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2026-03-31-accounts

COLCHESTER OPERATIC SOCIETY 1198865
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
01/04/2025
For the period
from		 To 31/03/2026
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
108,482
261
1,093
-
1,250
-
-
-

111,086
-
-
-
111,086
100,655
618
964
10,365
-
-
-
-
112,602
-
-
-
112,602
- 1,516
-
117,482
115,966		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
108,482
261
1,093
-
1,250
-
-
-
111,086
-
-
-
111,086
100,655
618
964
10,365
-
-
-
-
112,602
-
-
-
112,602
- 1,516		 Last year
to the nearest £
VoluntaryIncome 108,482 109,306
Donations 261 158
Bank Interest 1,093 1,448
Grants - 768
Subs 1,250 1,670
- -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for AR)
111,086		 113,350
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
- -
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
113,350
Charitable Activities 100,655 110,342
AccountancyCost 618 360
Insurance 964 981
Admin Costs 10,365 4,682
- -
- -
- -
- -
**Sub total ** 112,602 116,364
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
-
-
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
116,364
- 1,516 - - - 1,516 - 3,015
- - - - -
117,482 - - 117,482 120,497
115,966 - - 115,966 117,482

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

07/07/2026

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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B1 Cash funds		 Fixed Asset
Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Cash & Bank
Long Term Loan
Accrual
Details
Details
Mac Book
Details		 Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
60,548
2,000
449
52,969
115,966
OK
Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
asset belongs
449.39
Fund to which
liability relates		 Restricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
749
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Amount due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
449
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf
of all the trustees
Signature		 Print Name Date of
approval
7.7.26

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

07/07/2026

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Colchester Operatic Society

On accounts for the year 31[st] March 2026 Charity no 1198865 ended (if any) Set out on pages One and Two (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 / 03 / 2026 .

Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

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

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

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

Signed:
Name:
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
Address:		 07/07/2026
Vincent Mellett
FCCA
First Floor, 1 The Matchyns, London Road,
Rivernahll, Witham, Essex
CM8 3HA

October 2018

IER

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Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

October 2018

IER

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Colchester Operatic Society Registered Charity no. 1198865 15 Parkside Quarter, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1EA

Annual report of the trustees for year ending 31[st] March 2026

Our structure and governance

Colchester Operatic Society (also referred to as “the/our Society” and/or “COS” throughout this report) is an amateur musical theatre company (consisting of members from 11 years and over) that produce shows and concerts in Colchester for the general public. Membership is open to all aged 16yrs plus and 11-23 years for our youth section, providing opportunities to learn, perform and participate in local theatre. We also put on singing, acting and dancing workshops for members and the local community. We registered as a charity with the charity commission on 9[th] May 2022, governed by our CIO Association Constitution which refers to our charity trustees as the Executive Committee. Our youth section operates under the name CO2 (Colchester Operatic Society Second Edition) but is part of our charitable organisation. In addition to our Constitution, we have supplementary rules to govern our youth section (referred to as “CO2” throughout this report) and the following policies and procedures currently in place (these are regularly reviewed, and new policies are adopted as necessary and appropriate. All policies can be found on our Society website):

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We are in the process of creating a Reserves and Expenses Policy which will be published once finalised and approved.

Membership of the Society (COS) for 2025-2026 stood at 119 members at our last AGM (23rd June 2025) rising to 146 as we came to the end of the year, which is slightly lower than last year’s membership numbers. Our last AGM was attended by 44 members (3 more members in attendance than the previous year). Our youth section (CO2) had 41 members but many more young people participating in our activities throughout the year (see “purposes and activities” section below).

Our Executive Committee manages the Society and is annually elected at our AGM in June/July, although trustees are recruited throughout the year if Executive Committee members stand down, depending on the needs of the Society. For this year, our Executive Committee consisted of the following trustees:

Name of Trustee Role/Office Date acted if not for whole
year
Katie Cutmore Chair
Deputy Safeguarding
Lead
Suki Skelton Treasurer From 30thApril 2025
Natasha Gadenne Secretary Up until 3rdJuly 2025
Margarita Fernandez Committee Member and
Secretary		 From 29thMay 2025 –
Secretary from 24thJune
Caroline Fritz Business Manager
Laura Hicks Assistant Secretary Up until 23rdMay 2025
Charlotte Butcher Chair of CO2 (Colchester
Operatic Society Second
Edition: our Youth section)
Safeguarding Lead
Claudia Haswell Committee Member Up until 26thFebruary 2026
Andrew Hodgson Vice-Chair Up until 16thFebruary 2026
Jessica Bailey Marketing & Events Lead
Wayne Setford Funding Co-ordinator Up until 29thMay 2025
Valentine Cavanagh-White Inclusion Lead
Susan Mitchell Committee Member From 28thSeptember 2025

We extend thanks to all those who served as a trustee over the course of this year, without whom we could not continue our work.

