**Company number 0585723 Charity number 210262** 

## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

**(Limited by Guarantee)** 

**Report and Financial Statements** 

**for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

**Breckman & Company Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants 49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH** 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Contents** 

||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Reference and Administrative Details|1 - 2|
|Trustees' Report|3 - 15|
|Independent Examiner's Report|16|
|Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account)|17 - 21|
|Balance Sheet|22|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|23 - 33|





## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Reference and Administrative Details** 

## **Constitution** 

The company is a private company limited by guarantee registered in EW - England and Wales, company number 0585723, incorporated under the Companies Act and its governing document is its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The company is a registered charity, number 210262. 

## **Directors and trustees** 

The directors of the charitable company ("the charity") are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees. 

As set out in the Articles of Association each trustee shall hold the office for a term of three years. A trustee is eligible for reappointment for a further term of three years upon the expiry of his or her previous term of office. A trustee who holds the office for two consecutive terms shall not be permitted to hold the office for a further term unless a period of not less than one year has elapsed from the date of the expiry of the previous term of office. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the directors may by simple majority waive the One Year Restriction in respect of any director who has served two consecutive terms (and who would therefore otherwise be required to retire) if they consider (acting reasonably) that such waiver would be in the best interests of the charity. 

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees are ongoing and incorporated indirectly into the regular trustees meetings. 

The trustees during the year and since the year end, were : 

|Titilola Dawudu|||
|---|---|---|
|Wendy Frost||Resigned 16 September 2020|
|Gareth Hughes|Co-Chair||
|David Richard Luff|Co Chair||
|Andrew James Marcus|||
|Temitayo Adetutu Medupin|||
|Alexandra Paola Perricone|||
|Tanya Joy Sharma||Resigned 16 September 2020|
|Andrew Stainton|||
|Nerinne Victoria Truman|||



## **Secretary** 

Hal Management Ltd - resigned 1 September 2020 

## **Chief executive/day to day management** 

Emma Rees - Executive Director / CEO interim 

## **Independent Examiners** 

Breckman & Company Ltd, Chartered Certified Accountants, 49 South Molton Street, London W1K 5LH. 

1 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Reference and Administrative Details** 

## **Bankers** 

Barclays Bank plc, 128 Moorgate, London EC2M 6SX. Virgin Money, The Gosforth Centre, Tyne & Wear NE3 1JZ. United Trust Bank Ltd., 1 Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9AW. Aldermore Bank plc, Aldermore 1st floor, Block B Western House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6FZ. 

## **Solicitors** 

Harbottle & Lewis, 7 Savoy Court, London WC2R 0EX. 

## **Registered office and operation address** 

The Albany, Douglas Way, London SE8 4AG. 

2 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

The trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors' report and accounts for Companies Act purposes. 

The reference and administrative details set out on pages 1 and 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and 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). 

## **Principal activity** 

The principal activity of the company during the year continued to be the encouragement of the arts by the production of educational plays. 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

The purpose of the charity remains to promote, maintain, improve and advance education, particularly by the production of educational plays and the encouragement of the arts. In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, including the guidance 'public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'. 

The principal strategy for achieving the stated objective is in the commissioning of new plays and participatory projects, both physical and digital, and engaging creative teams and artists to create and carry out the specific works. In pursuing the objective/s, development work with schools and young people, and with key stakeholders such as artists, industry professionals and academic and social institutions, helps to ensure the integrity that is implied for successful outcomes/impact. By working across artistic and digital platforms we ensure young people can engage with and experience the benefits of our work in schools and theatres, online, through social media and in community settings. 

## Our most recent 'About Us' explains: 

_Theatre Centre brings world class theatre straight into the heart of schools. Our productions present big ideas and difficult questions which can help young audiences make sense of a complex and changing world. We use the power of stories, writing and performance to support students and teachers in their learning across a range of subjects to build confidence and aspiration. Our vision is that children and young people are empowered in their activism and leadership through theatre, using their voices and ideas to make change in themselves and the world around them._ 

## **Staffing and operations** 

## **Staff turnover** 

In December 2020, the Board ran a recruitment process for the two senior roles, which had been filled on an interim basis by Emma Rees and Rob Watt, CEO / Executive Director and Artistic Director respectively. Following a competitive recruitment, the Board appointed Emma Rees and Rob Watt to the roles on permanent contracts. 

Other than this, there were no changes to the core staff team, though the Enterprise Manager reduced hours from .6 to .4, and the Marketing Officer reduced to .6 from full time. These changes were both at the request of the employee and in order to address work / life balance. 

During 2020/21, we continued to invest in our staff team with a range of formal and informal training opportunities. We also encouraged the team to network wildly and continue to be active in peer networks such as Participatory Arts London, Assetij UK and PYA England. 

3 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

We continued to place emphasis on the delivery of actions surrounding our Equal Opportunities policy. As with previous years we are pleased to report that we have exceeded our equality targets re ethnicity and gender of trustees and commissioned/engaged artists. 

|**Identify as**|**Board (8)**|**Core staff (6) Freelance staff (91)**|**Core staff (6) Freelance staff (91)**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Female|50%|66%|56% (target 50%)|
|Non binary|0%|0%|9%|
|Disabled|17%|8%|10%|
|Black & global majority|25%|0%|53% (target 25%)|



Board: Black British / Black African 13%; Black British / Black Caribbean 13% 

Freelancers: Asian / British Asian Chinese 2%; Asian / British Asian Indian 3%; Black British / Black African 17%; Black British / Black Caribbean 17%; Mixed White & Arab 1%; Mixed White & Black African 2%; Mixed White & Asian 8%; Other multiple backgrounds 3% 

## **Environmental Sustainability:** 

We continued our commitment to Environmental Sustainability and to refine our environmental action plan, drawing on Julie's Bicycle expertise through the NPO support programme. We issue a Green Rider to all tour venues and reinforce our policy in company touring briefings. We routinely include an Environmental Sustainability clause in all freelance and employment contracts. We have also set up an internal working group and include a focus on sustainability (awareness, action, learning and comms) each week in team meetings. 

## **Policies:** 

We have a full range of polices, including all those required by Arts Council England and maintain a Risk Register for all aspects of our operation. We are a Disability Confident Employer and an ITC Ethical Employer, paying ITC/Equity rates as a minimum and committed to fair pay. We are also a London Living Wage employer and an active member of Stage Sight. 

## **Premises:** 

Theatre Centre is one of 11 NPOs resident at The Albany, which is an active, grass-roots theatre, arts and community centre and a leading member of the Future Arts Centres network. 

## **Creative programme** 

We had always intended to spend a significant part of 2020/21 on longer term strategic planning with the Executive and the Board working closely to develop Future Makers, our new business model, and testing all elements of this company-wide, holistic approach over a sustained period of time. As part of this work, we identified partnerships as a key priority area for Theatre Centre, in order to: 

- Increase the financial resources available to make the work 

- Widen the pool of creatives working with Theatre Centre 

- Widen the reach by increasing the audience pool 

- Strengthen our profile and reputation through strong artistic collaborations. 

