Kelvin Players Theatre Company
253b Gloucester Road,
Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NY
www.kelvinplayers.co.uk
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Annual Report
and
Financial Statements
2023/24
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Vision
To be and be seen to be the premier non-professional theatre group in Bristol
Mission
To create excellent theatre through the sharing and development of skills and expertise in all aspects of production and performance
Kelvin Players Theatre Company is a non-professional drama company. It is a member of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain and a charity Registered with the Charities Commission under Number 294367
Trustees' Annual Report
The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the 17 months ended 31 December 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on page nine of the attached accounts and comply with the charity’s constitution, the Charities Act 2011, regulations applicable to that Act, 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), effective from accounting periods commencing 1st January 2015 or later.
President – Milton Johns
Charity Trustees
The Management Committee of Kelvin Players are its Trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as its trustees. The Trustees serving during the year were as follows:
Chairman Mat Rees Treasurer Brendan O’Connor (appointed Sept 2024) Secretary Chris Hawkins (appointed Sept 2024) Artistic Director Teri Mohuiddin (appointed Sept 2024) Director of Strategy Jacqs Graham Membership Development Officers Miguel Garcia and Peter Spence Others Richard Procter-Lane (resigned Sept 2024) Nicola Schoonderwoerd (resigned Sept 2024) Ex-officio (non-voting) Vice President Mary McCallum Vice President Richard Jones
Legal Trustees
In addition to the above, Kelvin Players has four legal Trustees, Peter Almond, Richard Jones, Mary McCallum and Robin Turner, who would be responsible for winding up the assets of the club if it was ever dissolved.
Names and Addresses of Advisers
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➢ Bank: Lloyds Bank plc, 15 High Street, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 3DA
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➢ Independent Examiner: Linden Accountants Ltd, Scrapstore House, 21 Sevier St, St Werburgh's, Bristol BS2 9LB
Structure, Governance and Management
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➢ Type of governing document - The Rules (constitution) of Kelvin Players were adopted at the AGM of 26 September 1991 and amended at the EGM of 13 February 2000 (Second Edition), AGM of 23 September 2007 (Third Edition) and AGM of 25 September 2011 (Fourth Edition).
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➢ How the charity is constituted - Membership is open to any person aged 16 or over who is interested in the art and practice of any branch of the theatre. There are currently 225 members (206 previously). Kelvin Players is run by a Management Committee of six comprising: Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Artistic Director, Director of Strategy and Membership Development Director. The President and Vice-Presidents are ex-officio members of this committee but are not eligible to vote at its meetings.
Kelvin Players – Annual Report 2023/24
- ➢ Trustee selection methods - Members of the Management Committee are appointed or re-appointed at the Annual General Meeting in September. The Management Committee has the power to co-opt members should a committee vacancy occur during the year.
Objectives and Activities
The object of Kelvin Players is to educate the public in the arts in particular the art of drama by the presentation of dramatic productions and its mission is to create excellent theatre through the sharing and development of skills and expertise in all aspects of production and performance. Kelvin Players stages five productions a year or more, either at its Studio premises or at an outside venue as well as social events. Kelvin Players has no paid employees and the trustees acknowledge the considerable time and effort put in by members, not only in staging productions but also in maintaining and running the Studio premises.
Achievements and Performance
The following productions were staged at the Kelvin Studios in 2024/25. The Chairman’s report on pages 4 to 5 gives further details of activity during the year.
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➢ Spider’s Web
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➢ The Girlfriend Experience
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➢ The Weir
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➢ What’s Your Favourite Plimpadoo?
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➢ The Pitmen Painters
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➢ A Hero of the People
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➢ Romeo and Juliet
Public Benefit
In setting the charity's objectives and planning its activities the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit.
Kelvin Players’ Studio premises are accessible for disabled patrons and ticket prices are set at levels designed to encourage the local community and those on low incomes to attend. In addition, schools in Bristol and the surrounding area are offered group discounts to enable students to experience live theatre at an affordable cost. The local community receive information about all productions and ticket sales and feedback confirms that there is a high level of local support for the broad range of quality theatre presented by the group during the year.
Financial Reserves Policy
Kelvin Players holds a minimum of £10,000 in reserve to cover any unforeseen production losses. Additional reserve funds are held in a Sinking Fund to cover possible emergency repairs to the Studios. Reserves of £10,000 are also held in a Studio Maintenance and Development Fund.
