2023-03-31-accounts - The Little Theatre Donnington Society

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THE LITTLE THEATRE DONNINGTON

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 518484

The Little Theatre Donnington Society (hereafter known as the Little Theatre) is a registered charity. The object of the charity is to promote the education of the public in the arts and in particular in music and drama.

Contents Report of the Trustees Legal and Administrative Information Report of the Independent Examiner Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Assets and Liabilities Notes to the Accounts	Page 1-5 6 7 8 9 10-11

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE LITTLE THEATRE

The Charity Trustees present their report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2023. The financial statements comply with both the Charity’s Constitution and the Charities Act 2011.

Objectives and Activities

The objects of the Society shall be to promote the education of the public in the arts and in particular in music and drama.

In furtherance of the above, but not further or otherwise the Society shall have power:

(1) to present, promote, organise, provide, manage and produce plays, drama, comedies, operettas, concerts, ballets, pantomimes, and other public performances on premises occupied by the Society or elsewhere

(2) to rent or lease property for use by the Society for the above object
(3) to do all such lawful things as shall further the above object

Public Benefit

The trustees continue to give regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit (Charities and Public Benefit) in the relation to the charitable purpose of the charity. In the opinion of the trustees, the objectives of the charity as detailed above fall within the remit of ‘for public benefit’.

In addition to a facility open to all who wish to benefit from being involved in the arts and theatre, we continued to offer a cost effective, varied programme of performances for the local population.

Membership

Membership of the Little Theatre is open to any member of the public, aged 10 and above, who wishes to join and who is prepared to pay an agreed membership fee and abide by the rules of the Society. As at 31[st] March 2023, the Little Theatre had

1 President
5 Life members
70 Adult members
2 Volunteers

Achievements and Performance

Shows

This has been our first full year of shows since we reopened after Covid, we performed two plays, a musical and a Pantomime. These were

Deadly Nightcap: a play. Show dates 7[th] – 9[th] April 2022 A total of 240 individuals attended these performances
The Cripple of Inishmaan: a Play. Show dates 22[nd] – 24[th] September 2022 A total of 191 individuals attended the performances

Calendar Girls the Musical: a Musical. Show dates 3[rd] – 5[th] November 2022 A total of 701 individuals attended the performances
Peter Pan: a Pantomime. Show dates 21[st] – 29[th] January 2022 A total of 1163 individuals attended the performances

The Surplus/deficit made for each performance is shown below.

	Receipts	Payments	Surplus
SHOW	£	£	£
Deadly nightcap	2,230	454	1,777
The Cripple of Innishmaan	1,806	948	859
Calendar Girls the musical*	10,462	4,826	5,636
Peter Pan	10,716	4,188	6,528
	25,215	10,416	14,800

*During Calendar Girls the cast and crew kindly posed for some calendars, the profit made from the sale of these calendars was £547.94, £273.97 (50%) has been kept by ourselves and £273.97 (50%) is to be donated to Leukaemia UK, the whole of the £547.94 is included in the above figures.

Social Events

In addition to the productions, 4 social events were held for members and their friends, a Karaoke night, a fish and chip supper, a curry and quiz night and a Christmas party.

The Theatre

Maintenance at the theatre continued, this included a new alarm system a new sound system, work to fix the water to allow for hot water in the toilets, repairs to pipework in the stage/makeup room area after some frozen pipes burst and roof repairs.

Plans for Future Periods

We have the following shows planned for the coming year:

Waiting for God: A play. Show Dates: 27th – 29th April 2023
Habeas Corpus: A Play. Show Dates: 21[st] – 23[rd] September 2023
Hello Dolly: A Musical. Show Dates: 26[th] – 28[th] October 2023
Pantomime: TBC. Show Dates: January 2024

Due to the increased cost of license fees and the increased ticket prices for the 2023/24 performances, some work has been done this year to look at and revise budgets for shows going forward to ensure we are able to put on the standard of performances we strive to achieve, as well as being able to cover the theatre running costs and allow for improvements to be made.