The Executive Committee seeks and responds to views of members and the wider public when making decisions about our activities and governs and operates the Society for public benefit, having due regard to the charity commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties, to which the guidance is relevant.

This year we have received a written complaint about our governance in January 2026 and are currently working through a review of policies and procedures in answer to this, taking on board the concerns, to ensure we strengthen what we already have in place.

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Risk Management

We hold public liability insurance and carry out risk assessments for our work and activities to manage/control any Health and Safety risks. Our bank account has double signatories to safeguard the charity finances and ensure money is only spent as agreed by its trustees for its purpose and associated activities.

To manage risk for our young people, we have safeguarding leads in place who ensure the wider membership, volunteers and other professionals/organisations we work with are aware of and follow our Safeguarding policy. We ensure those working directly with young people are suitable to do so, are appropriately supervised and/or have clear DBS checks in place as necessary and appropriate. We also ensure DBS checked chaperones are in place at rehearsals and performances to ensure the safety and well-being of our young members/performers. This year we have introduced two new financial policies and are working on two others so we have some clearer guidance on how we manage financial risks for the Society.

Chair’s Report

Our 101[st] year as Colchester Operatic Society saw us continue to build on previous successes through teamwork driven by a shared passion for musical theatre, meeting our charity’s purpose and providing valuable learning experiences for all. I am very grateful to our audiences for their continued support in coming to see our productions and their donations towards our work.

This year we continued to challenge ourselves with creating our own sets for both our COS and CO2 youth production, and our teams excelled in creating some fantastic bespoke items that brought our directors’ visions to life. We acquired a new storage space that has power and has enabled this work on creating set to be done within this space by our fantastic volunteers, developing their skills and experience. Once again this year, our companies, consisting of cast, orchestra, appointed personnel and volunteers, enjoyed learning and working together to create fantastic theatre productions – something I continue to be immensely proud and privileged to lead. Our most recent production of Guys & Dolls provided some challenges backstage that trustees are already using as learning points and I am committed to drive this learning and improvement into our practice, policies and procedures going forwards for everyone’s benefit, to ensure we continue to create a safe, inclusive space for making theatre.

I am so pleased we have continued having new volunteers of all ages keen to support our productions backstage, giving up their time, sharing their expertise and learning through the opportunities we have provided them. One of our volunteers working on shows over the last three years is now heading off to study Theatre at degree level in the autumn of 2026, with thanks to the experience and opportunities we have provided them. It is the continued contribution from our talented, diverse and passionate membership and volunteers along with support from our audiences that will keep our Society thriving into the future.

I would like to thank all our members for their continued support through paying membership subscriptions, taking part in our shows and events and volunteering in essential roles backstage and on all of our committees. In addition, I personally thank all

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trustees serving on the Executive Committee for their continued support, dedication, time and hard work throughout the year. It should be noted that these roles are voluntary and take up a lot of time, energy and commitment and we couldn’t continue our work without people willing to do this. Trustees have continued to meet challenges with positivity and work hard as a team to move the Society and our productions forwards, so our members and members of the future can enjoy and learn from being part of our musical theatre productions and the public can benefit from the work we create.

Katie Cutmore Chair of Colchester Operatic Society

Our purpose and activities

Our charitable purpose is to promote and improve general education in relation to all aspects of the art of drama and musical theatrical performance for the public benefit.

This year we have met this purpose though the following activities:

We produced a summer concert called Back to the Past , which was performed at the Headgate Theatre from 11[th] to 14[th] June 2025. Our cast of 27 members (including four new members, two CO2 members and two returning members) performed a range of musical and popular music songs from across the decades, taking the audience on a journey across time with narrators Doc and Marty (characters taken from the film Back to the Future ) and showcasing the Society’s strength in harmonies/chorus work. Ticket sales ended at 74%, and our concert programme available for audience members to purchase, detailed where each song originated from.