Declaration
The Trustees declare that they approved the above report at their meeting on 26 October 2025.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Mat Rees, Chairman
Kelvin Players – Annual Report 2023/24
Chairman’s Review of the Year 2024/2025
“To create excellent theatre through the sharing and development of skills and expertise in all aspects of production and performance.” I thought I’d start this year’s annual review of the year with a reminder of how our mission is outlined to the Charity Commission.
I think it’s worth reminding ourselves of this every so often, because while the imperative is to create ‘excellent theatre’, it’s easy to forget that we must do this by sharing and developing our skills and expertise – which means we are here to do more than simply put on six shows each year. And there is so much more to Kelvin Players than just a few shows.
The point of an annual review is for us to look back at the last 12 months and assess how well we’ve achieved compared with our objectives.
And so, as you would expect given our mission, those objectives aren’t merely restricted to putting on six shows each year. They relate to a wider view of the work that goes on behind the scenes to maintain a club of this size with the number of members we have, and with the facilities we own and operate. It’s important that we cover this in an annual review, because the work we do ensures that we all have a club to enjoy – and you have a right to understand the direction the club is heading in, the work that goes on to make that happen, and how you can play a part to help that.
And much of that work has been going on for more than 12 months. In 2020, we carried out a review of the club which found us unrepresentative of the city – and many people thought we were not a particularly welcoming environment for new members. As the report identified, we needed to improve the offer and provide a club that was more inclusive, innovative, supportive, welcoming, entertaining, exciting, varied, with higher quality productions, and more opportunities.
So, following the introduction of a new streamlined committee structure in 2021, our main focus for the next two years was the membership. As we identified at the time – without members there is no club. So we put our efforts into ensuring we improved our offer, in line with what we identified in the 2020 report.
And so over the last four years we’ve introduced, among other things:
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A new flexible membership fee to improve inclusivity
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A greater range of training opportunities, including intimacy direction
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Additional rehearsed reading nights for more opportunities
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A new membership management tool to make better use of our membership
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The new black box productions to develop directors
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A new and greatly improved inclusivity policy to ensure we are more welcoming
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A new, more clearly defined brand identity and improved marketing strategy
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A new accessibility officer and actions to improve access
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Greater consideration to choosing more inclusive plays for all demographics
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A new social team and an increase in social events, including new members’ nights
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The introduction of our annual ball to celebrate our members
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And a greatly improved culture of inclusion and welcoming of new members
Since then, we’ve seen our membership grow from around 120 in 2021, to almost 260 today. At last year’s AGM I talked about how the focus had changed from improving the membership offer, to improving our building and facilities. That has continued in the last 12 months. If 2023/24 was about the big clear out – 2024/25 has been about investment.
New lights, a new lighting desk, a new projector, a new laptop for designing special fx, new seating, and of course – new decking. In the last year, we’ve invested tens of thousands in making our theatre fit for professional productions. We also invited an architect into the building recently to start discussions about how and where we could further improve the building, both internally and externally.
Kelvin Players – Annual Report 2023/24
At this point, I really need to give a special mention to the part that Jacqs has played leading, facilitating and driving forward the development of our facilities and building over the last 12 months. Her focus and determination has been key in pushing forward so many of these objectives and no-one has done more for this club in the last year.
In the next year, we will focus on producing a new review of the membership to see how people view the club now – which will help us decide how best we keep evolving and improving the club, and ensure our creative output remains consistently excellent.
Which brings me onto our output for the last twelve months – Spider’s Web, The Girlfriend Experience, The Weir, What’s Your Favourite Plimpadoo? – our entry in the Bristol One Act festival, The Pitmen Painters, A Hero of the People – our Black Box production, and Romeo and Juliet.
An Agatha Christie whodunnit; a real life drama about sex workers; a haunting play set in an Irish bar; an madcap comedy about politics; a story about socialist northern miners; a drama about small town politics and family life; and one of the greatest tragedies of all time – told through a rainbow lens. The last 12 months have been one of the most spectacularly diverse and creatively challenging in the history of the club.
Our productions have received numerous sell-outs and profits on every show; some fantastic sets – including a secret cupboard hiding a dead body – some spectacular costumes and some incredible accents; and some fascinating vibrating props. And aside from these shows appealing to a wide range of people, the last 12 months has seen many new members being given opportunities, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Which brings me back to our mission: “To create excellent theatre through the sharing and development of skills and expertise in all aspects of production and performance.”