4 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

The pandemic meant that we had to be extremely agile and engage deeply with our communities in order to understand where and how we were best placed to support and serve. Our communities are young people, artists, teachers, community groups UK-wide. Design of our projects was led by what people were telling us they needed, particularly teachers, and how they wanted to access. We heard the need for connection and concern for mental health across all ages but particularly young people and built these into our responses. Additionally, we prioritised support for freelance artists and practitioners who were so hard hit by the pandemic. In all cases, we focused on building relationships, consolidating existing ones and making new ones, by listening to specific needs and offering projects and activities that met those needs. 

"It's really brilliant the way you are taking teachers and education into consideration." Teacher 

We wanted to attract people and for projects to be inclusive and so we offered many different types of activity. The artists we worked with were intersectionally diverse across ethnicity, class, disability, gender, ensuring diversity within the stories and engagement, and many points of entry for participants. 

We created online teaching resources for remote/blended learning. We made creative resources for young people with a focus on mental health, and an online programme for young people to collaborate directly with professional artists, making work together digitally. We offered an 8-session, live, online Writers Course with writers and young people, recorded and available to teachers on our website; a Journal toolkit; ongoing live zoom Masterclasses, Incubators, Speakeasies and Gatherings. 

"Theatre Centre has been a God send in terms of having something extra-curricular for the students during this time and has really ensured they're enhancing their applied theatre skills for the future!" Teacher 

In 2020/21 we reached: 

- 212 state schools registered for Birds and Bees digital package 

- 25,440 schools audiences (approx. ave 120 per school) 

- 3,500+ plus views & downloads Online Writers Course and #TCJournal resources 

- 160+ films submitted for our ImagiNation Festival 

- 500+ participants involved in making these films 

- 20,000+ YouTube views of ImagiNation Festival 

- 250+ attendees for our regular Teacher's CPD sessions 

- 34 Future Makers registered (from Aug 2020 to March 2021) 

We partnered and developed work with: 

- Theatre 503 

- Soho Theatre 

co-production on ImagiNation 

   - Birds and Bees developed in association with Soho 

- The Paper Birds School of Hope international collaboration (for summer 2021) 

- * Headlong co-production in association with TikTok (for autumn 2021) * National Drama co-delivered CPD sessions for Drama teachers 

## **Artistic projects and outputs** 

"Thank you so much for giving SO much Theatre Centre. We look forward to getting you all back into our schools." Teacher attending a CPD 

5 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

## **Birds and Bees by Charlie Josephine** 

In April 2020, it was becoming clear that the planned autumn tour of schools and theatres with Charlie Josephine's Birds and Bees was unlikely to happen, so we adapted plans and developed the play as a film, continuing to run R & Ds with school students in several parts of the UK, and using National Youth Theatre actors. In Autumn 2020, we rehearsed, filmed, edited and launched Birds and Bees. We employed over 25 creatives and deepened our relationship with The Albany, shooting the film in the theatre. We created a comprehensive Digital Package including the film, Q with creative team members, 18 lesson plans (6 Drama, 6 English, 6 PHSE/RSE) and an 'as live' workshop. The film was fully captioned and we offered an audio description script. 

"It covered multiple topics .. which helped when we did not have us much teaching time." Teacher on Birds and Bees film 2021 

"Relatable characters and real life issues dealt with sensitivity" Teacher on Birds and Bees film 2021 

"This punchy production … combines fiery spoken word, sophisticated cinematography and an electric soundtrack to demystify the messy nuances surrounding sex education." The Stage on Birds and Bees film 

Originally intending to charge for the Digital Package, we responded to feedback from schools regarding frozen budgets and the urgent need for quality blended learning resources and took the decision to make the film available for free for state schools, underwriting the costs from our reserves. We continued to focus on reaching and providing additional support to schools in areas of low cultural engagement and in schools with high levels of Pupil Premium Entitlement. 

"This show saved us during the pandemic because we were unable to watch any live shows … watched it more than 3 times, and every time I watch it the more I like it!" Student on Birds and Bees film 2021 

"opened my eyes and helped me to understand how peoples' views have the ability to change" Student on Birds and Bees film 2021 

"an unimaginably funny, achingly moving, brilliantly realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a teenager in today's world….laugh-out-loud funny. It's funny like Netflix's Sex Education is funny, highlighting the agonising awkwardness of being a teenager, the sharp wit of young people, and the utter ridiculousness of the current sex ed curriculum." Drama & Theatre on Birds and Bees film 

## **Future Makers** 

In line with the strategic review and planning the Board and Senior Leadership have undertaken, we started to roll out Future Makers (FM) from autumn 2020, aiming to pilot the different elements of the work over the first 6 / 8 Seasons. Future Makers aims to radically change the way of working between young people, artists and teachers, allowing for complicated conversations to happen, and out of which our touring shows will be developed. Young people, artists and teachers work together as peers to develop creative skills and experience, and share big ideas. 

In 2020/21, Future Makers demonstrated its impact on Theatre Centre in many ways: 

- increasing the number of young people we engage with; 

- deepening our relationships beyond the life of one project; 

- driving the creative process and output through genuine collaboration; 

- increasing the range of opportunities for young people to progress with us; 

- engaging young people, artists, teachers, practitioners in the making of all our work; 

- being the engine room where we find and develop our touring work. 

6 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

This programme is designed build on the Company's strengths and to unify all the strands of our work, taking a new approach to making work that will enable us to build even stronger relationships with larger communities of young people. Future Makers looks at both the operational and artistic model and solves several of the issues the Company has previously identified, including the difficulties around recruiting and retaining a large group of young people as participants, and enabling partners to have a sustained relationship with us. Starting in Lewisham at our base in the Albany, we are bringing our learning from programmes such as Theatre Makers' Studio and Creative Roots, as well as practice brought into the Company by the new Artistic and Executive Directors, and establish a blueprint for working locally within a national context, rolling out Hubs in other areas over time. 

The first stage pilot was Future Makers Redbridge (formerly Creative Roots) with 10 young people working across two weeks at the end of the school summer holiday, funded by The Goldsmiths' Company Charity and Redbridge Arts Grants. 10 young people aged 15-19 years participated in the two-week project, and we employed 12 freelancers to deliver the programme. 

The second stage of the pilot, Seasons 1 (autumn 2020) and 2 (spring 2021) of Future Makers launched in Lewisham in October, running Masterclasses, Incubators, Speakeasies and Gatherings, all online. We have engaged over 50 artists and practitioners across both Seasons. By March 2021, we had 32 young people signed up as Future Makers with differing levels of active engagement but all reporting strong, positive impacts in terms of confidence, transferable skills, connections, collaborative creative practice and wider understanding and awareness of other perspectives and experiences. Our feedback and evaluation findings give evidence that the work supports our Mission and our Vision - that young people are empowered through theatre to find and use their voices and ideas to make change in their lives and in the world around them, and that, through opportunities for creative activity, they explore and use their creativity to develop their potential as active citizens and leaders in the community and in society. 