Financial Review

We started the financial year in a very healthy position, with an opening balance of £35,684. During the course of the year, our receipts totaled £30,549 and our payments £30,418. £4,210 of these payments was spend on the maintenance mentioned above.

The Theatre continues to be a recipient for the Twincl Lottery run by Telford and Wrekin Council and received £1,459 from lottery tickets purchased. We have also registered for Give as you live, Easy Fundraising and Amazon Smile, this year we have received £106 from Amazon Smile however we have been informed Amazon Smile has been closed therefore we will not be receiving anything more going forward.

The Theatre has been lucky enough in 2022/23 to have been able to qualify for a grant from Telford and Wrekin Council of £1,000 earmarked to help with works we plan to do to the carpark.

Reserves Policy

With regard to reserves, we aim to maintain a level commensurate with the running of the Theatre for 12 months including enhancement expenditure and maintenance.

The trustees continue to review the charity’s requirements for reserves in light of the main risk to the organisation, a reduction of income. At the end of March 2023, the total charity’s reserves were £35,815, £34,103 of which is unrestricted. Although the level of free reserves available to the charity is equivalent to 14 months running costs based on this year’s expenditure, the Trustees cannot be complacent.

As the Theatre is now back open to the public and audience number have been at a similar level to before the pandemic started, it is expected that we will not need to use our reserves to get us through this next financial year.

The financial strategy is to maintain the level of the reserves by continually reviewing overheads and ensuring an adequate level of income is maintained through membership, charitable donations, show and bar revenue and fundraising activities.

Investment Policy

The Trustees and Management Committee have taken a low risk approach to investment, and maintain all the Society’s liquid assets in a bank account.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Structure of the Little Theatre

The Trustees delegate the running of the Little Theatre to a committee which runs the affairs of the charity. The committee meet on a monthly basis to discuss all aspects of the Little Theatre, including its finances, its productions, its maintenance, its fundraising and its membership. Committee members are nominated from within the membership and appointed at the AGM.

Governing Document

The Little Theatre is an unincorporated registered charity based in Donnington in Shropshire. It is governed by a Constitution adopted on 21[st] October 1986 and was entered

on the Register of Charities by the Charity Commission of England and Wales on 17[th] February 1987. The constitution was amended on 24[th] February 1988 and 23[rd] May 2017

Organisational Structure

The charity has a Board of Trustees consisting of at least 4 but no more than 10 individuals. The board consists of a president, a chair, a treasurer, a secretary and up to 6 elected trustees. The charity trustees are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity.

Appointment of Trustees

All Trustees are required to be members of the Theatre prior to being recruited as a charity trustee. At the AGM in July 2019, it was agreed that all trustees would be made up of members of the Little theatre committee. All Committee members are appointed or reelected at the AGM by the current membership in attendance and are then appointed as Trustees.

Recruitment and Trustee Induction and Training

Whilst there is no formal induction process in place, trustees for The Little Theatre upon appointment are encouraged to read through the literature available on the Charity commission website to ensure they know their responsibilities. Existing trustee will discuss the following aspects of the organisation with potential new trustees and answer any questions arising.

The role, responsibility and obligations of the charity trustees
The main documents which set out the operational framework for the charity
The current financial position as set out in the latest published accounts
Future plans and objectives of the charity

In addition to the above, a copy of the latest Annual Report is given to all new trustees along with a charity trustee role description, a copy of the constitution, the Charity Commission’s Trustee Handbook, the organisation’s main policy documents and the latest financial statement.

Trustee training is provided as and when required.

Risk Management

The trustees review its key risks during the course of the year and established a risk register of the major risks to which the charity may be exposed and systems have been established to mitigate any identified risks. The risk of not being able to adequately fund the charity is the biggest risk which is why the trustees try to maintain a minimum level of unrestricted equivalent to 12 months expenditure as a contingency for emergencies

Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with Health and Safety for all visitors whilst visiting the theatre. Disclosure and Barring checks are made on all potential new volunteers where appropriate. General Data Protection Regulations, Vulnerable Adults and Child Protection policies are adhered to.

