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2021-03-31-accounts

Charity number: 1188196

ThickSkin Theatre

Report of the Trustees and Unaudited Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

ThickSkin Theatre Contents Page For the year ended 31 March 2021

Report of the Trustees 1 to 6
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees 7
Statement of Financial Activities 8
Statement of Financial Position 9
Notes to the Financial Statements 10 to 16
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 17 to 18

ThickSkin Theatre Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements for the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

INTRODUCTION

The last year has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic which severely impacted our beneficiaries, the national arts ecology and economy. However, despite the backdrop of uncertainty and significant challenges for the cultural sector, ThickSkin has navigated its first year as a charity with great care and ambition. We have kept our vision and mission central to our decision making, as an essential tool in navigating the pandemic. Along with our fleet of foot operating model and the determination of our Board and Leadership team, this approach has enabled us to thrive against the odds. Innovation and imagination have been central to our approach, enabling ThickSkin to flourish. By moving quickly, embracing digital and growing our profile, ThickSkin has positioned itself as one of the most exciting and pioneering theatre companies in Manchester and the North West.

Although this is ThickSkin's first year as a registered charity, the organisation was founded in 2010 by Neil Bettles & Laura Mallows. The decision to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees with Neil and Laura moving into operational roles, marks a step change for the organisation. It also coincides with ThickSkin making Manchester its home, after years of working nomadically around the UK. The joint leadership team, Neil as Artistic Director and Laura as Executive Director, offer a wealth of skills and are respected and well-networked throughout the UK arts sector. Their profile and track-record has allowed ThickSkin to quickly embed itself in the region, making a significant cultural contribution both locally and nationally. Their joint experience spans a broad portfolio, from grassroots, socially-driven work in the community through to high profile West End and Broadway productions, and everything in between. It is this breadth and versatility that shapes ThickSkin's approach and ambition as a charity.

The charity formation was motivated by a desire to expand the reach and impact of ThickSkin's work, with a particular focus on engaging young people with the arts and developing pathways to employment in the sector. This year, ThickSkin has sharpened that focus by delivering a range of covid-resilient, high-quality and experimental projects.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Principal aims and objects

Our charitable objects as stated in our governing document is to advance education for the public benefit by the promotion of the arts, in particular but not exclusively the performing arts through high quality productions, educational workshops and events.

Vision

A new wave of artists and audiences inspired by epic theatre experiences.

Mission

We create bold and ambitious theatre; reaching and inspiring young, new and diverse audiences across the world through our distinctive physicality and cinematic style. We nurture talent across all areas of theatre-making, providing a springboard for artists who are ready to take a leap.

Aims

Values

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ThickSkin Theatre Report of the Trustees Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

Public benefit

The members of the Board confirm that they have complied with their duty under the Charities Act 2011 to ensure the charity provides public benefit. They have considered the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission and believe that they have followed its guidance in this area.

The annual report gives a detailed description of the activities undertaken by the charity during the period to achieve its charitable purposes, and the Board are satisfied that all such activities provide public benefit.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

This was the first year of our two year business plan 2020-22 (as part of a six year strategy). The theme for this year was 'CONNECT' - putting down roots in the North of England as a new charity, connecting with artists, organisations, potential funders and future partners. No sooner had the year begun, than the pandemic struck and 'connection' took on a whole new meaning in a socially distanced world. We took the immediate decision to postpone any activities for live audiences, including a national tour of our successful 2019 Edinburgh Fringe production, How Not to Drown . The loss of earned income created a risk, but fortunately we were able to pivot towards a programme of digital theatre through exploration of virtual reality, binaural sound, smart-app technology and more.

As a micro-organisation, our contribution to the sector during the pandemic has been small, but impressive non the less. We are proud to have engaged 55 artists (including creatives, producers, technicians and other arts specialists) through paid work this year. This was after reaching 258 artists across our projects, through an open call process. Furthermore, 2,623 audiences experienced our productions live and online, with 1,500 young people taking part in outreach activities and over 36,000 people engaging with us through other digital and broadcast content. In the process, we have positioned ourselves as innovative digital creatives within the theatre sector, serving our business plan aims and enhancing opportunities beyond.