We also recruited 6 paid Youth Community Ambassadors, 17-21 years olds living in Lewisham working with us on the design and offer of Future Makers and recruitment of young people. 

Issues the young Future Makers explored included their concerns about environmental sustainability and climate change, some powerful work about BLM and inclusion, and how we can work with these overarching themes of social justice and equality as core pillars of the Future Makers programme. As well as in excess of 50 freelance artists, we worked with Wabriya King, a drama therapist and former actor, as part of our commitment to safeguarding and ensuring a safe space for young people. We received some fantastic feedback from participating young people who told us what they'd gained from taking part in FM: 

- "I've gained better communication skills, as well as graphic design from the map-making 

- "How to Learn, Respect and Educate myself." 

- "How to be more open into sharing my craft with other people." 

- "I have gained knowledge about others and the world around me. We've also thought more about mental health and everything around us. 

- 

   - "To say yes to more things." 

- "The confidence to be bold in front of strangers in a zoom setting. Also insight into other people's life experiences from varying ages, all equally interesting and helpful!" 

- "Confidence and perspective." 

Our other major creative projects, all designed in response to the pandemic, were: 

On-line Writer's Course: 8 x 40 minute online sessions with writers and young people, recorded and made available on our website, aimed to supporting English and Drama lessons. These were used by Drama and English teachers as blended learning resources and were accessed free via our website. 

7 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

#TCJournal: 12 themed chapters with resources to support young people to explore and record their feelings and experiences during lockdown, aimed at supporting young people to have a positive awareness of their mental health and relationships during this time. These free resources included prompts for inspiration and reflection and were used widely by young people to help them respond creatively to the experience of lockdown and to record their thoughts and feelings. 

ImagiNation and ImagiNation Festival: Specifically designed as a project for lockdown, the project was in two parts: ImagiNation, which saw us commission 19 writers and invite the public, families, groups of friends, colleagues, school groups to submit recordings of the 19 pieces, and the ImagiNation Festival, showcasing 19 films edited from public submissions over one weekend. 

Working in co-production with Theatre503, we commissioned the micro plays from a diverse group of writers, including four debut writers commissioned through Theatre503's writers programme: Jon Brittain, Ryan Calais Cameron, Alex Critoph, Zinnie Harris, Matilda Ibini, Asif Khan, Geraldine Lang, Bethan Marlow, Eoin McAndrew, Nicholas McQuillan, Nessah Muthy, Amy Ng, Chinonyerem Odimba, Lettie Precious, Leo Skilbeck, Julie Tsang, Daniel Ward, Timberlake Wertenbaker and Roy Williams. 

Following a grass roots national communications campaign and some targeted partnerships across the UK, we received over 160 submissions including over 500 participants. Working with a professional film editor, we created 19 high quality pieces out of the recordings submitted, which premiered over three days in curated batches of films plus a Q- with the writers of each set of films. They were screened on our YouTube channel and are now available, together with the Q and all of the unedited submissions. The project was a tremendous success and a truly national, community project. We worked hard to identify people who were isolated and offered them additional support. We paid for facilitators and directors to work with targeted participants including a group of homeless people in Croydon and a Cumbrian Elders group: 

"..a lifeline for our Act Your Age group. We really had been isolated and lonely!! ..working together on the three scripts has brought us closer and has filled many empty hours." Participant 

Electric Sunshine Project, Blackpool: We partnered with ESP to enable the participation of 50 community actors in a number of finished recordings. 

"I have enjoyed being creative and devising work when the world has been uncertain, it has given me inspiration I needed to keep moving forward and looking forward to the future" Young Creative 

Nicholas Chamberlaine School, Bedworth: We partnered with Nicholas Chamberlaine School, enabling students to work with director Nickie Miles-Wildin. 

Taking Flight Theatre, Cardiff: We partnered with Taking Flight Theatre, Wales' first and only Youth Theatre for D/deaf and Hard of Hearing young people. To enable Taking Flight Theatre to participate in ImagiNation funded support from BSL Consultant, Stephen Collins, who translated Timberlake Wertenbaker's Being Human and supported directors Elise and Steph to rehearse and record their own BSL version with 4 youth theatre actors. 

"We're really excited to be involved with this project as it is a really exciting platform in which for some of our Deaf young people to work as actors and explore the process from the script to the finished piece. This is an all-Deaf cast and for us to be brought together over the internet on a project like this is truly lovely, especially as lockdown can be particularly isolating for us." Taking Flight Theatre 

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## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

Papergang Theatre, London / national: We partnered with Papergang Theatre who are committed to improving representation of British East / South East Asian (BESEA) culture in UK theatre. Our financial and administration support allowed Papergang to employ their Associate Director, Kim Pearce, to work with 40 young graduates and creatives to rehearse and record a number of the ImagiNation plays. We also facilitated an Industry Chat for their participants providing insight on routes into the creative industries. 

"I wanted to be involved because opportunities for East Asian and South East Asian actors seem to be few and far between. An initiative like this is a real celebration of diversity which is a really important contribution to our industry. Particularly in these straightened times!!" Papergang participant 

ImagiNation was one of eight projects selected for the Achates Philanthropy Prize 2020 National Showcase, featuring as the London project. The National Showcase celebrated the many ways in which art generates value, looking beyond economic value alone to encompass intrinsic value, with proven benefits to mental and physical health, social wellbeing, community building, educational value and innovation. The judges said they were "…impressed by the innovative approach to turn an obstacle, like the pandemic, into an opportunity to celebrate creativity…". 

The scripts continue to be used by many more groups and internationally, including a school group in Mumbai. We also worked with Central School of Speech & Drama (CSSD), hosting three MA students who ran an evaluation of ImagiNation and collated a full report. 

By creating responsive work and online projects during the pandemic, we were able to work with many hundreds of participants across the UK, deepening existing relationships and building many new ones. Extraordinarily, our pandemic output was a considerable increase on previous years, even though in-person delivery was impossible. People told us that our projects were the highlight of their lockdown and we know we had a role in sustaining communities. What we saw was a release of everyday creativity, barriers to participation falling, and friends and family encouraging others to participate in something they would normally have been reluctant to do. 

Writer's Fellowship: The Fellowship continued with Ryan Calais Cameron and Leo J Skilbeck being given additional seed commission to develop work from 2019/20. We also started to develop a project with Nessah Murthy, focusing on mental health in children and young people. 

