2025-03-31-accounts

Livingston Players Financial Report 2024 - 2025

I shall run through the Financial Statement in chronological order, as usual.

As a reminder, all the profit figures which are on the financial statement are for this financial year only. Almost all our productions span multiple years, and so the total profit or loss per show is usually less profit or more loss than in any single financial statement.

A late invoice for microphones from SSPAOG resulted in an additional loss on “Footloose” from September 2023 of £450.

Our May musical this year in HPC was a near sell-out production of Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!”. Costs were kept as low as possible thanks to the work of the production team and this, combined with high ticket sales, created a magnificent profit of £4,280.53 this year.

Next up was our September youth musical. We chose the stage adaptation of the well-known film musical “Bugsy Malone”. Production costs were higher for this and ticket sales slightly lower than for “Oliver!”, but it still made a decent profit this year of £1,384.17.

We again presented a fundraising “Showcase” by our Showstoppers group in the Church. It ran for three nights, once again well received, and again with very low production costs. As a result, we made an excellent profit of £2,315.15.

Our final production of this year was due to be the comedy “Noises Off” by in January 2025. We were, however, unable to completely cast the play and as a result had to cancel this production. Strenuous efforts to find and cast a suitable replacement play were to no avail and we had to end up cancelling our HPC booking. Thankfully this did not result in any financial penalty from HPC, but did result in the loss of our deposit on the rights for the play. As a result, “Noises Off” shows a loss on the year of £462.13.

Income and expenditure continued for our May 2025 production of “Shrek”. Most of the expenses and income will be in next year’s report, but there was a net loss of £693.91 in this year.

Initial script purchase for our January 2026 play was £23.97.

Initial License Fees for our May 2026 musical were £890.

The last item on the statement is our general income and expenditure, which shows a loss of £7,349.93.

Our general income this year was very high at £12,664.49 but was outstripped by our general expenditure. As highlighted in the last two years’ financial reports, we finally received the invoice from our store owners for three years of store rental and this increased both our income and expenditure significantly this year. In addition, we made two significant purchases which will reduce our ongoing costs

Our largest income was Membership fees of £3,712.27. We have also received £3,200 from SSPAOG as their share of the rental of the scenery store over the past three years.

As stated in last year’s report we transferred a significant amount of our current account balance into an interest-bearing notice account. As a result of this we received bank interest of £1,485.69 over the year.

Our other income appears high at £4,266.53. This does, however, contain mostly small payments which are balanced in General expenditure (e.g. for merchandise and after show parties). The only large single amount was £1,169.55 from our friends at HMRC, being our Theatre Tax Relief claim for year 23-24.

General expenditure this year is exceptionally high at £20,013.42 As previously mentioned, we finally received our bill for three years’ scenery store hire of £6,400. Hopefully this will not recur and will revert to our more usual yearly fees.

We also made two one-off purchases of microphones and headsets which came to a total of £6,432.98. This will save at least £500 per musical in hire charges going forwards.

General expenses appear high this year at £3,215.21 but in fact almost exactly match our other income, after the removal of the theatre tax relief claim. £1,027 was for show merchandise. £679.50 was for “Bugsy Malone” after show party. £784.57 to Pam (various expenses - merchandise, after show party deposit, NODA badges, store rails etc.) and £150 deposit for our upcoming 55[th] Anniversary Dinner Dance. The other amounts were under £70 each.

Consultancy fees of £418 this year were as usual for production of accrual accounts at £250, and the preparation and submission of our Theatre Tax Relief claim at £168. It is a lower amount this year as it is a percentage of the claimed relief. A profit on the process of £751.55!

Business insurance and NODA/SCDA subscriptions totaled £1,012.85 this year. This includes two years of NODA subscriptions because of the timing of the payments.