“ThickSkin are quickly solidifying themselves as leaders within the theatre industry in creating work for digital platforms whilst keeping their stagecraft and artistic excellence at the centre of what they do.” Lee Brennan, Programme Manager - Stage Directions, The Lowry

During 2020-21 we delivered the following activities:

Matchbox

As a key strand of our artistic programme, Matchbox emerged from our desire to spark enthusiasm for the arts by making theatre accessible and exciting for young people and digitally curious audiences. As part of our year-round offer to theatres, community groups and schools, Matchbox offers free and affordable digital projects that can be presented in multiple formats.

During the year, we launched the first of our Matchbox productions, titled Petrichor - a one-of-a-kind immersive Theatre in VR experience, combining live-action theatre and animation. 'Theatre in VR' describes ThickSkin's unique process of creating collaborative, devised theatrical experiences, filmed for 360° virtual reality. The work was created by three early to mid-career artists, Jonnie Riordan, Jess Williams and Ben Walden all of whom were new to virtual reality and developing their practice through this project. In collaboration with Jim Dawson of TripleDotMakers as video designer and Neil Bettles as composer, the final result was 30-minute film, showcasing two young local performers, Dominic Coffey and Ayesha Fazal. The balance of experience and fresh talent within the team has long been central to our process and is an important way to develop and spotlight new talent.

Thematically, Petrichor explored the hopes and fears of our current and future existence. The piece was set in a dystopian world, where every day feels the same and from which the characters finally free themselves through human connection. Although the piece and its subject matter was in development long before the pandemic, audiences found the scenario had extra poignancy given the wider context:

“As if 2020 were not dystopian enough, ThickSkin has created an intense physical-theatre two-hander about living as automatons under an all-consuming regime. Our days under lockdown might be relentless but they're nothing compared to the drudgery of Petrichor… This should strike a chord with the company's target audience of 'young people who have least access to the arts,' especially at a time when society is so atomised” ★★★★ The Guardian

“Really enjoyed the show, great experience, well executed and very poignant given Covid… where they embraced at the end was enough to make you reflect on a life pre-pandemic!” Audience member at The Lowry

The creative process was a significant accomplishment, given the experimental approach and the backdrop of working through lockdown restrictions. The producing and touring model was equally successful and innovative, allowing us to create one piece of work that could be delivered in multiple formats, offering a wide range of entry points for audiences. This included experiencing Petrichor online from home, using a tablet, mobile phone or VR headset, or by attending an event in a range of local settings.

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ThickSkin Theatre Report of the Trustees Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

On 26 October we premiered Petrichor as a virtual online tour & a socially distanced in-venue VR experience. We subsequently delivered 54 in-venue events in schools and theatre venues around the UK. The virtual tour has been presented by The Lowry, Salford; Tron Theatre, Glasgow; Derby Theatre; Crewe Lyceum; The Core, Corby; Theatre Royal Stratford East, London; The Cast, Doncaster and Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, Liverpool and Brighton Fringe Festival. To date, 3,121 audiences have seen the work across the UK & beyond, reaching as far as Australia, USA & Somalia.

Alongside the tour, we offered each venue up to 30 free tickets to help engage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. We worked with local young people at Moss Side Millennium Powerhouse community centre in Manchester to test how the VR event and accompanying creative workshops could be delivered in non-theatre spaces and we intend for this to be rolled out to other community groups as we continue touring throughout 2021-22. The in-community delivery will allow us to further the ambition for the project, to reach young people who are currently least engaged with the arts.

Petrichor was well received by the press & public at a time of significant change for the arts, leading to audiences seeking to engage with culture online. The project has enabled ThickSkin to fulfil all five of its strategic aims by reaching new audiences; supporting local talent; developing solid industry partnerships and growing our income.

“A powerful filmed piece of virtual reality theatre for pandemic times.” ★★★★ The Scotsman

“it's a captivating piece of escapism, and for a company to come out of such an artistically stifling period with such striking ambition is remarkable” A Younger Theatre

“Oh wow! @ThickSkinTweets did a whole new thing with theatre at home and online. You gotta watch this. It's one of the those pushing the boundaries moments” Audience member online

Productions

Although we've been unable to tour live work this year, we have been busy developing several new projects. We have focused on creating a varied repertoire of work for the stage and for non-traditional spaces. This includes a mixture of live and digital productions, microproductions and full-scale touring work.