## **Other Artist Development & Support** 

Freelance artists: 70% of the theatre sector's workforce is made up of freelancers who were hit extremely hard by the pandemic. The pandemic exposed the fragility of our ecology, inequality of income and opportunity and the precarious nature of freelance careers. The suddenness and scale of the loss of work and income for freelancers has led to a talent drain that will damage our sector for years to come. Any hard-won advances in diversifying our workforce and working towards making the theatre sector more representative and inclusive have also been profoundly damaged, and this damage was amplified following George Floyd's murder and the subsequent galvanising of the Black Lives Matter movement. We accepted our responsibility as a charity and an NPO to commit money, time and expertise wherever we could be useful and to take an active part in the sector-wide work to explore and dismantle structural bias and inequalities, focusing on anti-racist action, access, transparency and fair employment practice to promote culture change. 

Throughout the year, a priority for us was to support, provide connection, networking and community for, and where possible give paid employment to, as many freelancers as we could, and to keep inclusion and representation at the forefront of all actions and plans. We have also worked with independent companies and freelance artists to give development support where possible, examples of this being the Industry Chat we gave with ImagiNation outreach partner, Papergang Theatre, for South Asian recent graduates and Drama students looking to navigate entry and employment in the creative industries and our hosting of two Arts Council Project Grant advice sessions with Arts Council Relationship Managers, working in partnership with Theatre 503, Papergang, Stage Sight and Freelancers Make Theatre Work to reach freelance artists. 

9 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

Dens & Signals: We maintained our organisational mentoring of theatre company Dens & Signals, supporting them with time and resources from all members of the Theatre Centre team to provide artistic, marketing, producing, financial planning and organisational expertise. 

Companies: We supported several other companies with mentoring in an ad hoc way and started what will become a longer-term relationship with Made in China. 

Individual artists: We reached out to offer support including working with 5 artists and 3 independent companies on Arts Council DYCP and Project Grant applications. 

Students: We hosted placements with students from Central School of Speech & Drama and London South Bank University, and gave talks, lectures and workshops in these universities and in others including Bedford and Derby. 

Teacher support: As reported previously, we were in constant contact with our network of teachers throughout the year. We also saw our network grown incrementally thanks to the reach of Birds and Bees and the range of other online activity described preciously. 

Alongside our ongoing, on-line regular teacher's CPD sessions, we hosted a PHSE Day for teachers, chaired by Trustee Andy Stainton with Charlie Josephine, Composer Xana, and a speaker from Sexplain, a leading charity working on schools on PHSE. We were sold out with 90 teachers booked on to the zoom call. We were also invited to give a workshop to Drama teachers by National Drama (a network of 200 - 300 drama teachers across the UK). Again, feedback was overwhelmingly positive and introduced us to an active network, and led to us partnering with National Drama on a number of initiatives. 

At the end of March 2021, we were awarded Cultural Recovery Funds (round 2) to run a national Future Makers Think Tank for teachers and artists. 

## **Theatre Centre networks and partnerships** 

Theatre Centre is active in a number of sector networks, focusing on the sharing of best practice, working for change and fairer conditions in the sector, inclusivity and access, and social justice within the arts and within wider society. 

- Stage Sight: Stage Sight was founded in 2017 by Lighting Designer Prema Mehta to address the lack of diversity in the off-stage workforce, specifically focused on ethnicity, disability and class / socio economic background. Theatre Centre is currently giving Stage Sight in-kind admin and strategic development capacity equivalent to 1.5 days a week. Additionally, two staff members sit on the Stage Sight steering group and Theatre Centre is a member of the Stage Sight Consortium, a group of five organisations working on larger scale pilot initiatives to explore best practice and share learning within the sector. The Consortium is made up of Royal Court Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Storyhouse, Theatr Clwyd and Theatre Centre. 

- Freelance Task Force: We were one of 160 theatre and dance organisations to sponsor a freelancer to pay for 13 days of employment over June to September in order for them to come together to discuss the needs of freelancer artists and practitioners as the culture sector 'builds back better'. We supported Divya Satwani to be part of the FTF. 

10 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

- #FreelancersMakeTheatreWork,#FMTW Future Labs and Board Observer initiative: The Executive Director attended several #FMTW events, panels and was invited to attend Future Labs, small, invitation-only, time-limited working groups to bring organisations and freelancers together for deep dives into specific topics. Out of these discussions, Theatre Centre and #FMTW designed and piloted a Freelancers Board Observers programme, aiming to de-mystify the role of Boards and Trustees in cultural organisations. Through #FMTW, Theatre Centre issued an open call before each Board meeting, inviting two freelancers to attend each Board meeting. This included a fee for time, sharing all Board papers, and pre and post meeting conversations with the Executive. This is now being rolled out and any arts organisation is able to open up their Board meetings in the same way through a simple matching process set up by #FMTW. 

- IncArts: Theatre Centre has attended a number of IncArts events including the sector-wide SpeakListenResetHeal sessions. We have committed to the IncArts 1% Challenge (spending at least 1% of the annual budget to diversity interventions, specifically addressing ethnicity and disability), and are currently committing 5.5% of our annual budget including cash and in-kind eg Stage Sight support. 

- Julie's Bicycle: Staff members regularly attend Julie's Bicycle briefings, webinars and symposiums, including Season for Change events and sharings. 

- Culture Declares Emergency: We have joined Culture Declares and are working through the pathways to action. 

- ITC: We continue to be active with staff and Board members attending events. The Executive Director was also a panel member at an ITC event. 

- Assitej UK / TYA/PYA England: We regularly attend PYA meetings and are represented on the PYA Lobbying Group. 

- What Next? Young Vic and What Next? Lewisham: Staff and Board members regularly attend WN? Young Vic, which our Executive Director has presented to, and WN? Lewisham, which we have also chaired. 

- Touring companies: We are active members of this peer group and contribute to working groups including Anti-Racism, Sustainability, Digital and supporting the development of several manifestos for change: Anti-Racism Touring Rider and #EndAbleism Pledge. 

- Executive Directors: London and national peer support network convened during Covid. 

- Artist-led NPOs: Primarily smaller (Band 1), non-building based, practice led NPOs working together for peer support. 

## **Financial Review** 

Theatre Centre has maintained its public funding subsidy arrangement with Arts Council to continue as a NPO for 4 years 2018/19 to 2021/22 on the proviso that it meets the conditions set and agreed through the duration of the grant subsidy period. Since the Covid crisis, Arts Council has confirmed a one-year extension to current NPO agreements, meaning that this NPO funding cycle will end in March 2023. All existing NPOs will have to submit 2022/23 plans for scrutiny before this extension funding is confirmed. 

11 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

In addition to our NPO grant, Theatre Centre's income is usually supplemented by the generation of funds through touring performances and workshops, the delivery of commissioned projects for corporate organisations, fundraising from trusts and foundations, and donations from individuals. However, this has been an exceptional year and with no touring, funders diverting to emergency funding in response to the covid crisis, and schools reporting an embargo on spending not related to covid measures, core subjects, and anticipating high drain on budgets for supply teaching, all income streams have been decimated. As reported in our CRF application, earned income for 2020/21 was 94% lower than 2019/20 and fundraising was 80% lower. Aside from NPO, our incoming resources were just 14% of 2019/20 levels. However, despite these drastic reductions in income, we remained open, prioritising making and offering work for free to our core market (schools). The margin in the reduction on expenditure between years reflects the fact we are already a very lean organisation. In addition, our strong reserves position enabled us to absorb loss and to design and run our covid response projects (see below for Reserves). 