Charitable donations this year totaled £1,536.56. We decided to add £1,000 to the GoFundMe for a former youth member in June due to a tragic bereavement. We added a donation of £406.56 to the bucket collection after “Bugsy Malone” to bring it up to £1,000 for the nominated charity, Dreamflight. In addition, we sponsored for £100 to attend a dance competition in New York and sponsored a table for At The Root Theatre Company for £30.

Gift expenses for the year were £533. £350 for outgoing committee members as thank you. All the others were under £50, usually for flowers because of life events.

This all means that we end the year by maintaining an extremely healthy financial situation with a combined account balance of £69,315.61.

Finally, I would like to thank our independent examiner who checks our accounts each year without payment. I am happy to answer any questions arising from the financial statement.

Treasurer.

President Report - AGM 2025

Thank you to for coming to chair this meeting and to you, our loyal members. My report is different from the treasurer's report as it covers the year from one AGM to the next and not the financial year.

After our last AGM in July, a small number of members performed a set for West Lothian Pride. This is now hosted by Howden Park Centre where they performed an Abba medley, a song from Bugsy and the Time Warp once again showcasing our company’s talent, highlighting our community spirit and representing our LGBTQIA+ members.

Our next performance was the outstanding youth production, Bugsy Malone. From start to finish, Bugsy Malone was a whirlwind of enthusiasm and energy! Our youth members were incredible at learning songs, dances and lines. We welcomed back our dynamic duo of who once again created incredible dances and fabulous sound. and amazing band were very excited to be in this show as well and relished the opportunity to be splurged! ensured that the iconic moves of this era were completed to a high standard by one and all.

Our production team was headed up by the incredibly talented and hardworking as technical director and boy, did this show have a lot of technical aspects! She was joined by first time directors . They may both be new to directing but have been with us for a combined 20 years !! They did a tremendous job navigating one of the bittiest shows ever and have truly been outstanding on the other side of the stage just as they are when they are onstage.

The backstage talents of were once again prevalent in ensuring this musical was brought to life realistically. We plan to continue to foster and develop our members talents onstage and behind the scenes but hope you agree that we have an enormous amount of talent within Livingston Players!

Our next production was the marvellous, Showstoppers! Our co-directors were

as our MD. This was an incredible success and once again, demonstrated the talents of all our members from youths to seniors! Thank you !

In January 2025 we got the license for Noises off, a hysterical piece about an amateur theatre company which the show The Play That Goes Wrong is based on. Unfortunately, we were unable to cast this. Disappointed but never beaten, we got the license for Anne Frank’s Diary but alas were unable to cast this as well. Ever keen to learn from our experiences, the committee have ensured, going forward, we will do a recruitment drive for more actors and, yes, in particular, the ever elusive, males! Stay tuned for the upcoming plays!!

February saw the start of the rehearsals for our adult musical, Shrek. It was one of these shows that brought us a huge amount of new faces to our cast. It has been very heartening to see a huge amount of talent joining us as well as some of our stalwarts of Livingston Players. Together, the cast of old and new members, really pulled out all the stops to make this a spectacular show.

Thank you to our terrific trio of a production team. Thank you, , for your spectacular vision and for bringing an incredibly difficult and well-beloved show into being without it becoming a panto. You kept us going with positivity throughout and heartfelt thanks. Thank you to our new MD, . We loved your never-ending patience, calming energy and, in particular, the mango, kiwi and banana song. Thank you, to our new Choreographer, Ewan who brought enthusiasm and hilarity to all rehearsals as well as fabulous moves. The three of you worked so well together and made this a hugely enjoyable experience for everyone. We love you from the bottom of our swamps!

Massive thanks also goes to our backstage team, without which, there would be no show. Thank you, , for your creative genius in some truly spectacular props! Thanks to for creating and building a stunning set. Thank you to for some spectacular visuals. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help in their efforts. It is appreciated. Thanks to our Assistant Stage Managers, and their wonderful crew, for ensuring everything was in the right place at the right time. Finally, a big thanks to , our Stage Manager, who oversaw all the intricate details in pulling Shrek together.