At the beginning of the year, we commissioned playwright Matthew Bulgo to collaborate with co-Directors, Jonnie Riordan and Jess Williams, towards a new stage production about grief and sisterhood , Blood Harmony . Following script development workshops in April and May 2020, Matthew delivered a heart-rending first draft of the play and the trio are now preparing for further research and development in August 2021. The play is co-commissioned by Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, and will be presented here and at The Lowry in Manchester in 2022.

In August 2020 we began developing ideas for a new outdoor dance show for festival touring. The idea has since evolved and led to us creating a work in progress performance called Shade . The piece will be presented in summer 2021 as part of Festival Oldham and Oldham Pride, with support from Oldham Coliseum. Shade will explore themes of self-discovery and acceptance against the backdrop of contemporary queer culture with choreography by Neil Bettles and Jonnie Riordan, and sound design by Pete Malkin.

We ended the year on a high note, with the launch of Walk This Play - a new series of location-based audio plays by ThickSkin, designed for listeners as they walk. Using narration and original music, Walk This Play guides audiences along a 45-minute guided walk. The plays are location-specific and experienced through a smart-app. As we intend to eventually create Walk This Play experiences all around the UK, we have commissioned app-developer, Echoes, to create a geo-locative platform for us to host these plays.

In association with the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester we were able to pilot the first play in this series - Keep Going Then Vanish . Following an open call for writers, we commissioned early career playwright Jack Nicholls to collaborate with Neil Bettles as Director, Alexandra Faye Braithwaite as Composer and Sound Designer, and Max Emmerson as Producer. The story is narrated by Danielle Henry (Coronation Steet, Emmerdale) and Esme Bayley (ThickSkin's How Not To Drown ) During February and March 2021, they created a beautiful story and soundscape and the work was launched to the public early April.

We also begun work on two more plays in the Walk This Play series - Monuments has been created for the Ancoats area of Manchester, commissioned by One Manchester and Step Up. This play features stories and voices from the communities of Ancoats, Clayton, Beswick & Openshaw and was created by Jonnie Riordan with composition by Pete Malkin and narration by Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street, Broadchurch). The play was launched in May 2021. Also, Your Time Is Now is in development for Huddersfield, commissioned by Lawrence Batley Theatre for July 2021. We have commissioned two early career artists from the local area, Misha Duncan-Barry as playwright and Lee Affen as composer to work with Neil Bettles as Director of this play, starring Mina Anwar (The Thin Blue Line, The Bill) and Matthew Booth (Emmerdale) as narrators.

All Walk This Play stories will be available for at least the next six months and so far 150 people have taken part.

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ThickSkin Theatre Report of the Trustees Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

“This audio walking experience is entirely innovative” ★★★★ A Younger Theatre

“Felt like I was on a proper adventure round Manchester.” Audience member

As well as preparing a pipeline of new work for national and international touring, we have cemented relationships with a range of key organisations in the North. We have created a versatile and accessible programme, with talent development at its heart.

Discover

Discover is our creative learning offer for schools and youth theatres, complimenting the work created through our Matchbox and Productions programme strands. This year alongside Petrichor , we developed our first Discover Bundle to support learning in the classroom or online from home (known as blended learning or remote learning). The Bundle includes access to Petrichor for six months, as well as behind the scenes footage and a series of creative tasks with optional extras such as Zoom Q&A's with the creative team. This was offered to teachers via regional theatre venues, helping them maintain their relationships with schools and local groups at a time when it has been impossible to bring groups to the theatre.

We complimented this with free mobile data top ups through our Digital Access Fund (raised through a crowdfund campaign). The data top-ups were offered young people experiencing barriers to engagement through limited data or wifi, to help combat digital poverty.

“Thank you so much for giving our young people the chance to engage, enjoy and be empowered by theatre from the safety of their own homes! It left us all incredibly inspired” Moving Together Community Dance Company

“ThickSkin understand how young people think, what they want and also enjoy. The Discover Bundle provides the finer details of what's truly important - the process.” Head of Drama, British International School of Boston

Towards the end of the year, ThickSkin received a commission through The Lowry's Stage Directions programme to develop a new piece of work about young people's hopes and dreams. The delivery team for ThickSkin includes Neil Bettles, Jonnie Riordan, Jess Williams and early career playwright, Billie Collins, in collaboration with young people from Pendleton College in Salford. The students at Pendleton have become associate members of ThickSkin and the co-creation model is an important aspect of providing the young people with a professional experience. The project will result in a live production titled The Start Line , to be presented at Pendleton College in July 2021.