Budgets were reforecast several times during the year to reflect the highly changeable environment and the Executive and Trustees were in regular contact, ensuring the Company was making prudent and effective decisions to navigate this exceptionally challenging year. 

The Company had a deficit of £81,661 for the year, representing the reduced income and investment of reserves into offering work and committing to making it freely available in order to maximise access. The balance sheet shows reserves totalling £282,506 of unrestricted funds carried forward to the balance sheet. The Company has drawn up a 2021/22 budget to reflect continued investment of reserves into areas of artistic and organisational development, including continuing the Enterprise staff post and the delivery of its new creative programme Future Makers. We have also made provision for the continued impact of the pandemic and we will maintain our current level of Trustee / Executive scrutiny into 2021/22. 

## **Reserves policy** 

The Trustees have achieved their aim of maintaining a designated operational reserves fund at a level which equates to a minimum of six months of operational costs in order to provide financial cover for contingent situations, such as shortfalls in income from productions, partnerships and workshops, or from unsuccessful fundraising activity. 

As of 31 March 2021, we had total unrestricted reserves of £282,506 of which £275,427 has been designated for specific purposes, the major sum of which (£150,000) is our operational reserve, to ensure Theatre Centre has sufficient monies put aside as per the organisation's reserves policy. In the previous year, the Trustees had already committed to investing in key organisational areas to support capacity and artistic growth, which allowed the Company to be responsive to the needs of schools, audiences and artists during the Covid pandemic. 

## **Data management** 

GDPR: Our GDPR systems continue to function effectively. In 2020/21, we had no data breaches and processed one request for the removal of a photograph. GDPR is reported on each week in team meetings and at each Board meeting. 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): During 2020/21, we commissioned a new CRM system to support all areas of stakeholder and relationship management. It is fully integrated into our data management and safeguarding protections and is GDPR compliment. 

## **Risk Management** 

Pre-Covid: As an on-going process, the Trustees have put in place systems to identify and mitigate any major risks that the organisation may be exposed to. For example, a Policies Review Schedule that is tabled annually at Board meetings, and overseen by the Finance & Operations Sub-Committee. In addition, the Company updates its Risk Register annually, which is also tabled at Board meetings but now monitored quarterly by the Finance & Operations Sub-Committee. The Committee is currently reviewing the headings for the Risk Register, but to date, in the year, the key areas of risk identified are: 

12 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

- Financial (Fundraising, Sales, Ethical Investment, Reserves Surplus) 

- Reputational (Partnerships, Public Relations), 

- Organisational (Staff Capacity, Staff and Board Skills, Staff Retention) 

- Legal (Compliance) 

- Physical (Safeguarding, Health & Safety, Premises) 

At present, Financial and Reputational risk are highlighted as priorities for the Company in the year ahead. The Trustees have considered how these risks interrelate and agreed delivery targets that are manageable and which can be monitored throughout the year. 

Post-Covid: Theatre Centre's existing robust Risk management systems proved to be effective and the Board and Senior Leadership team have been engaged in an on-going process of regular review, scenario planning, financial re-projections and mitigation (see Future Plans). 

Arts Council England continues to classify Theatre Centre's risk as Minor. 

## **Future Plans 2021/22** 

At the time of preparing this report, the theatre sector, along with all other sectors, continues to navigate multiple unprecedented challenges. Planning continues to be challenging but the investment in relationships has been worthwhile. Our robust artistic, operational and financial position, combined with our standing in the theatre sector, positive relationship with Arts Council and excellent reputation with schools, helped us to weather these challenges. Our vision and values gave us clarity, and strong partnerships and collaborations gave our plans a foundation. Our work on enterprise and innovation has enabled us to continue to research and develop our understanding of our markets and relationships with our local and national communities of interest (schools, teachers, young people, theatres and audiences). 

This work has helped us to understand Theatre Centre's strengths and weaknesses far better than we did previously, including the realities of our reach and relationships with schools. As well as the contact and conversation we have had during this time, we have built up far more effective tools and techniques for capturing, analysing and understanding our data. 

We maintain our focus on making prudent decisions while always maintaining a focus on where we can be most useful, valuable and impactful. The strength of the Company's vision and values once again gives us clarity as we make plans and respond. The evolution of our models for making work with and for young people continues into 2021/22 to ensure we meet their changing needs and to stay mission-led, drawing all of the strands of our practice together though the powerful, collaborative Future Makers process. 

During the pandemic, our reach increased hugely. We are now actively engaging with the challenge of maintaining these new relationships as we transition back to a live touring model, with its necessarily far smaller audiences, exploring insights into other ways of engaging, including developing a blended model across several platforms. The 2022/23 Business Plan embraces some of this learning and more will be embedded in 2023/24 and onwards. 

## **Creative plans:** 

- For 2021/22, we will have a continued focus on partnerships and are in negotiations for three coproductions: 

   - The Paper Birds for The School of Hope as Future Makers Season 4 in summer 

   - o Headlong/TikTok, an artist development programme, short form film making o Sheffield Theatres for the spring 2022 tour 

- We will continue to make the Digital Package of Birds and Bees available free for state schools until the end of July 2022 (sign up by end December 2021). 

- We have just received confirmation of funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund (round 2) and will run a drama teacher focused Future Makers Think Tank in April - June 2021. 

13 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

- Future Makers Season 3 and Season 4 (School of Hope); Season 5, including PG funded 4 Resident Artists and 6 YCAs if Project Grant is successful; Season 6 in spring 2022, including schools residencies 

- We will apply for the next cycle of Arts Council National Portfolio in February 2022 

## **Structure, governance and management** 

Theatre Centre is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 16 March 2016. As well as being a Company Limited by Guarantee, we are registered as a charity with the Charity Commission, registration number 210262. The Charity is administered by a board of eight Trustees, with two Co-Chairs currently elected. New Trustees are appointed by existing Trustees at a General Meeting of the Company. Two Trustees resigned during the year and current Board expressed their intention to recruit new Board members during 2021/22. 

The Board has one formal sub-committee: Finance & Operations, chaired by Nerinne Truman. 

As reported in the Staffing & Operations section, having extended the interim contracts of the Artistic and Executive Directors, the Trustees recruited to fill these roles on a permanent basis. Following a competitive process, the Board confirmed Emma Rees and Rob Watt as Executive Director / CEO and Artistic Director respectively. 