Responsibilities of the Trustees

The trustees must hold a minimum of nine meetings a year, there must be a quorum of two elected Officers and 3 elected Executive Committee members present at each (all of which are Trustees for the Theatre).

Charity 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 charity and of its financial position at the end of that year. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended
practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
Prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is appropriate to
presume that the charity will not continue in existence.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charity (Accounts Reports) Regulations 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Acknowledgements

Little Theatre Donnington would like to thank all of their members, volunteers and supporters for the skills, commitment and time that they have contributed throughout the year. Without your support we simply would not be able to do the work we do.

The Trustee Annual Report was approved by the Board of Trustees on the 16[th] June 2023 and were signed on their behalf by

………………………………………………….… Mr Stephen Oliver-Davies, Chair

……………………………………………….

Mrs Sarah Bishop, Treasurer

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Charity Name: The Little Theatre Donnington Charity Status: Unincorporated Registered Charity Number: 518484 Registered Office and The Little Theatre Operational Address: Wellington Road Donnington Shropshire TF2 8AW Telephone Number: 07971993802 Email Address: thelittletheatredonnington@gmail.com Website: www.thelittletheatredonnington.co.uk Charity Trustees: Chair Mr Stephen Oliver-Davies Secretary Mr Dale Pritchard Treasurer Mrs Sarah Bishop Trustees Miss Nina Aver (Stepped down July 2022) Mrs Carol Robertson Miss Kimberley Cassells (Stepped down July 2022) Miss Claire Anne Hall (Stepped down July 2022) Miss Jessica May Bracken Miss Vicki Stevens (Appointed July 2022) Miss Leigh Kendal (Appointed July 2022) Miss Annika Dixon (Appointed July 2022) Ms Joanne Petford (Appointed July 2022) President: Mr Cyril Cox Independent Examiner: Bev Richardson M.A.A.T Charity AID Accountancy Services Woodland Lodge Dunston Business Village Stafford Road Dunston Staffordshire ST18 9AB Bank: Lloyds Bank 113 The Border Telford Shopping Centre Telford Shropshire TF3 4AE

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE LITTLE THEATRE, DONNINGTON

I report on the financial statements of The Little Theatre, Donnington for the year ended 31 March 2023 which are set out on pages 8 to 11.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements. The charity’s 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 required.

It is my responsibility to:

Examine the accounts under Section 145 of the 2011 Act 2011
To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under Section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act); and
To state whether any 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 seeking explanations from you as the 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 130 of the 2011 Act; and
To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act

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.

Bev Richardson M.A.A.T.

Date: 16[th] June 2023

On Behalf of Charity AID Accountancy Services Woodland Lodge Dunston Business Village Stafford Road, Dunston Staffordshire ST18 9AB

THE LITTLE THEATRE DONNINGTON

Receipts and Payments Account for the period 1[st] April 2022 – 31[st] March 2023

Notes RECEIPTS Grants & Donations 1 Membership 2 Charitable Activities 3 Generating Income 4 Investment Income 5 Other Income 6 PAYMENTS Generating Income 7 Charity Running Costs 8 Charitable Activities 9 Maintenance 10 Governance 11 Other Expenditure 12 ASSETS & INVESTMENTS Fixed Assets 13 Investments TOTAL PAYMENTS Net incoming resources Transfer between funds Cash Funds from Last year TOTAL CASH FUNDS	Unrestricted Restricted 2023 2022 £ £ £ £ 422 1,000 1,422 8,548 1,956 0 1,956 855 18,278 714 18,992 9,308 8,179 0 8,179 4,523 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50
	28,835 1,714 30,549 23,285
	2,785 0 2,785 1,689 8,749 0 8,749 8,652 9,951 440 10,391 3,976 4,641 0 4,641 16,607 496 0 496 250 9 0 9 82
	26,631 440 27,071 31,255
	3,347 0 3,347 0 0 0 0 0
	3,347 0 3,347 0