Supported Artists

Over the summer, ThickSkin invited eleven artists to a creative retreat in the Whirligig Woods in Cheshire, hosted by Wild Rumpus. The retreat offered much-needed respite following months in lockdown. Through shared meals, stories around the campfire, wild dancing and song, there was plenty of opportunity for reflection and communality. Those attending felt a great sense of escapism from the isolation and lack of creative opportunity they had been experiencing in the preceding months. We hope that an annual summer retreat might become a regular feature in our programme, as a way of supporting wellbeing and creativity for artists.

Throughout the year we have responded to requests from over a dozen artists to meet and learn about our experience of working in VR and digital more broadly. We have loaned out our VR equipment and trained Both Neil Bettles and Laura Mallows have been approached to provide mentoring to artists and producers looking to develop their practice. This led us to secure support through Arts Council England Cultural Recovery Fund to research the ways in which we can provide longer term support for artists within our programme. We have appointed Ailbhe Treacy as Engagement Co-ordinator to lead this research and work with our core staff team to develop a talent development scheme. We hope to pilot some models for this work later in 2021.

Organisational development

As a new charity a key focus this year has been Trustee recruitment. Following an open call, we appointed three new Trustees, Toto Ellis (Chief Strategy Officer and Partner for Here Be Dragons brand development agency), Chris Lawson (Artistic Director of Oldham Coliseum) and Vanessa Pang (Dance Artist, Model and Mentor). Our new Trustees offer a breadth of skills and experience to compliment that of our existing members and all have played an active role in supporting the charity since joining the Board. During the year, the Board of Trustees established a Finance sub-committee to ensure the Executive Director is well supported and that there is careful scrutiny of the charity’s finances and risk management. The Committee is chaired by the charity’s Treasurer, Gurjinder Kang. Our Chair, Inga Hirst, took maternity leave from February and handed over to Jennifer Langlands as Interim Chair with George Danczak also stepping onto the Finance Committee.

We also invested in our website to improve our branding and profile. Following a tender process, we appointed web developers Splitpixel who worked closely with the team at ThickSkin to design a slick new site that places our values front and centre. Consequently, we have seen our web-visitor and mailing list numbers grow significantly.

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ThickSkin Theatre Report of the Trustees Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

The website overhaul was complimented by a review of all our social media channels. Working with social media specialist, Rhea Mehmet we developed a social media strategy that has helped us to double the number of followers we have across our channels. We plan to continue investing in our online presence by adding more original content to our Spotify channel and launching a Vimeo streaming channel in autumn 2021.

Fiona Gregory provided consultancy services around HR good practice, with specific support around preparing employment contracts for core staff, setting up PAYE systems and creating a new staff handbook.

We invested substantially in VR and theatrical equipment to support our current and future projects. In November 2010 we moved into a new office in Pollard Yard in the Miles Platting area of Manchester. The yard provides sustainable and environmentally conscious workspaces through repurposed shipping containers to dozens of start-up businesses, including plenty of makers and creators.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Income

The turnover for the year was £193,852 and the breakdown comprised grants £161,093 (83%), donations £13,974 (7%) and income generated from charitable activities £18,785 (10%). This takes into account £1,259 of theatre tax credits claimed against eligible productions. We were very grateful for the invaluable support from all our funders and individual donors, listed on page 11 of the accounts as well as those who support us through partnerships, programming, seeing our work and purchasing playtexts. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the Project Grants and Cultural Recovery Fund support from Arts Council England as well as the substantial unrestricted grant support from Backstage Trust.

Expenditure

Expenditure totalled £139,088. This is broken down as £137,780 (99%) of funds spent directly on the delivery of our charitable activities, with £1,308 (1%) towards raising funds. The Matchbox programme represents our largest charitable cost during the year, accounting for £97,547 (71%). Across other areas of the programme, Productions expenditure was £28,059 (20%), for Discover £6,467 (5%) and Supported Artists £3,352 (2%) and core programme costs £2,355 (2%). Within our support costs, we spent £6,300 towards organisational development which included specialist consultant fees and a new website.