The day-to-day activities of Theatre Centre are managed by the Executive Director / CEO (FT) with the Artistic Director (FT), plus the Associate Producer (FT), Administration Coordinator (FT), Marketing Officer (previously FT, now .6 FTE), Enterprise & Development Manager (previously .6, now .4 FTE) and Finance Manager (freelance .2 FTE). Remuneration for all staff, employed and freelance, is discussed and agreed annually by the board of trustees at the point of agreeing the annual budget for the forthcoming year. 

## **Statement of trustees' responsibilities** 

The trustees (who are also directors of Theatre Centre Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for the year. In preparing these 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 2015 (FRS 102); 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 

- charitable company will continue in operation. 

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

14 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Trustees' Report** 

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. 

## **Small company exemptions** 

This report is prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. 

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 2 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by: 

## **David Richard Luff Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees** 


**Gareth Hughes Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees** 


15 



## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Theatre Centre Limited** 

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are set out on pages 17 to 33. 

## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** 

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. 

The charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. 

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to an audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to: 

- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act; 

· follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and 

- state whether particular matters have come to my attention. 

## **Basis of independent examiner's statement** 

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair view" and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. 

## **Independent examiner's statement** 

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention 

1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements: 

   - to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and 

· to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities 

have not been met; or 

2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 


**Kevin Beale FCCA Breckman & Company Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants** 

49 South Molton Street London W1K 5LH 

2 December 2021 

16 



|**Total funds carried forward**<br>**16, 17**<br>282,506<br>-<br>282,506<br>361,167<br>3,000<br>364,167|**Total funds brought forward**<br>361,167<br>3,000<br>364,167<br>415,284<br>10,441<br>425,725|**Reconciliation of funds:**|**net movement in funds:**<br>**4**<br>(78,661)<br>(3,000)<br>(81,661)<br>(54,117)<br>(7,441)<br>(61,558)|**Net (expenditure)/**|**Total**<br>335,392<br>5,968<br>341,360<br>364,235<br>20,282<br>384,517|Production and operation costs - page 19<br>335,392<br>5,968<br>341,360<br>364,235<br>20,282<br>384,517|Charitable activities:|**Expenditure on:**|**Total**<br>256,731<br>2,968<br>259,699<br>310,118<br>12,841<br>322,959|Other<br>**3**<br>7,131<br>-<br>7,131<br>4,832<br>-<br>4,832|Investments<br>1,184<br>-<br>1,184<br>4,241<br>-<br>4,241|Theatre income - pages 18<br>1,921<br>2,968<br>4,889<br>39,240<br>12,841<br>52,081|Charitable activities|Donations and legacies - page 18<br>246,495<br>-<br>246,495<br>261,805<br>-<br>261,805|**Income and endowments from:**<br>**2**|**Notes**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**|**funds**<br>**funds**<br>**Total**<br>**funds**<br>**funds**<br>**Total**|**Unrestricted**<br>**Restricted**<br>**2021**<br>**Unrestricted**<br>**Restricted**<br>**2020**|**for the year ended 31 March 2021**|**Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account)**|**(Limited by Guarantee)**|**Theatre Centre Limited**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|





## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2021** 

|**Income from donations and legacies**<br>**Grants**<br>Arts Council England - NPO funding<br>Arts Council England - Catalyst Evolve<br>**Donations**<br>Sundry<br>**Incoming resources from charitable activities**<br>**Theatrical income**<br>Performances/workshops<br>Sponsorship - Linklaters<br>Other income<br>**Project specific funding**<br>**Grants**<br>Hadrian Trust<br>The Goldsmith's Company<br>John Lyon's Charity<br>Sylvia Waddilove Foundation<br>Vision Redbridge<br>The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation|**2021**<br>**£**<br>244,416<br>- <br>244,416 <br>2,079<br>246,495 <br> <br>-<br>- <br>1,921 <br>1,921 <br> <br>-<br>- <br>- <br>- <br>2,968 <br>- <br>2,968|**2020**<br>**£**<br>240,000<br>12,500|
|---|---|---|
|||252,500<br>9,305|
|||261,805|
|||35,565<br>3,000<br>675|
|||39,240|
|||1,000<br>3,000<br>4,900<br>1,000<br>1,441<br>1,500|
|||12,841|



18 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2021** 

|**Expenditure on charitable activities**<br>**Production/project costs**<br>Production costs<br>Salaries<br>Fees<br>Social security costs<br>Staff pension costs<br>Award costs<br>Royalties/writers fees<br>Touring allowances/subsistence<br>Travel/transport<br>Marketing<br>Support costs - pages 20 - 21<br>Governance costs - pages 20 - 21|**2021**<br>**£**<br>11,516<br>28,560<br>49,299<br>- <br>- <br>- <br>11,568<br>1,096<br>3,508<br>14,675<br>120,222<br>212,650<br>8,488<br>341,360|**2020**<br>**£**<br>13,346<br>25,778<br>78,185<br>2,368<br>2,043<br>500<br>5,703<br>13,386<br>5,164<br>14,349|
|---|---|---|
|||160,822<br>211,692<br>12,003|
|||384,517|



19 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2021** 

|**Support and governance costs**<br>**Support costs**<br>**Office overheads**<br>Office rent/storage<br>Light/heat<br>Telephone/fax/internet<br>Insurance<br>Repairs/renewals/cleaning<br>Office relocation costs<br>Computer/equipment maintenance<br>Depreciation of website<br>Depreciation of production/office equipment<br>Depreciation of computer equipment<br>**Administration costs**<br>Salaries<br>Fees/services<br>Social security costs<br>Staff pension costs<br>Staff training<br>Staff welfare<br>Staff recruitment<br>Accommodation/subsistence<br>Travel/transport<br>Printing/postage/stationery<br>Conferences<br>Tickets<br>Subscriptions/memberships<br>Sundries<br>**Professional/financial**<br>Bank charges<br>Carried forward|**2021**<br>**£**<br>15,007<br>-<br>1,673<br>1,592<br>176<br>-<br>8,246<br>2,346<br>1,959<br>259|<br>**£**<br>31,258<br>181,202<br>190<br>212,650|**2020**<br>**£**<br>17,737<br>310<br>1,488<br>1,726<br>657<br>4,353<br>7,649<br>2,346<br>1,437<br>259|<br>**£**<br>37,962<br>173,596<br>134|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||142,747<br>8,125<br>15,930<br>7,968<br>371<br>222<br>3,560<br>-<br>-<br>58<br>-<br>104<br>1,772<br>345||145,221<br>-<br>11,287<br>5,694<br>2,150<br>1,440<br>3,970<br>5<br>1,159<br>369<br>102<br>64<br>1,730<br>405||
||190||134||
||||||
|||||211,692|



20 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2021** 

||**2021**|||**2020**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|
|**Support and governance costs (continued)**||||||
|Brought forward||212,650|||211,692|
|**Governance costs**||||||
|Board expenses|-||1,036|||
|Legal/professional|(409)||888|||
|Bookkeeping|5,317||5,479|||
|Accountancy/consultancy|3,580||4,600|||
|||8,488|||12,003|
|||221,138|||223,695|