Thank you to all our volunteers backstage and front of house. Our raffle table and programme sellers help us to raise funds for following productions and in fact, normally raise more funds than tickets sales within a musical. This was particularly true for Shrek where £2500 out of the approximate £3000 profit, was from the raffle and merchandise. This could not be done without our Front of House volunteers. We appreciate you all giving up your time for us. It means so much.

Charity Work

Every year we try to engage in fundraising activities. We started out contributing to a previous ember both physically with several member performing at Howden in a fundraising concert called Concert for and with a monetary donation of £1000. was donating her time and expertise to a Dream Flight experience, so we raised £594 doing a bucket collection at Bugsy. The committee then agreed to make it up to £1000. We also sponsored At the Root Theatre £30 for table at their relaunch party in November. We presented House of Hope with the £1000 we raised from our bucket collection at Callender Girls in January 2024. We sponsored a local dancer,

from Broxburn £100, to help get her to a dance competition in New York and finally we raised money for Parkinson Scotland and Dementia UK at Shrek.

Social Events

Throughout the year we try to run a few social events for our members and this year is has been run by . We went to a fantastic viewing of Shrek the Musical in anticipation of the upcoming show. This was well attended by members and their families. We then did a similar thing at Christmas with the showing of A White Christmas where mulled wine and mince pies helped created a Christmas vibe. In February, we had a quiz night which allowed us to mix with some of our new members who had joined us for Shrek.

has kindly set up a Treasure Hunt and Picnic for 6[th] July starting at the north car park of Almondell Country Park. Please join us with your friends and family for an exciting day!

Management Issues

In August, I presented a draft of our business plan to members. We discussed priorities and asked members for their opinions and ideas. We met with the backstage members for ideas which was added. Ewan then organised a sponsorship/grant meeting where we discussed ideas and again these were added to the Business plan.

We had a reshuffle of backstage members positions as is finishing his University course and could no longer do the Stage Manager role. He is doing a fabulous job of set building and one of our plans is that we hire out more sets and the amazing props that make. will be in charge of this aspect as well.

Our plan is to expand set building team and he is happy to train people in this role. If you are interested in this, please let us know.

are currently Assistant stage managers and will be trained to as Stage Managers . This means that alongside, , we have three SM who can rotate shows or opt in or out. It means that we have options.

will continue to make their fabulous props and they were joined by a few helpers for Shrek. Again, we are planning to expand the members in this group .

If you are interested in any aspects of backstage roles, please let us know.

We have been running the Play Reading Committee, where people get together and read plays that company directors would like to put on or plays that they think would be good for our company. They read the plays and assessed them for the committee. The committee then uses this information to decide what show to put on next. have kindly taken on a leading role in this venture. If you are interested in joining this group, please let us know.

We have decided to try a new version of Friends of the Livingston Players which had a soft launch within the company before Shrek. This was to ensure we had sorted out all the niggles etc before we launch it to the public.

For a mere £80 a running year you get 3 free tickets for any of our shows, VIP snacks and drinks, a tour backstage and meet the cast. You get some free merchandise, priority booking and discounted prices on any further tickets. This is a great gift for a family member or friend so please advertise this as much as you can once we fully launch it. The hope is that we have a core audience for all our shows and to help spread the word about our amazing company. Thank you to everyone involved in helping set this up and thank you to for taking the lead on this going forward.

has also been sourcing new merchandise for the company which I am sure you’ll agree if wonderful.

has been gathering info and glad tidings from all of our members to produce a wonderful company newsletter. If you have any news that you would like to share then please do contact Karen.

