A Charitable Incorporated Organisation
## **Report and Financial Statements Year ending 31[st] March 2023 Charity Number: 1188662**
Palace Theatre Oxford Street Manchester M1 6FT
## **Trustees**
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**Name Date of appointment** Thomas Aaron Kirk 01 August 2021 Hollie Coxon 01 August 2021 Pippa Campbell 19 July 2021 Kui Man Gerry Yeung OBE DL 01 August 2021 Julian Woolford 01 August 2021 Anthony Hallwood 17 March 2020 (second term commenced 01 August 2022) Chris Keady 01 August 2021 Claire Louise Rick 01 August 2021 Peter Robertson 01 August 2021
## **Purpose of the CIO**
The PT&OH Trust (the Trust) is an independent trust working to advance education, arts and culture by supporting educational and participatory activities inspired by the programmes, history and heritage of the Palace Theatre & Opera House Manchester.
Our vision is to bring the Palace Theatre & Opera House back into the heart of the city and the lives of its people. To re-ignite Manchester’s long love affair with two of its oldest and most famous theatrical buildings.
We will open up these theatres and what goes on in them. We will transform them into the places where a new generation of Mancunians can play, learn, explore and discover what theatre and performance means for them.
ATG is the owner and operator of the Palace Theatre & Opera House. ATG supports the work of the PT&OH Trust through providing access to its facilities, producing a Creative Learning programme which delivers on the Objectives of the Trust as outlined in its constitutional documents, and liaising with the Trust through attendance at regular meetings.
## **Objectives:**
- Open up the two historic theatres to local people through increasing daytime access and creating dynamic educational heritage projects.
- Deliver a programme of educational and participatory activities for people of all ages, inspired by the theatres’ touring productions musicals, drama and dance.
- Increase the opportunities for schools, students and young people, to learn more about the business of theatre, the creative and technical production processes and industry careers.
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- In accordance with our equal opportunity best practice, to optimise the experience for anyone with health, disability or additional learning requirements or for those who may need financial assistance and/or socially accompanied visits
- Launch a new Youth Theatre & Young Company within the buildings, enabling opportunities for young Mancunians to perform, produce and see musical theatre and dance.
## **Achievements**
Having remobilised towards the end of the previous financial year following the Theatres reopening from the pandemic, the focus of the Trust in this period has been on establishing systems and processes to allow its activities to flourish.
The Trustee group held an externally facilitated Away Day in July which had the following aims:
- To enable the Trustees to get to know one another better and engender greater clarity on the expectations of their role as Trustees;
- To understand the relationship between the Trust, ATG and the Theatres;
- To support the Trustees in understanding the Creative Learning and Development work being carried out by the team and to clarify how they might support this work moving forward;
- To begin to articulate set clear short/ medium term strategic priorities and goals for the work of the Trust over the coming two years.
As a consequence of the Away Day, two ‘Task & Finish’ groups were created focussing on Governance and on Fundraising, which continued to progress these areas of work throughout the remainder of the year.
A Memorandum of Understanding was also been put in place with ATG, so that the Trust is equipped to begin work on making our vision and mission a reality.
Following the Away Day, the Trust also appointed two of its existing members as Chair and Secretary, for initial terms of 12 months.
With the appointment of the new role of Creative Learning Producer for Manchester, ATG made significant progress in the establishment of a yearround Creative Learning Programme for the venues which will the key focus for the Trust’s support. The Producer developed a business plan and piloted a range of new activities for the theatres, which are closely aligned to the Trust’s vision and objectives. The new Theatre Director and CL Producer reached out to other culture and education sector organisations operating in the city region, in order to help define a remit for the Palace
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& Opera House’s Programme that is complementary to those already in existence, and to explore potential partnership opportunities.
Some key statistics from the first year (between April 2022 and March 2023) of the Creative Learning Programme are included below:
|**Programm**
**e Area**|**Worksh**
**op /**
**Sessio**
**n**|**Talk**|**Tou**
**r**|**CL**
**Produced**
**Performa**
**nce**|**Projects**
**where**
**participa**
**nts also**
**saw a**
**show**|**Total**
**Number**
**of**
**Participan**
**t Sessions**|**Total**
**Numbe**
**r of**
**Funde**
**d**
**Places**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Creative**
**Generation**|20|12|4|5|6|**47**|755|
|**Communit**
**y**|10|4|15|1|9|**32**|13|
|**Talent**|18|0|11|2|0|**54**|164|
|**Total**|**47**|**18**|**30**|**8**|**10**|**133**|**932**|
|**Presch**
**ool**
**(0-4)**|**Infa**
**nts**
**(5-7)**|**Juni**
**or**
**Scho**
**ol**
**(8-**
**11)**|**Second**
**ary**
**School**
**(12-15)**|**Sixth**
**Form**
**/**
**Colle**
**ge**
**(16-**
**18)**|**HE /**
**Vocatio**
**nal**
**(18+)**|**Youn**
**g**
**Adul**
**t**
**(Und**
**er**
**26)**|**Oth**
**er**
**Adu**
**lt**
**(Ov**
**er**
**26)**|**Seni**
**or**
**(Ove**
**r**
**55)**|**Undisclo**
**sed**|**TOTAL**
**Number**
**of**
**Individu**
**al**
**Particip**
**ants**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||62|429|1799||||147||226|**2663**|
|||1|1|117|8|2|11|31|744|**915**|
|||25|75|24|30||||226|**160**|
|**0**|**62**|**455**|**1875**|**141**|**38**|**2**|**158**|**31**|**1196**|**3732**|
## **Note on Finances**
Due to lack of externally facing activity as outlined above, the sole outgoing was banking charges totalling £59, and income consisted of bank interest of £14.
## **Future plans**
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Since the end of the period in question, the Trust has been able to begin actively fundraising to support its Objectives, and has now had its first success in securing a £5,000 grant from Manchester City Council’s Youth, Play and Participation team to deliver a Relaxed Youth Theatre Project.
The Theatres’ Creative Learning Programme has also continued to grow and develop, with activity levels already ahead of the previous year at the time of writing. Projects and partnerships in development or delivery phases include:
- Schools’ partnership programme
- English National Ballet
- Schools’ Programme in collaboration led by Liverpool Empire which is engaging schools across the M62 corridor with ballet. 2 Greater Manchester Schools Are taking part.
- Ballet workshop on stage on Saturday 21 October for 16+
- Hamilton is playing at the Palace Theatre from November – February
- Establishing good connections with Cameron Macintosh Foundation who will be delivering activities:
- Schools’ performance (potential for 2000 Mancunian children to see Hamilton at a reduced rate through their schools
- Additional project opportunities to replicate success we had with previous large scale productions such as Lion King
- Opportunities to collaborate with organisations locally, such as CONTACT
- Work In Theatre Project (ACE funded, partnership programme with Get Into Theatre)
The Trust is also continuing to develop its policies and procedures, and will be recruiting for additional Trustees to fill any skills gaps in the coming year. An Annual Plan for the 24-25 year will also be developed by the Trustees.
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