21 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Balance Sheet 31 March 2021** 

|**Fixed assets**<br>**Notes**<br>Intangible assets<br>**9**<br>Tangible assets<br>**10**<br>**Current assets**<br>Stocks<br>**11**<br>Debtors<br>**12**<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>**Liabilities**<br>Creditors: amounts falling<br>due within one year<br>**13**<br>**Net current assets**<br>**Total assets less current**<br>**liabilities**<br>**The funds of the charity**<br>Unrestricted funds<br>**16**<br>- General fund<br>- Designated funds<br>Restricted funds<br>**17**<br>**Total charity funds**|**2021**<br>**£**<br>506<br>25,609<br>270,069|<br>**£ **<br>2,418 <br>245 <br>2,663 <br>279,843<br>282,506<br> <br>7,079<br>275,427<br>282,506<br>- <br>282,506|**2020**<br>**£**<br>506<br>25,369<br>347,336<br>373,211<br>(16,271)|<br>**£**<br>4,764<br>2,463<br>7,227<br>356,940<br>364,167<br>49,793<br>311,374<br>361,167<br>3,000<br>364,167|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||296,184<br>(16,341)||||
||||||



For the year ending 31 March 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. 

## Directors' responsibilities: 

· The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476; 

· The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. 

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. 

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 2 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by 

## **David Luff Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees** 

**Gareth Hughes** 

## **Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees** 



The notes on pages 23 to 33 form an integral part of these financial statements. 22 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements** 

## **for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **1. Accounting policies** 

## **1.1. Basis of preparing the financial statements** 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (issued in October 2019) 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) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), and the Companies Act 2006. 

The charity 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). 

## **1.2. Incoming resources** 

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when: 

- the charity is legally entitled to the funds 

- any performance conditions attached to the income have been met or are fully within the control of the charity 

- there is sufficient certainty that receipt of the income is considered probable 

- the amount can be reliably measured 

## **- Donations and legacies** 

Grants/donations are recognised in incoming resources in the year in which they are receivable, except as follows: 

- when donors specify that grants/donations given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods. 

- when donors impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in incoming resources until the preconditions for use are met. 

## **- Charitable activities** 

Theatre income - income from box office, performance fees and sundry other theatrical income is included in incoming resources in the period in which the relevant show takes place. 

Project specific funding - when donors specify that donations and grants are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to pre-conditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds when receivable. 

23 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **- Donated services and facilities** 

Donated services or 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 that economic benefit can be measured reliably. On receipt, donated services and 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. 

## **- Investment income** 

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. 

## **1.3. Expenditure** 

All expenditure is included on an accruals basis inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered and is recognised when: 

- there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment 

- it is probable that settlement will be required 

- the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably 

## **- Charitable activities** 

Production/project costs - costs incurred in the production and running of productions toured in the year. 

## **- Support costs** 

The administrative and overhead costs associated with running the office from which the company operates as well as governance costs. Support costs are wholly attributable to theatre production costs. 

## **- Governance costs** 

Costs associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity. 

## **1.4. Leasing** 

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the income and expenditure account on a straight line basis over the lease term. 

## **1.5. Pensions** 

The company operates a defined contribution scheme and the pension charge represents the amount payable by the company to the fund in respect of the year. 

24 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

**(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **1.6. Fixed assets and depreciation** 

Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at cost. 

Depreciation is provided at annual rates calculated to write off the cost less residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows: 

Website - 33% on cost Production/office equipment - 33% on cost Computer equipment - 33% on cost 

## **1.7. Fund accounting** 

Funds held by the charity are either: 

- Unrestricted general funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees. 

- Designated funds - these 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 - these are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. 

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements. 

## **1.8. Stock** 

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. 

## **1.9. Debtors** 

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

## **1.10. Cash at bank and in hand** 

Cash at bank and 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. 

## **1.11. Creditors and provisions** 

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. 

## **1.12. Financial Instruments** 

The charity 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. 

25 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **1.13. Significant Accounting Estimates and Judgements** 

In determining the carrying amounts of certain assets and liabilities, the charity makes assumptions of the effects of uncertain future events on those assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date. The charity's estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience and expectation of future events and are reviewed annually. 

## **2. Incoming resources** 

The total incoming resources for the year have been derived from the principal activity undertaken wholly in the UK. 

## **3. Other income** 

|**3.**|**Other income**|||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**2021**|**2020**|
|||**£**|**£**|
||Theatre Tax Relief (TTR)|7,131|4,832|
|**4.**|**Net (expenditure) for the year is**|**2021**|**2020**|
||**stated after charging:**|**£**|**£**|
||Depreciation of intangible fixed assets|2,346|2,346|
||Depreciation of tangible fixed assets|2,218|1,696|
||Inependent Examiners' remuneration|||
||- Independent Examination|3,750|3,750|
||- other services|(170)|850|



## **5. Trustees' emoluments and reimbursed expenses** 

The trustees received no remuneration during the year (2020 - £nil). 

The aggregated amount reimbursed to trustees during the year was £nil (2020 - £nil). 

26 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

|**6.**|**Staff costs and numbers**|**2021**|**2020**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**£**|
||**Staff costs**|||
||Salaries and wages|171,307|170,999|
||Social security costs|15,930|13,655|
||Pension costs|7,968|7,737|
|||195,205|192,391|



No employee earned £60,000 or more during the year (2020 - nil). 

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees and the Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £49,154 (2020: £84,408). 

## **Staff numbers** 

The average numbers of employees (including casual and part time staff) during the year was made up as follows: 

||**2021**||**2020**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Number**||**Number**||
|Support||4||5|
|Production||2||1|
|||6||6|



## **7. Pension costs** 

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme in respect of its employees. The scheme and its assets are held by independent managers. The pension charge represents contributions due from the company and amounted to £7,968 (2020 - £7,737). 

## **8. Corporation Taxation** 

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. 