As youth members, have voiced the youth perspective well and taken on roles to upskills themselves. Thank you! Now that they are 18, we are on the lookout for new youth reps so if you are interested, please let us know.

as technical support, and other committee members have been busy setting up a new website which I am sure you will agree is fantastic. We have all got new emails and are working from

a Goggle drive platform now. This has not been an easy job and I know that items to do over the next wee while. Thank you !

still have

will be launching a new method of communicating with our members soon on WhatsApp Community so look out for that.

has taken on the role of publisher and has done a fabulous job with the Shrek programme and other items. The Shrek programme has been entered into the NODA 3 programme competition so fingers crossed!

Amy and her show media helpers have done a load of work this year which has paid off in sell out shows again!

Ewan worked his sponsoring magic again and got a record number of donators. Thank you!

have done all their roles, which let’s be honest, are not always the most exciting, but are the backbone of the company. They work tirelessly to ensure that our company is run well and that we are in a secure place for the future. Thank you for all your hard work and constant support. I could not have done the last 4 years without you all!

Looking Forward

There are many, many things that the committee will be doing over the next year so please keep your eyes peeled for exciting opportunities and adventures.

But now, the moment you have all been waiting for... the next few shows!!

As we all know, Showstoppers is in November at Howden Park Centre, but we are still planning on putting on a January play and it is The Full Monty which will bring in the crowds as well as the men! If the girls can do Calendar Girls , it is only fair that the boys return the favour!

Our May adult musical will be All Shook Up which is a funny, feel-good musical based on the songs of Elvis! It has many principal parts as well as a strong chorus and who does not like the King?

Our September show will be a full company musical, and it is School of Rock where we can show off our youth and adult members talents alike!

The production teams and more information will be announced soon.

Life Members

As the President, I get the wonderful job of gifting a member our life membership and this year I am doing this to two current members. I can see the look of confusion on the committee members faces as they only know about one.

Firstly, I would like to award as a life member. He has been the President, the Treasurer and both roles together at some points. He is still a performer with a fabulous voice (the best ever some have said) and hysterical comic timing and is still directing. He has done The Odd Couple, A Bunch of Amateur's, The Steamie and has asked to direct shows in the future. He created and developed Showstoppers before handing over the baton and has supported others in their roles as Vice President and President. He has given us use of his outbuildings as a store/ workshop and is a kind, comforting man who has not only lives our values but is a Livingston Player through and through.

So without further to do, can you all please show your support and thanks to

.

The next person is a surprise for them and the committee. We have actually joked about this at a few meetings, but I wanted it to be a surprise. This person works on so many things behind the scenes that actually they should be getting a full-time wage for the number of hours they do. She has been my number one supporter and mentor; she is always at the end of a phone and the voice of reason. I know the committee will agree with me when I say she is the first person to volunteer to help do anything. Her knowledge of the company and her zest for everything is outstanding. She consistently puts others before herself and the good of the company. She is an outstanding actress, singer , dancer and choreographer. Can you please show your support and thanks for !

I can honestly say that these have been some of the most fantastic years with this company. I cannot begin to say how much the committee has done for me, and with me, as well as all the production team members and casts, from the covid years until now. It has been an honour and a privilege to have been your President and I look forward to supporting you all in the next phase.

President

ie

Report to the Charity Trustees of The Livingston Players from the Independent Examiner

Review of Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

L,ee: Independent Examiner have completed an independent review of the accounts of[The][Livingston][Players][for][ the][year][ending][31][March][2025.][It][is][a][report][in][respect] of an examination carried out under section 44(1)(c) of the Scottish Charities 2005 Act;

As Independent Examiner | state that there are no matters that have come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect—

• (i) The accounting records have not been kept in respect of the charity in accordance with section 44(1)(a) of the 2005 Scottish Charities Act, and

• (ii) the accounts do not accord with those records, and;

• (iii) the receipts and payments account does not comply with any of the requirements of Regulation 9 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.;

As Independent Examiner| can state that no additional matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination of the accounts to which attention should be drawn in the report, in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Independent Examiner

1 May 2025

am

|

Report to the Charity Trustees of The Livingston Players from the Independent Examiner

Review of Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

Summary of the Review

In undertaking the review noted above | have;-

• e Reviewed a sample of income transactions from source records, to the Cashbook Report in the accounts and to the bank statement.