So well done and congratulations to all the Directors responsible – Helen Hollick, Jacqs Graham, Mary McCallum, Tom De Val, Jacqs Graham (again), Nathan Hook, and Sarah Larence and Chris Hawkins. But a huge well done and congratulations as well, to everyone that has played a part in any of those productions – whether you were on stage, backstage or you just turned up to help build the seating one Sunday morning. Whatever your role, we couldn’t have done it without you.
Kelvin Players – Annual Report 2023/24
Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts
Report to the trustees of Kelvin Players (Charity no. 294367) on accounts for the 17 months period ended 31 December 2024 as set out on pages 9 to 11.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year [under section 144 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act)] and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act;
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to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under Section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act; and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the 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 the seeking of 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 which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act; and
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• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met.
Signed:
Steven Baptiste ACPA Linden Accountants Ltd Scrapstore House 21 Sevier St St Werburghs Bristol BS2 9LB
24 October 2025
Kelvin Players – Annual Report 2023/24
Statement of Financial Activities - for the 17 months ended 31 December 2024
(All funds are unrestricted)
| 2023/24 £ Incoming Resources Box Office Receipts 37,037 Lettings 19,231 Subscriptions 13,359 Bar Sales 18,633 Donations, Training and Fund Raising 554 Merchandise 1385 Other income 1440 Gift Aid Receipts - Interest 908 Equipment Hire - Total incoming resources 92,547 Resources Expended Direct Charitable Expenditure Cost of Theatrical Productions 15,759 Storage Rental 0 Studio Expenses: Cleaning 6,579 Gas and Electricity 13,788 Insurance 3,973 Rates and Water 1,646 Waste disposal; security alarm etc. 4,652 Studio Maintenance and Development 10,012 Marketing 4,737 Bar Costs, Equip, Licence and Refurbishment 7,752 Subscriptions & Donations 911 Depreciation 5,830 Sub total 75,639 Governance Costs Accountancy and Professional Fees 1,824 Bank and Credit Card Charges 3,564 Postage, Stationery, Photocopying 10 Sundry Expenses - theatre 1,089 Sundry Expenses - other 3,563 Internet/Telephone/Zoom 1,308 Sub total 11,358 Total resources expended 86,997 Gains/(losses) on revaluation of fixed assets Net movement of funds 5,550 Total funds brought forward 1,057,958 Total funds carried forward 1,063,508 |
2022/23 £ 22,009 11,472 5,700 9,788 1,023 - 224 - 214 - |
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| 50,430 | |
| 17,194 120 2,146 2,241 2,764 1,360 2,256 3,838 0 3,801 181 4,428 40,329 2,655 2,006 192 1,823 - 2,549 9,225 49,554 876 1,057,082 1,057,958 |
Kelvin Players - Annual Report 2023/24
Page 9
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2024
| Fixed Assets (note 2) Current Assets: Debtors Bar Stock Gift aid debtor Cash at bank and in hand Prepayments Creditors Total net current assets Total funds(all unrestricted) |
2023/24 £ 985,922 679 775 1,325 75,206 77,985 4,033 82,018 4,432 77,586 1,063,508 |
2022/23 £ 989,849 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 3,088 777 1,325 64,410 |
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69,600 1,577 |
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71,177 3,068 68,109 |
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| 1,057,958 |
Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees:
……………………………. ……………………………. Mat Rees Brendan O’Connor Chairman Treasurer 24 October 2025
Kelvin Players - Annual Report 2023/24
Page 10
Notes to the Financial Statements
1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
These accounts have been prepared for the 17 months to 31 December 2024.
The accounts have been prepared under the historic cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014, Update Bulletin 1 issued on 2 February 2016, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011. The date of transition to the Charities SORP FRS 102 was 1 July 2014.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
Depreciation is provided on Fixtures, Fittings and Equipment at 10% (on reducing balance basis) depending on estimated life.
| 2 | FIXED ASSETS Cost: At 1 August 2023 Additions during the year Depreciation: At 1 August 2023 Charge for the year Net Book Value at 31 July 2023 Net Book Value at 31 Dec 2024 |
Fixtures, Fittings & Equipment £ 127,154 1,903 129,057 87,305 5,830 93,135 39,849 35,922 |
Freehold Property £ 876,458 - 876,458 8,218 - 8,218 868,240 868,240 |
Freehold Improvements to Property £ 81,760 - 81,760 - - - 81,760 81,760 |
Total £ 1,085,372 580 |
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| 1,087,275 | |||||
| 95,523 5,830 |
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101,353 |
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| 989,849 985,922 |
Page 11
Kelvin Players - Annual Report 2023/24