We invested £18,206 in purchase of fixed assets, which is primarily virtual reality hardware, technical production equipment and some office equipment. Of this £2,147 is reflected as in-year depreciation.

Reserves Policy

ThickSkin's Trustees have set a target for free unrestricted funds equivalent to three months operating costs, which we are working to achieve by the end of March 2024. In 2020/21 this would be a target of approximately £17,000.

The balance sheet shows total funds of £54,764, split between restricted funds of £44,865 and unrestricted funds of £9,899. Restricted funds of £44,865 comprise unspent balances on grants subject to grant conditions. Full details of these restricted funds can be found in note 14 to the financial statements. Unrestricted general funds, representing the free reserves of the charity, are £9,899 on 31 March 2021 (58% of target).

Risk Management

ThickSkin's Directors have conducted a review of the major risks facing the organisation. A risk register is in place and is reviewed by the Finance sub-committee quarterly and updated with the full Board annually. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate risks. As we look forward the primary risks for the charity include:

  1. The longer-term impact of Covid-19 to the arts ecology - mitigated through developing a varied programme of work, maintaining low operating costs and an agile business model. 2. Staffing capacity - mitigated through recruitment of an Office Co-ordinator to assist with day-to-day operations and support with recruitment, induction and training of new temporary staff and freelancers.

  2. Income targets - also mitigated by appointing an Office Co-ordinator to free up the Executive Director to focus on raising funds. Further mitigation through a mixed funding model, with a focus on unrestricted multi-year grants and development of new work that has longer-term earned income potential.

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ThickSkin Theatre Report of the Trustees Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

ThickSkin is the operating name of ThickSkin Theatre, which was formally constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Registered Charity no: 1188196) on 26 February 2020.

As set out in the charity's constitution, there must be at least three charity trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining trustee or trustees may act only to call a meeting of the charity trustees, or appoint a new charity trustee. The maximum number of charity trustees is eight. The charity trustees may not appoint any charity trustee if as a result the number of charity trustees would exceed the maximum.

Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. All new trustees shall receive an induction and be offered the opportunity to attend training through NCVO.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Name of Charity ThickSkin Theatre Charity registration number 1188196

Trustees

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Toto Matthew William Joseph Ellis (Appointed: 14 November 2020) Inga Hirst (Chair) Christopher Lawson (Appointed: 14 November 2020) George Sebastian Danczak Gurjinder Singh Kang Vanessa Pang (Appointed: 14 November 2020) Jennifer Langlands (interim Chair) Independent examiners Counterculture Partnership LLP Unit 115 Ducie House Ducie Street Manchester M1 2JW

Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on its behalf by

............................................................................. Jennifer Langlands (interim Chair)

Date: 20 July 2021

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ThickSkin Theatre Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees For the year ended 31 March 2021

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act').

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

Independent examiners statement

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

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

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

  3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 20 July 2021

Tom Wilcox Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) Counterculture Partnership LLP Unit 115

Ducie House

Ducie Street Manchester M1 2JW

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ThickSkin Theatre Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 March 2021

Notes
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
4
Charitable activities
5/6
Total
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
£
62,565
18,785
81,350
(1,308)
(19,694)
(21,002)
(50,449)
9,899
9,899		 Restricted
funds
£
112,502
-
112,502
-
(118,086)
(118,086)
50,449
44,865
44,865		 2021
£
175,067
18,785
193,852
(1,308)
(137,780)
(139,088)
-
54,764
54,764

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ThickSkin Theatre Statement of Financial Position As at 31 March 2021

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
11
Current assets
12
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
13
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Net assets
The funds of the charity
Restricted income funds
14
Unrestricted income funds
14
Total funds		 £
2021
18,206
18,206
28,634
27,348
55,982
(19,424)
36,558
54,764
54,764
44,865
9,899
54,764

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

Jennifer Langlands (interim Chair) Trustee

Date: 20 July 2021

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For the year ended 31 March 2021

ThickSkin Theatre Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Accounting Policies

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, except for investments which are included at market value and the revaluation of certain fixed assets and in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), and the Charities Act 2011.