• e Reviewed a sample of Income transactions from the bank statement to the source documentation

• e Reviewed a material sample (89% by value, 43% by volume) of expenditure transactions from source records, to the Cashbook Report in the accounts, and to the bank statement.

• e In addition to the expenditure items sampled there are a number of payments in relation to production fees (Directors Fees, musician fees etc) where there is no supporting documentation. These payments are made in line with fees agreed for each production.

• e@ Reviewed a material sample of the expenditure transactions from the bank statements to source documentation.

• e Reviewed a sample of bank reconciliations.

• e Validated the bank account balances at 31 March 2025 per the accounts to the bank statements. Note that a new Interest-Bearing bank account has been opened at the Royal Bank of Scotland during the period under review.

• | e Reviewed cut-off of accounts at 31 March 2025. The vast majority of payments are : processed by Faster Payment processing. There were no cheques written during the period : under review. There was one invoice paid in cash (£4,000 to Baxter Bryce / AW Land Purchases) relating to prior years Store Rental.

• e There are Income transactions that are not supported by documentation. A material number

• | of these relate to membership fees paid by direct transfer into the bank account. The | Membership Secretary maintains records of those who have paid fees. There are also various low value Income items related to sundry advertising fees, refreshments, and ticket

• ~ sales.

• e Anumber of transactions are now processed through SumUp processing. This mainly relates to small value transactions such as programme sales, raffles at productions and ticket sales. This has significantly reduced the value of cash transactions and had increased controls over such transactions.

• e From the sample of expenditure selected there were two transactions where vouchers were not available. The first related to a donation to Dreamflight, the second to a regular supplier (NODA).

• e The Accounts are prepared on a Cash basis and indicate a deficit of Expenditure over Income of £1,889.09 for the year to 31 March 2025

• e The Livingston Players have purchased Sound Equipment to the value of £6,433. Although this is an asset of the organisation, as the accounts have been prepared on a Cash Basis it is shown as an expenditure item in the Financial Statements

| am Satisfied that the accounts, as presented, are an accurate record of the financial

transactions of The Livingston Players for the period under review. ae _

)

Y2

Livingston Players Financial Statement for the Period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

~

	Income		Expenditure
	£		£
Balance b/f	71,204.70
Footloose	0.00		450.00
Oliver!	16,554.78		12,274.25
Bugsy Malone	15,832.90		14,448.73
Showstoppers 2024	3,374.74		1,059.59
Noises Off	1,452.00		1,914.13
Shrek	1,280.00		1,973.91
Jan 2026 Play	0.00		23.97
May 2026 Musical	0.00		890.00
General	12,664.49		20,013.42
Total ForYear	51,158.91		53,048.00
	Current account	£17,829.92
	Deposit account	£51,485.69
		Balancec/f	69,315.61
TOTAL	122,363.61		122,363.61

• Independent Examiner Date: Date: , c ; iat? |s) 2025 ifs] Bex

|

¥2.

Livingston Players Financial Statement for the Period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

Analysis of General Income and Expenditure

:

Income	£
Membership Fees	3,712.27
Store Rental	3,200.00
Bank Interest	1,485.69
Other Income	4,266.53
Total Income	12,664.49
Expenditure
Publicity Materials	155.00
Set Materials	52.82
General Expenses	3,215.21
Store Rental	6,400.00
Store Fittings	100.00
Subscriptions (NODA & SCDA)	605.00
Website Admin	157.00
Gifts	533.00
Donations	1,536.56
Consultancy Fees	418.00
Business Insurance	407.85
SoundEquipmentPurchase	6,432.98

Total Expenditure 20,013.42

Teasurer — Examiner Date: Date: : ag at ~ » sJ/Z2o2N i/olZeo2s ifs]

|