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Net cash (used in) / provided by operating activities Cash flows from investing activities: Dividends, interest and rents from investments Purchase of tangible fixed assets Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities (Decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year	2023 £ (403,736) 4,475 (6,991) (384,040) 208,773 (581,519) 6,991 (2,745) 4,246 (577,273) 1,250,989 673,716	2022 £ 224,382 3,850 (395) 8,362 (824)
		235,375
		395 (12,996)
		(12,601)
		222,774 1,028,215
		1,250,989

28

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Diverse City 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.

b) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves and confirmed future funding. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of provision of performances or training and consultancy is deferred until criteria for income recognition are met.

d) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated 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 the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated 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.

e) Interest receivable

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.

29

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued) f) Funds accounting

• Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the following basis, being the proportion of total costs:

	2023	2022
Raising funds	5.3%	10.3%
Charitable activities	94.7%	89.7%

i) Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows: Computer equipment 4 years straight line

4 years straight line

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000.

j) Debtors

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

k) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash 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.

l) Creditors

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.

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Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

m) Financial instruments

The charitable company 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

n) Grants payable

Grants payable are recognised in the year in which the offer is conveyed to the recipient, except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised in expenditure when the conditions attached to the grant have been fulfilled.

o) Pension costs

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.

p) Foreign currency transactions

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at rates prevailing at the date of the transaction. Balances denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing at the year end.

q) Accounting estimates and key judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are depreciation, as described in note 1i above, and theatre tax relief, as described below.

Theatre Tax Relief

The charity has estimated the credit receivable under Theatre Tax Relief based on its eligible production expenditure incurred during the period. This amount is £266,099 and is included within income from charitable activities and accrued income at the year end. As this amount is subject to review and approval by HMRC, actual results may differ.

31

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

2. Prior period comparative: statement of financial activities

Income from: Donations Charitable activities Other trading activities Investments Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities Total expenditure Net income and net movement in funds Income from charitable activities Grants Theatre tax relief Performance income Total income from charitable activities Prior period comparative: Grants Theatre tax relief Performance income Total income from charitable activities	Restricted £ £ - 15,179 317,368 814,013 - 37,325 - 395 317,368 866,912 - 98,420 125,933 735,545 125,933 833,965 191,435 32,947 Restricted £ £ 50,258 695,057 - 266,099 - 283,379 50,258 1,244,535 Restricted £ £ 317,368 704,317 - 32,376 - 77,320 317,368 814,013 Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted	2022 Total £ 15,179 1,131,381 37,325 395
		1,184,280
		98,420 861,478
		959,898
		224,382
		2023 Total £ 745,315 266,099 283,379
		1,294,793
		2022 Total £ 1,021,685 32,376 77,320
		1,131,381

3. Income from charitable activities

32

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

4. Income from other trading activities

Income from other trading activities
Restricted £ £ Training and consultancy - 13,280 Total income from other trading activities - 13,280 Unrestricted	2023 Total £ 13,280 13,280	2022 Total £ 37,325
		37,325

The total income from other trading activities in 2022 was unrestricted.

5. Government grants

The charitable company receives government grants, defined as funding from Arts Council England, Local Authorities, Access to Work funding and the National Lottery Community Fund to fund charitable activities. The total value of such grants in the year ending 31 March 2023 was £643,920 (2022: £930,925). There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants.

33

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

6. Total expenditure

Total expenditure
Fundraising Project costs Grants payable (note 10) Staff costs (note 8) Freelance Travel and subsistence Governance Insurance Subscriptions Other administrative costs Accountancy Legal and professional fees Depreciation Sub-total Total expenditure Allocation of support and governance costs	Raising funds £ 5,945 - - 66,164 11,014 - - - - - - - - 83,123 10,136 93,259	Charitable activities £ £ - - 1,159,097 - 101,011 - 185,278 134,531 37,270 13,333 - 5,353 - 2,465 - 6,500 - 3,071 - 9,635 - 6,128 - 5,448 - 4,475 1,482,656 190,939 180,803 (190,939) 1,663,459 - Support and governance costs	2023 Total £ 5,945 1,159,097 101,011 385,973 61,617 5,353 2,465 6,500 3,071 9,635 6,128 5,448 4,475
			1,756,718 -
			1,756,718

Total governance costs were £9,245 (2022: £14,814).