ThickSkin Theatre meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

Going concern

The financial statements are prepared, on a going concern basis, under the historical cost convention.

Funds

The charity maintains a general unrestricted fund which represents funds which are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Such funds may be held in order to finance both working capital and capital investment.

Restricted funds have been provided to the charity for particular purposes, and it is the policy of the board of trustees to carefully monitor the application of those funds in accordance with the restrictions placed upon them.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the Charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Resources expended

Liabilities are recognised as resources expended when there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the Charity to the expenditure:

Allocation and appointment of costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs may include any back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charities programmes and activities.

Taxation

As a registered charity, the company is exempt from income and corporation tax to the extent that its income and gains are applicable to charitable purposes only.

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets, other than freehold land, are stated at cost or valuation less depreciation and any provision for impairment. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following basis:

Computer Equipment 20% Straight line Fixtures and Fittings 20% Straight line

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ThickSkin Theatre Notes to the Financial Statements Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

2. Income from donations and legacies

Donations received
Grants received
3. Income from charitable activities
Unrestricted funds
Matchbox
Income from charitable activities
Discover
Income from charitable activities
Production
Income from charitable activities
Artistic Programmes/Core
Income from charitable activities
Analysis of grants received
Arts Council England
Backstage Trust
D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
JRS government grant
National Lottery Community Fund
Sport England Funding		 Unrestricted
funds
£
6,219
62,565
56,346		 Restricted
funds
£
7,755
104,747
112,502		 2021
£
13,974
161,093
175,067
2021
£
15,398
2,050
1,259
78
18,785
2021
£
107,339
30,000
3,500
6,802
10,000
3,452
161,093

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ThickSkin Theatre Notes to the Financial Statements Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

4. Expenditure on generating donations and legacies

Unrestricted funds
Cost of raising funds		 2021
£
1,308
1,308

5. Costs of charitable activities by fund type

Matchbox
Discover
Production
Supported Artists
Support costs
osts of charitable activities by activity type
Support costs
Matchbox
Discover
Production
Supported Artists
Artistic Programmes/Core		 Unrestricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
19,694
19,694
Activities
undertaken
directly
£
84,635
5,729
24,370
3,352
-
118,086		 Restricted
funds
£
84,635
5,729
24,370
3,352
-
118,086
Support costs
£
12,912
738
3,689
-
2,355
19,694		 2021
£
84,635
5,729
24,370
3,352
19,694
137,780
2021
£
97,547
6,467
28,059
3,352
2,355
137,780

6. Costs of charitable activities by activity type

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ThickSkin Theatre

Notes to the Financial Statements Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

7. Analysis of support costs

Office costs
Finance
IT
Human Resources
Organisational
development
Insurance
Governance costs		 Matchbox
£
3,641
1,503
1,204
350
4,410
370
1,434
12,912		 Discover
£
208
86
69
20
252
21
82
738		 Production
£
1,040
429
344
100
1,260
106
410
3,689		 Artistic
Programmes/
Core
£
1,560
129
103
30
378
32
123
2,355

7. Analysis of support costs

Office costs
Finance
IT
Human Resources
Organisational
development
Insurance
Governance costs		 2021
£
6,449
2,147
1,720
500
6,300
529
2,049
19,694

8. Net income/(expenditure) for the year

et income/(expenditure) for the year
This is stated after charging/(crediting):
2021
£
Depreciation of owned fixed assets 2,147
Staff pension contributions 580

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ThickSkin Theatre Notes to the Financial Statements Continued

For the year ended 31 March 2021

9. Staff costs and emoluments

Total staff costs for the year ended 31 March 2021 were:

Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs
Staff numbers		 2021
£
40,918
111
580
41,608
2021
3
3

10. Trustee remuneration and related party transactions

None of the trustees has been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with this charity or a related entity. None of the trustees has been paid any expenses in the current year.

There were no other related party payments in either the current or prior years.