27 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **9. Fixed assets - intangible assets** 

|**9.**<br>**Fixed assets - intangible assets**<br>**Cost**<br>1 April 2020 /<br>31 March 2021<br>**Provision for**<br>**diminution in value**<br>1 April 2020<br>Charge for year<br>31 March 2021<br>**Net book values**<br>31 March 2021<br>31 March 2020<br>**10.**<br>**Fixed assets - tangible assets**<br>**Cost**<br>1 April 2020 /<br>31 March 2021<br>**Depreciation**<br>1 April 2020<br>Charge for year<br>31 March 2021<br>**Net book values**<br>31 March 2021<br>31 March 2020<br>**11.**<br>**Stocks**<br>Stocks|**Website**<br>**Costs**<br>**£**<br>7,110<br>2,346<br>2,346<br>4,692<br>2,418<br> <br>4,764<br>**Production/**<br>**office**<br>**equipment**<br>**Motor**<br>**vehicles**<br>**Computer**<br>**equipment**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>**£**<br>16,298<br>27,700<br>18,804<br>14,339<br>27,700<br>18,300<br>1,959<br>-<br>259<br>16,298<br>27,700<br>18,559<br>-<br>-<br>245<br> <br>1,959<br>-<br>504<br>**2021**<br>**£**<br>506|**Total**<br>**£**<br>7,110<br>2,346<br>2,346<br>4,692<br>2,418<br>4,764<br>**Total**<br>**£**<br>62,802<br>60,339<br>2,218<br>62,557<br>245<br>2,463<br>**2020**<br>**£**<br>506|
|---|---|---|



28 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

|**12.**<br>**Debtors**<br>**2021**<br>**£**<br>Trade debtors<br>3,840<br>Other debtors<br>5,790<br>Prepayments/accrued income<br>15,979<br>25,609<br>**13.**<br>**Creditors: amounts falling due**<br>**2021**<br>**within one year**<br>**£**<br>Trade creditors<br>2,658<br>Other taxation/social security<br>3,942<br>Other creditors<br>2,250<br>Accruals<br>6,891<br>Deferred income (note 14)<br>600<br>16,341<br>**14.**<br>**Deferred income**<br>Balance at 1 April 2020 / 31 March 2021|**2020**<br>**£**<br>4,620<br>9,297<br>11,452|
|---|---|
||25,369|
||**2020**<br>**£**<br>2,755<br>3,581<br>374<br>8,961<br>600|
||16,271|
||**£**<br>600|



Deferred income represents fees received in advance. 

## **15. Limited by guarantee** 

The company is limited by guarantee and does not have share capital. Each member gives a guarantee to contribute a sum, not exceeding £1, to the company should it be wound up. At 31 March 2021 there were 8 members. 

29 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

|**16.**|**Unrestricted funds**|**Brought**|**Brought**|**Incoming**|**Outgoing**||**Carried**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**forward**||**resources**|**resources**|**Transfers**|**forward**|
||||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
||**General fund**||49,793|256,731|(335,392)|35,947|7,079|
||**Designated funds:**|||||||
||Operational fund||147,964|-|-|2,036|150,000|
||Premises fund||1,000|-|-|-|1,000|
||Equipment Replacement||2,000|-|-|-|2,000|
||fund|||||||
||Vehicle Replacement fund||38,000|-|-|-|38,000|
||Enterprise Post||19,310|-|-|8,370|27,680|
||Writer<br>Fellowship||13,000|-|-|17,261|30,261|
||Programme & Residencies|||||||
||Project (Splash)|||||||
||CRM Upgrade||5,000|-|-|5,000|-|
||IT Project Costs / Server Failure||<br>4,000|-|-|-|4,000|
||Organisational||2,000|-|-|(2,000)|-|
||Development|||||||
||Future Makers||40,000|-|-|(27,514)|12,486|
||Covid 19 Projects||20,000|-|-|20,000|-|
||Birds and Bees Filming||19,100|-|-|19,100|-|
||Other Artistic Development||-|-|-|10,000|10,000|
||||361,167|256,731|(335,392)|-|282,506|



## **Operational fund** 

The operational fund is to cover six months of core operational activity in the event of any unforeseen direct charitable and administrative costs, which may be incurred through the loss or reduction of a major income stream. 

## **Premises fund** 

The premises fund is to cover any requirement of office refurbishment, works not covered by premises insurance and/or company relocation. 

## **Equipment Replacement fund** 

This fund is to cover costs of new production equipment in the event of breakage or failure. 

## **Vehicle Replacement fund** 

This fund would enable to company to purchase a new/second-hand vehicle which is vital for touring theatre productions. The current touring vehicle has been fully depreciated. 

30 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

## **(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **Enterprise Post** 

This fund is to enable the company to invest in enterprise and business development by continuing to employ a dedicated member of staff with skills and experience in this area. 

## **Writer Fellowship Programme & Residencies Project (Splash)** 

This fund will ensure the Company is able to deliver priorities identified in its Arts Council NPO programme for the period 2018-22, without the necessity of securing external funds before going ahead. Theatre Centre's working model started to evolve in Q4 of 2019/20 and these funds have transitioned into the Future Makers structure (see Annual Report). 

## **CRM Upgrade** 

This fund has allowed the company to purchase, install and cover training costs for a new Customer Relationship Management system. There are various benefits a new CRM system will bring the company but vitally it will allow for the safe storage and management of customer/stakeholder data as part of GDPR compliance. The company has ended 2020/21 with a fit-for-purpose CRM platform in place and being tested. 

## **IT Project Costs / Server Failure** 

This fund is to cover costs of upgrading major IT/communications infrastructure or purchase distinct IT services on a project by project basis. Note that from 2019/20 this fund replaces the ICT / Upgrade fund. 

## **Organisational Development** 

This fund has been designated to allow for strategic planning and consultancy support on specific areas of the Company's operations, eg business planning in relation to access and inclusion. 

## **Future Makers** 

This fund has been created in order to enable the Company to design and deliver a new approach for delivery of participatory activity with children and young people. 

## **Covid 19 Projects** 

This fund has been allocated to support a range of projects establish in direct response to the Covid-19 situation. These will be digital projects to engage with school, families, groups and individuals during and after lockdown, and to support teachers to deliver curriculum learning and pastoral support to young people in school and through remote learning. 

## **Birds and Bees Filming** 

This fund has been used to capture a high quality film version of Birds and Bees, which will be made available to schools as an alternative to the live production that will not be able to tour in 2020/21 due to Covid-19. 

31 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

**(Limited by Guarantee)** 

## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **Other Artistic Development** 

This fund will be used to support the early-stage development of artistic ideas, concepts or projects that might sit outside Future Makers, for example to seed commission artists and / or to develop ideas in new media including digital. 

|**17.**|**Restricted funds**|**Brought**|**Incoming**|**Outgoing**|**Carried**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**forward**|**resources**|**resources**|**forward**||
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**||
||Creative Roots|3,000|2,968|(5,968)||-|
|||3,000|2,968|(5,968)||-|



## **Creative Roots** 

Assigned to deliver a creative careers development programme with young people in Redbridge during the summer of 2019. 

## **18. Analysis of net assets between funds** 

||**General**|**Designated**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**funds**|**funds**||
||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Fund balances at 31 March 2021||||
|are represented by:||||
|Fixed assets|2,663|-|2,663|
|Net current assets|4,416|275,427|279,843|
||7,079|275,427|282,506|



## **19. Financial commitments** 

At 31 March 2021 the company had total future commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows: 

|as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
||**2021**|**2020**|
||**£**|**£**|
|**Due:**|||
|Within one year|7,378|2,792|



32 



## **Theatre Centre Limited** 

**(Limited by Guarantee)** 

**Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021** 

## **20. Related party transactions** 

During the year the company had no related party transactions that require disclosure. 

33