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Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

6. Total expenditure (continued) Prior period comparative:

Prior period comparative: Fundraising Project costs Grants payable (note 10) Staff costs (note 8) Freelance Staff training Travel and subsistence Governance Insurance Subscriptions Other administrative costs Accountancy Legal and professional fees IT / design Depreciation Sub-total Total expenditure Allocation of support and governance costs	Raising funds £ 5,164 - - 61,587 9,055 - - - - - - - - - - 75,806 22,614 98,420	Charitable activities £ £ - - 358,680 - 114,275 - 166,691 137,855 23,887 27,024 - 140 - 2,123 - 9,114 - 6,632 - 3,182 - 13,127 - 7,311 - 8,925 - 1,276 - 3,850 663,533 220,559 197,945 (220,559) 861,478 - Support and governance costs	2022 Total £ 5,164 358,680 114,275 366,133 59,966 140 2,123 9,114 6,632 3,182 13,127 7,311 8,925 1,276 3,850
			959,898 -
			959,898

35

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

7. Net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

Depreciation Trustees' remuneration Trustees' reimbursed expenses Auditors' remuneration: ▪Audit (excluding VAT) ▪Other services (excluding VAT)	2023 £ 4,475 Nil Nil 5,650 560	2022 £ 3,850 Nil Nil 4,750 1,592

No trustees were reimbursed for expenses during the current or prior year.

8. Staff costs and numbers Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages Social security costs Pension costs Subtotal Freelance staff	2023 £ 352,171 26,424 7,378 385,973 61,617 447,590	2022 £ 334,815 24,304 7,014
		366,133 59,966
		426,099

No employee earned more than £60,000 during the current or prior year.

The key management personnel of the charitable company comprise the trustees, Artistic Directors, Executive Director and Finance Manager. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £195,680 (2022: £185,545).

Average head count Average FTE	2023 No. 16.8 9.9	2022 No. 16.0
		10.3

9. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

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Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

10. Grants payable

Grants to institutions: Cirque Bijou Grants to 5 individuals (2022: 3) Total grants awarded	2023 £ 96,350 4,661 101,011	2022 £ 100,400 13,875
		114,275

There are no support costs incurred which directly relate to grants payable.

Grants awarded to Cirque Bijou are in relation to their joint project Extraordinary Bodies which is funded by Arts Council England.

11. Tangible fixed assets

Cost At 1 April 2022 Additions in year At 31 March 2023 Depreciation At 1 April 2022 Charge for the year At 31 March 2023 Net book value At 31 March 2023 At 31 March 2022 Debtors Trade debtors Other debtors Other taxation and social security	2023 £ 80,037 364,876 9,459 454,372	Computer equipment £ 18,648 2,745
		21,393
		6,418 4,475
		10,893
		10,500
		12,230
		2022 £ 43,356 26,976 -
		70,332

12. Debtors

37

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

13. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year

Trade creditors Deferred income (note 14) Accruals Other creditors 14. Deferred income At 1 April 2022 Deferred during the year Released during the year At 31 March 2023	2023 £ 84,596 - 153,712 1,549 239,857 2023 £ 15,100 (15,100) - -	2022 £ 8,026 15,100 7,958 -
		31,084
		2022 £ - 15,100 -
		15,100

Deferred income relates to performance income invoiced in advance of performances.

15. Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets Current assets Current liabilities Net assets at 31 March 2023 Prior period comparative Tangible fixed assets Current assets Current liabilities Net assets at 31 March 2022	Restricted funds £ - 287,850 (33,375) 254,475 Restricted funds £ - 569,708 - 569,708	£ - 660,801 (206,481) 454,320 £ - 581,994 (9,100) 572,894 Designated funds Designated funds	General funds £ 10,500 179,437 - 189,936 General funds £ 12,230 169,619 (21,984) 159,865	Total funds £ 10,500 1,128,088 (239,857)
				898,731
				Total funds £ 12,230 1,321,321 (31,084)
				1,302,467