11. Tangible fixed assets

Cost or valuation
Additions
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
Charge for year
At 31 March 2021
Net book values
At 31 March 2021		 Fixtures and
Fittings
£
1,116
1,116
128
128
988		 Computer
Equipment
£
19,237
19,237
2,019
2,019
17,218		 Total
£
20,353
20,353
2,147
2,147
18,206

14 of 18

ThickSkin Theatre Notes to the Financial Statements Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

12. Debtors

Amounts due within one year:
Trade debtors
Amounts due by associated undertakings
Prepayments and accrued income
Other debtors		 2021
£
2,609
14,415
11,085
525
28,634

13. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2021
£
3,072
4,152
12,200
19,424

14. Movement in funds

Unrestricted Funds

General
Programmes		 Incoming
resources
£
81,350
81,350		 Outgoing
resources
£
(21,002)
(21,002)		 Transfers
£
(50,449)
(50,449)		 Balance at
31/03/2021
£
9,899
9,899

Restricted Funds

Discover
Matchbox
Productions
Supported Artists		 Incoming
resources
£
1,109
67,200
40,741
3,452
112,502		 Outgoing
resources
£
(5,729)
(84,635)
(24,370)
(3,352)
(118,086)		 Transfers
£
4,985
61,935
(16,371)
(100)
50,449		 Balance at
31/03/2021
£
365
44,500
-
-
44,865

15 of 18

ThickSkin Theatre Notes to the Financial Statements Continued

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Unrestricted receipts were also received against each fund as detailed in note 3.

Purpose of restricted funds

Matchbox

Audience development through digital arts

Productions

Theatrical productions for live and digital platforms

Discover

Creative learning experiences and resources

Supported Artists

Talent development initiatives

15. Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted funds
General
Programmes
Restricted funds
Discover
Matchbox		 Tangible
fixed assets
Net current
assets /
(liabilities)
Net Assets
£
£
£
18,206
(8,307)
9,899
-
365
365
-
44,500
44,500
18,206
36,559
54,764

16 of 18

ThickSkin Theatre Detailed Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 March 2021

INCOME AND ENDOWMENT
Donations and legacies
Donations
Grants receivable
Charitable activities
Income from charitable activities (Matchbox)
Income from charitable activities (Discover)
Income from charitable activities (Production)
Income from charitable activities (Artistic
Programmes/Core)
Total incoming resources
EXPENDITURE
Raising donations and legacies
Cost of fundraising
Charitable activities
Cost of direct charitable activity (Matchbox)
Cost of direct charitable activity (Discover)
Cost of direct charitable activity (Production)
Cost of direct charitable activity (Supported Artists)
SUPPORT COSTS
Office costs
Office costs (Matchbox)
Office costs (Discover)
Office costs (Production)
Office costs (Artistic Programmes/Core)
Finance
Finance (Matchbox)
Finance (Discover)
Finance (Production)
Finance (Artistic Programmes/Core)
IT
IT (Matchbox)
IT (Discover)
IT (Production)
IT (Artistic Programmes/Core)
Human Resources
Human Resources (Matchbox)		 £
2021
13,974
161,093
175,067
15,398
2,050
1,259
78
18,785
193,852
(1,308)
(1,308)
(84,635)
(5,729)
(24,370)
(3,352)
(118,086)
(3,641)
(208)
(1,040)
(1,560)
(6,449)
(1,503)
(86)
(429)
(129)
(2,147)
(1,204)
(69)
(344)
(103)
(1,720)
(350)

17 of 18

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

ThickSkin Theatre Detailed Statement of Financial Activities Continued For the year ended 31 March 2021

Human Resources (Discover)
Human Resources (Production)
Human Resources (Artistic Programmes/Core)
Organisational development
Organisational development (Matchbox)
Organisational development (Discover)
Organisational development (Production)
Organisational development (Artistic
Programmes/Core)
Insurance
Insurance (Matchbox)
Insurance (Discover)
Insurance (Production)
Insurance (Artistic Programmes/Core)
Governance costs
Governance costs (Matchbox)
Governance costs (Discover)
Governance costs (Production)
Governance costs (Artistic Programmes/Core)
Total resources expended
Net Income		 (20)
(100)
(30)
(500)
(4,410)
(252)
(1,260)
(378)
(6,300)
(370)
(21)
(106)
(32)
(529)
(1,434)
(82)
(410)
(123)
(2,049)
(139,088)
54,764

18 of 18

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements