Eden Court Theatre announces compulsory redundancies and reduced opening hours as it registers with Warm Welcome campaign
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Measures including compulsory redundancies and reduced hours have been announced by Eden Court Theatre amid the deepening cost of living crisis.
It has also registered with the Warm Welcome campaign inviting people to use Eden Court as a warm space and is introducing new low-income cinema ticket prices.
The measures are intended to support audiences, artists and residents to access the arts while also protecting the organisation for the long-term.
It says the impact of inflation and the slow return to full houses across the UK theatre sector following the pandemic impacts the charity as well as audience members and artists.
With staff costs accounting for about 50 per cent of expenditure, Eden Court has undergone a staff consultation and voluntary redundancy process, and "regrettably" has just concluded a compulsory redundancy process losing about 10 per cent of staff from the 143-strong workforce.
Rebecca Holt, Eden Court's chief executive, said along with many others in the UK theatre sector, Eden Court was facing significant financial challenges.
"In order to protect Eden Court to best serve artists, audiences and our community into the future and to ensure its financial stability, we have carried out a detailed financial modelling process looking at every area of the organisation, which regrettably has included staff roles," she said.
"The team here at Eden Court is incredibly creative, kind and hard working.
"Whilst we’ve been able to preserve the majority of jobs, any redundancy is painful and my sincere thanks and respect goes to all the team for their grace and understanding in this difficult time.
"We are proud of the vital role that Eden Court played for so many through the pandemic, operating as a humanitarian aid centre, and we once again want to ensure that we can be a place of solace, relief and escapism during this crisis. Not just for audiences but for artists too.
"We hope that the initiatives we have announced today will keep our building bustling and allow a little relief for as many as possible this winter."
Moves also include a reduction in building opening hours by 20 per cent from January 9, opening an hour later Wednesday to Sunday at 11am, and at 4pm on the traditionally quieter Mondays and Tuesdays.
The proposed hours enable the venue to stay open as a community space seven days a week, whilst also allowing a reduction in running costs
The daytime café offer of soups, sandwiches and cakes will continue but in a new development, Eden Court will work with food and drink partners to provide a regularly rotating food offer. Each residency will be two to three months long and will seek to bring a variety of culinary offers.
Having registered with the Warm Welcome campaign, it says a welcome awaits everyone who wishes to spend time at Eden Court - whether it is to use it as a warm space to study, read a book, let their mind wander, get warm, or just be around others.
In addition, and in recognition of the increasing financial stresses being felt by many, other measures include a new low-income cinema ticket price of £5.50 for those who feel the standard ticket price is unaffordable for them.
It is based entirely on trust with no requirement to show proof and can be bought online or at the box office, no questions asked.
A new low-income ticket price of £5.50 for most OneTouch Theatre performances, based on the same principles as the low-income cinema ticket, is also being introduced. It is limited to an allocated number of tickets per performance.
Another measure is a pay-it-forward scheme for the classes programme.
Customers buying a classes subscription can opt to pay a higher priced subscription with the additional cost added to a fund to subsidise subscriptions for those who cannot access a full price subscription. The scheme has proved to be successful and a number of participants have already benefited from it.
A community table will also provide a free, allocated meeting space for community groups.
Eden Court says it will continue to present a thriving live performance programme, covering opera, ballet, drama, musicals, comedy, orchestras and more with many shows to look forward to in 2023.
It is deepening its support for local creatives with the launch of Eden Court Connect which offers artists, producers or creative industry professionals living or working in the Highlands a new, free membership scheme which provides benefits including discounted tickets to live performances, networking opportunities, access to creative space, hot desk space, one-to-one producer surgeries with the Eden Court producing department and more.
Key Eden Court funders are aware and supportive of the actions being taken to manage the charity through this period.
Don Robertson, chairman of Eden Court’s board of directors, said: "Eden Court faces enormous financial challenges due to significantly increased operating costs and lower ticket sales revenues.
"This is a common issue across the arts sector and has unfortunately resulted in the closure of some key Scottish venues.
"Eden Court trustees have approved a decisive plan of action to avoid us incurring a financial deficit which would have threatened the long term sustainability of the charity.
"Through these actions and with the continued support of our audiences, staff and funders we believe that we can secure the future of this vital and highly valued Highland asset."