38

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

16. Movements in funds

At 1 April 2022 £ Restricted funds Women leaders South West 1,259 Community engagement 2,899 Touring diverse led circus 565,717 Jerwood Producer (1,014) Splash! 847 Total restricted funds 569,708 Designated funds: Designated access/rehearsals 7,611 Designated project funds 404,117 Organisational support 119,460 Cultural recovery fund 41,706 Total designated funds 572,894 General funds 159,865 Total unrestricted funds 732,759 Total funds 1,302,467 Unrestricted funds	At 1 April 2022 £ 1,259 2,899 565,717 (1,014) 847	Income £ 2,000 10,244 37,000 1,014 -	£ (3,259) (62,194) (299,191) - (847) Expenditure	£ - - - - - Transfers between funds	At 31 March 2023 £ - (49,051) 303,526 - -
	569,708	50,258	(365,491)	-	254,475
		4,695 890,492 335,502 41,964	(1,450) (1,082,367) (231,715) (75,695)	- - - -	10,856 212,242 223,247 7,975
	572,894	1,272,653	(1,391,227)	-	454,320
	159,865	30,071	-	-	189,936
	732,759	1,302,724	(1,391,227)	-	644,256
	1,302,467	1,352,982	(1,756,718)	-	898,731

Purposes of restricted funds

Women leaders South West

The funds relate to the Women Leaders South West initiative which is a Transforming Leadership project run in partnership with Eastleigh Borough Council. The final expenditure of £1,259 took place in this financial year, the funds had been received in the previous financial year.

Community engagement

The funds relates to a National Lottery Community Grant of £10k received during the year. This is part of a programme of activity with a total grant of £197k over three years. The negative fund is a timing issue due to the 2022-23 grant installment of £71,894 being received in April 2023.

Touring diverse led circus

The reserves of £304k relate to a Project of National Importance grant received from the Arts Council of England. These funds were received to support a three year touring programme in partnership with seven theatre venues. The touring programme was delayed due to Covid, resumed in September 2021 and finished in June 2023. These funds are expected to be spent in the next financial year as the Touring Diverse Led Circus project comes to an end.

39

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

16. Movements in funds (continued)

Purposes of restricted funds

Jerwood Producer

The negative fund brought forward is due to all of the expenditure taking place in the 2021-22 financial year, and the final grant payment being received in June 2022.

Splash!

The funds received were granted from The Mighty Creatives to fund the Splash! Production. The final expenditure of £847 took place in this financial year, the funds had been received in the previous financial year.

Purposes of designated funds

Designated access/rehearsals

The access/rehearsal reserves are designated for Extraordinary Bodies show development and creation.

Designated project funds

The project reserves relate to funds that have been allocated to specific activities in line with organisational budgets. A transfer was made to Organisational Support funds to cover the element of core salaries and overheads that were budgeted within projects. The fund has reduced due to the expenditure on production costs of the Touring Diverse Led Circus shows - Human, Delicate and Waldo's Circus of Magic and Terror.

Organisational support

The organisation support reserves were designated to support essential organisational expenditure including salaries and infrastructure costs.

Cultural recovery fund

The funds relate to the remaining expenditure from grants received for the Cultural Recovery Fund. These funds continue to support longer term activity including website development and depreciation.

General funds

The general reserves support building resilience and the target is to hold four months' running costs which is approx £190k. The current reserves reflect this target.

40

Diverse City

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

16. Movements in funds (continued)

Prior period comparative At 1 April 2021 £ Restricted funds Women leaders South West 27,220 Children and young people 1,200 Community engagement 125 Touring diverse led circus 344,703 Jerwood Producer - Splash! 5,025 Total restricted funds 378,273 Designated funds: Designated access/rehearsals 50,401 Designated project funds 413,720 Organisational support 76,882 Cultural recovery fund 53,737 Total designated funds 594,740 General funds 105,072 Total unrestricted funds 699,812 Total funds 1,078,085 Unrestricted funds	At 1 April 2021 £ 27,220 1,200 125 344,703 - 5,025	Income £ 11,373 - 10,244 286,625 9,126 -	£ (37,334) (1,200) (7,470) (65,611) (10,140) (4,178) Expenditure	£ - - - - - - Transfers between funds	At 31 March 2022 £ 1,259 - 2,899 565,717 (1,014) 847
	378,273	317,368	(125,933)	-	569,708
		490 296,361 338,349 125,485	(43,280) (305,964) (295,771) (134,952)	- - - (2,564)	7,611 404,117 119,460 41,706
	594,740	760,685	(779,967)	(2,564)	572,894
	105,072	106,227	(53,998)	2,564	159,865
	699,812	866,912	(833,965)	-	732,759
	1,078,085	1,184,280	(959,898)	-	1,302,467

17. Related party transactions

D Young, a trustee, provided training sessions and workshops as an artist and received total payment of £50 (2022: £70). The transactions were carried out at arm's length, and there were no amounts outstanding at the year end (2022: nil).

41