	29,978 440 30,418 31,255

	(1,143) 1,274 131 (7,971)

	0 0 0 0
	35,246 438 35,684 43,655
	34,103 1,712 35,815 35,684

THE LITTLE THEATRE DONNINGTON

Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31[st] March 2023

ASSETS AND LIABILITIES	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
CASH FUNDS
Petty Cash (General)	302	0	302
Petty Cash (Bar)	100	0	100
Lloyds Bank	33,701	1,712	35,413
OTHER MONETARY ASSETS	0	0	0
INVESTMENT ASSETS	0	0	0
ASSETS RETAINED FOR THE
CHARITIES OWN USE
Fixtures, Fittings, Equipment	1,000	0	1,000
Sound System	3,347	0	3,347
Bar Stock	530	0	530
LIABILITIES
Independent
Examination	250	0	250
Subscribers Advanced tickets sales	667	0	667
Donation to Leukemia UK	0	274	274

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 16[th] June 2023 and were signed on their behalf by

………………………………………………….… Mr Stephen Oliver-Davies, Chair

……………………………………………….

Mrs Sarah Bishop, Treasurer

Notes to the Accounts

1 Grants & Donations Grants Donations 2 Membership Membership Subscribers Socials 3 Charitable Activities Box office Programmes Calendars Pianist Fund 4 Generating Income Raffles Refreshments & Bar Sales Advertising Sale of Scripts Theatre Hire Twincl Lottery Amazon Smile Give as you live Easy Fundraising 5 Investment Interest Building Society Interest 6 Other Income Miscellaneous 7 Cost of generating Funds Refreshments & Bar Stock Raffles Socials	Unrestricted Restricted 2023 2022 £ £ £ £ 0 1,000 1,000 8,280 422 0 422 268
	422 1,000 1,422 8,548
	1,220 0 1,220 590 667 0 667 265 69 0 69 0
	1,956 0 1,956 855
	17,140 0 17,140 8,923 642 0 642 145 496 274 770 0 0 440 440 240
	18,278 714 18,992 9,308
	1,047 0 1,047 496 5,516 0 5,516 2,508 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 50 0 50 0 1,459 0 1,459 1,445 106 0 106 75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
	8,179 0 8,179 4,523
	0 0 0 0
	0 0 0 0
	0 0 0 50
	0 0 0 50
	2,614 0 2,614 1,650 171 0 171 40 0 0 0 0
	2,785 0 2,785 1,689

Notes to the Accounts continued

8 Charity Running costs Insurance Telephone Postage, Stationery, Printing Rent Water Rates Electricity IT/Website Electrical Equipment Other Equipment Publicity 9 Charitable Activities Programmes & Posters Calendars Scripts Costumes, Props, Materials Theatre & Bar Staff Hire Licences & Rental Fees Technical Fund Musician Fees Performing rights Misc. Show Expenses 10 Maintenance Fire & Safety Inspection General Maintenance Cleaning & Hygiene Refurbishment 11 Governance Independent Examination Trustee Expenses 12 Other Miscellaneous 13 Fixed Assets Sound System	2,378 0 2,378 2,378 0 0 0 0 327 0 327 203 3,000 0 3,000 3,000 192 0 192 202 531 0 531 2,598 1,009 0 1,009 89 374 0 374 99 938 0 938 83 0 0 0 0
	8,749 0 8,749 8,652
	1,000 0 1,000 241 262 0 262 0 433 0 433 40 1,504 0 1,504 789 29 0 29 0 3,634 0 3,634 1,091 47 0 47 10 1,600 440 2,040 540 370 0 370 1,061 1,072 0 1,072 204
	9,951 440 10,391 3,976
	1,210 0 1,210 1,261 2,089 0 2,089 2,285 478 0 478 84 864 0 864 12,977
	4,641 0 4,641 16,607
	250 0 250 250 246 0 246 0
	496 0 496 250
	9 0 9 82
	9 0 9 82
	3,347 0 3,347 0
	3,347 0 3,347 0