The concert was devised, directed and choreographed by member Amanda Powell who put together the set list with a hired local creative, Olly Wood, as our Musical Director (MD). Our MD hired four other local musicians as band members who supported the cast during performances. Our MD provided cast members learning opportunities as he shared his musical skills and expertise when teaching them the harmonies and music. Cast members rehearsed over a four month period leading up to the concert - learning songs, harmonies and putting these together with movement/choreography, displaying fantastic team spirit and enjoyment which translated to the audiences.

We held a centenary ball on Saturday 31[st] May with tickets available to anyone over 18 years old who wished to celebrate 100 years of Colchester Operatic Society. We had 96 attendees including some guests who used to be involved with the Society and our NODA representative. We held an auction and raffle to raise money to cover costs and to contribute towards our work, contributing £400.30 to charity funds (£115.30 appears in this years accounts and the remaining £285 will appear in the

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accounts for the next financial year). Our Chair and President spoke at the event about the work of our charity and what it means to those involved and we displayed photos and programme covers from shows over the last 100 years, showcasing the range of work we have done and a varied selection of the people involved.

In late June/early July we held pre-audition workshops for our production Guys and Dolls , which were open to the public, followed by auditions in July for those interested in joining as members and performing in the show. We had a fantastic attendance to auditions for this show, with 75 auditionees taking part, many of which were new to the Society but had seen recent shows that had inspired them to get involved. For these auditions, the audition panel recalled selected auditionees (based on their auditions and requests to be considered for specific parts) for principal dialogue call-backs at the end of the last audition day. This was run as a workshop led by the Director and gave the panel opportunity to see different pairings of the main principal couples and how auditionees responded to direction. This was different from previous auditions but received positive feedback from those involved including the panel who found it very insightful and helpful in their casting decisions.

Following auditions, we cast 41 members, which included six new members to the Society, four members of CO2 and two returning members. Two cast members pulled out before rehearsals started for their own personal reasons and one replacement cast member (who was agreed to be a reserve by the panel shortly after auditions and before any cast dropped out) was added. As one of these cast members who dropped out held a principal part, a further audition for this part was held at the start of rehearsals with cast members interested in the role and someone new to the Society who had applied to audition after the audition deadline. As a result of this audition the new Society member was cast in the principal role. Rehearsals began in September, running through to the production in January 2026 (see later for more information).

We had 41 CO2 members (aged 11-23) participate in our CO2 production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this year, with rehearsals running over a six-month period from March 2025 through to the performances at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester from 18[th] to 21[st] October 2025. We hired local creatives (Adam Saiz Abo-Henriksen as Musical Director, Matthew Jewson as Director and Sarah James as Choreographer/Assistant Director) who supported and educated our young members throughout the rehearsal and production process, giving them the opportunity to develop skills in acting, singing and dancing. The one-week run for this show was a success, with cast entertaining full houses for most performances and receiving standing ovations, and the show sold out across the whole run. One of our cast members spoke to audiences at the end of each performance to continue to raise awareness of the work we do as a charity and ways they can support us through donations, raising £525.36 in cash, which helped meet our production costs.

Programmes with more information about the show and our Society were available for audience members to purchase. We provided a captioned performance of the show,

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increasing the accessibility of our work to the public. Many of our adult membership supported backstage during the show run of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , joining some of our newer volunteers, all developing skills and gaining experience in the hidden elements of musical theatre that go on behind the scenes to make the magic happen on stage for audiences.

In late October/early November we advertised publicly for creatives to get involved in our next upcoming productions ( We Will Rock You and Sunset Boulevard ), increasing awareness to all about the different roles involved in putting on a production and providing opportunities for local creatives to get involved. We received a number of responses from a variety of creatives, which the trustees then considered, shortlisted and voted on whom to appoint in varying roles through a fair and transparent process. The applications which we received evidenced public awareness of the work we do.

In November, we advertised auditions for a new upcoming event ( COS Loves Cabaret ), a new performance opportunity for the Society – a Lates Cabaret in the Café Bar at the Mercury Theatre. This was directed by trustee Katie Cutmore with assistance from local creative Shannon Hannah and musical direction from Adam Saiz Abo-Henriksen. We only needed eight performers and as something new for the Society we only advertised this to our membership. Auditions were sent in as videos for the audition panel to view in December. Casting decisions were then made by the panel with rehearsals taking place in January and February (see more information later in the report).

In December, we organised a group of our members, including some of the cast of our production of Guys & Dolls to participate and lead carol singing outside of the Mercury Theatre and at a local pub, the Swan in Chappell. Members of the public watched and were encouraged to join in with the singing and we were able to promote our upcoming production of Guys & Dolls to those who wanted to know more about our work.

We produced Guys and Dolls , which was performed by our cast of 41 members at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester from 29[th] January to 8[th] February 2026. We hired local creatives (Rob Miles as Musical Director, Wade Ablitt as Director and Harriet Bacon as Assistant Director) who directed and supported our talented cast throughout the 6- month rehearsal and production process as they utilised and developed their singing, acting and dancing skills. Many cast members had never been in a musical theatre production of this scale before, so along with learning performance skills, they learnt about all aspects of what it takes to put on a large-scale musical theatre production.

For this show, we built our own steel deck platform for the orchestra to be positioned on stage so they were seen by the audience throughout the performance. Having the orchestra on stage was something we hadn’t done before and provided interesting challenges and learning experiences for all involved, as well as showcasing local musicians as part of our production to our audiences. The steel deck was framed by a skyline created by our team and framed with neon flex tape. We also created our own props/set pieces for the show and were able to sell on some of these to another local

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amateur musical society who picked them up at the end of the show run to increase sustainability. Members, returning volunteers, members of CO2 and some new volunteers supported as part of our backstage team, learning new skills and gaining an insight into other areas of musical theatre. In particular, the role of stage manager during the show run was shared by new members of the backstage team, giving them opportunity to develop skills and gain experience in this role.

We provided a captioned performance of the show, again increasing the accessibility of our work to the public. Our talented cast performed to varied audiences of all ages with 78% of tickets being sold across the production run with great audience reactions and reviews. One of our cast members spoke to audiences at the end of each performance to continue to raise awareness of the work we do as a charity and ways they can support us through donations, raising £1,522.77 in cash and £97.35 in online donations, which helped meet our production costs. In addition to this, we included information on how we work and how members of the public can support us, in our programmes on sale to audience members during the show. Our programmes also contained information about the show, the cast and our Society.

Also in January and February 2026, our Cabaret cast of 8 members rehearsed ready for the performance of COS Loves Cabaret on 14[th] February in the Café Bar at the Mercury Theatre (as part of their Lates programme). For this event, our performers learnt a range of songs following a theme of love in all its forms. These were specifically chosen to match the performers’ abilities and provide a range of different story-telling songs for the audience. This was a great trial of a different style of performance for the Society and with a more limited rehearsal period. One cast member dropped out after the first rehearsal as it was more to learn than they had expected and they were replaced by another cast member who had expressed interest in auditioning to start with but missed the deadline to submit an audition. It was a free event for audience and we were given a fee for our time by the Mercury Theatre and rehearsal space in kind. Our fee was spent on paying for our Musical Director and music purchasing costs, leaving us with a small surplus of £104.01 from producing the event to go towards our overall Society running costs. It was well-attended and received great feedback from those watching and from the Mercury Theatre. We took away learning points from those participating to inform us for any similar events in the future. Due to staff changes at the Mercury Theatre, we do not know if we will be offered the opportunity for another similar event in the future as of yet.

In March, we had 107 young people (aged 11 to 23 years old) attend our singing, acting and dancing pre-audition workshops and 98 young people audition for our next CO2 production of We Will Rock You , set to be performed at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester in September 2026. This resulted in 44 young people (aged 11 to 23 years old) being cast for the show, with rehearsals starting straight after the show was cast, led by appointed creatives, Adam Saiz Abo-Henrikson as Musical Director, Ryan Penny as Director and Susan Lily as Choreographer/Assistant Director. Three cast members

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withdrew at the start of the rehearsal period and were not replaced, making a total of 41 cast members now in rehearsal.

Over the year, we saw evidence that our productions have succeeded in raising awareness to the public, including when new members joining to audition for productions have cited seeing our recent productions as one of the reasons they got involved. We have also continued to receive emails from members of the public asking to get involved behind the scenes for future shows. We would usually audition for a concert around March time, but this year the trustees decided not to produce a concert as we had not had any interest from members wishing to direct and lead a concert and instead we shall take some time to review what concerts look like for the Society going forwards. We surveyed members to get their thoughts on this in Autumn 2025 and trustees will use this to inform that review.

Plans for the future

Looking forwards, we are hosting a workshop aimed to help participants with audition techniques set for 18[th] May 2026, facilitated by local creatives Craig and Rosie Mather, who bring a wealth of professional experience for those participating to learn from. This is open to the public to book as well as members. This was organised in response to members’ requests at our last AGM. We do not have a summer concert planned this year and will instead review future plans for additional performance opportunities/productions outside of our main productions at the Mercury Theatre. We are set to hold auditions for our next production, Sunset Boulevard , on 21[st] and 25[th] June (with pre-auditions on 15[th] and 18[th] June). We have appointed creatives to lead and support our future cast with Andrew Hodgson as Director, Cally Kline as Assistant Director, Neil Somerville as Musical Director and Abi Bower as Choreographer. It will run at the Mercury Theatre from 28[th] January to 6[th] February 2027. Our CO2 production, We Will Rock You will continue with rehearsals culminating in the show run at the Mercury Theatre from 17[th] to 20[th] September 2026.

Financial report

Colchester Operatic Society’s principal source of funding is ticket sales from our productions and events. In addition to this we receive income from membership subscriptions, workshop/audition fees for our youth section and show fees for members who are cast in a production and bank interest on our reserves. We fundraise for donations throughout the year and apply for funding/grants and sponsorship, adhering to our ethical fundraising policy and ensuring any funds raised will be used for the public benefit and do not compromise the independent status of Colchester Operatic Society. We acquired a keyboard this year which was funded by King Coel’s Kittens to support us achieve our charitable objectives.

Our expenditure includes the following:

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space with access to power which has enabled us to create/build sets/props for both COS and CO2 productions, reducing some of these hire costs and enabling greater creative control on these aspects for the productions. This does cost more than the previous set storage unit but the cost of this is now being accounted for within each show budget. This unit stores the set/furniture and large props exclusively to allow room for volunteers to work on set/props in the space.

Detailed accounts are submitted to members at our AGM and separately to the Charities Commission, alongside evidence from the accountants that they have examined our accounts independently. Overall, this year we made a small deficit.

The rising costs of staging such large high-quality productions means we need high % ticket sales to break even so to try and prevent deficits we will continue to adapt show budgets to spend on the areas that have the most impact for the specific show and our

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audiences and provide continued learning and performing experiences for all involved, whilst saving in other areas. We continue to commit to providing captioned performances for our shows but to reduce costs we provided one captioned performance per production. We were not able to secure sponsorship for this but will continue to look to acquire sponsorship to help cover these costs where possible in the future.

As our predominant income is from ticket sales, we do always see a fluctuation from year to year on surplus/deficit. Our aim is to continue to provide local musical theatre experiences for the public to participate in, watch and learn from and therefore we are not driven to make profit/a surplus and accept that some productions will make losses whilst others will make profits/a surplus. This balances out across the years and the trustees work hard to ensure we maintain sufficient reserves to continue our work into the future.

We hold reserves so we are able to pay upfront for future production and event costs and meet ongoing annual costs such as public liability insurance, administration costs, costs to maintain an online presence and costs to securely store and maintain (including repair and replace as necessary) our physical assets. We produce several shows throughout the year, with costs being incurred concurrently and in advance. For example, a budget for a two-week production at the Mercury Theatre, comes in around £110,000 (depending on individual show costs/requirements). Whilst some costs relating to theatre hire are taken directly out of our show income by the theatre prior to the settlement payment being made to us, there are many costs being incurred before we receive any income from ticket sales.

The Colchester Officers’ Club (another local organisation, who we previously had a close working relationship with) held £5,000 of these financial assets, which was loaned to them in 2008. They have paid back a further £1,000 of this loan this year on an agreed payment plan, so we expect to see further payments from them in the future until this is paid back to us. They now hold £2,000 of our financial assets.

Our decision to run the CO2 show for one week has continued to be successful in ensuring we met our costs and ensured our young cast got to perform to nearly sold-out audiences. We plan to continue this structure whilst it proves successful and ensures the viability of producing shows at the Mercury Theatre for our youth group. A one-week show run is something we may need to investigate for our COS production going forwards to prevent continued deficits for these shows but it will depend on whether this is viable when you balance costs and potential income.

The trustees shall continue to monitor the charity’s finances and adapt the activities we carry out accordingly to secure its continued running, even through challenging financial climates. If the required ticket sales for large-scale productions continue to be difficult to achieve we will reflect on ticket prices, production choices, venues used and dates productions are planned for - adapting as necessary and as funds allow.

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