‘Saved’ Spa Centre must reduce costs by £90,000

Warwick District Council brought in former Belgrade Theatre manager Antony Flint in 2009 with the remit to give the venue a future within two years. The council’s executive committee voted on Wednesday to end a review of the Spa Centre’s performance, but said it must reduce running costs by £90,000 over four years, saving almost £16,000 in its first year.

Speaking before the meeting, Mr Flint described the first 12 months as “pretty dire”, with takings 12 to 15 per cent down, but despite a “tense” month after refurbishment, income for October and November was 17 per cent higher than in 2009.

In the months since it has staged a profitable production of Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and drawn audiences from further afield.

Mr Flint said: “If I had sat here a year ago and told you we’d had a success with Brecht you would have said I was mad, but it’s more about getting a balance. In times like we have now you can’t rely on just one audience. It’s about creating a range.

“If you’re into Elvis tributes, Sally Morgan, Derek Acorah or Edinburgh fringe drama they’re here for you. My aim is to put on a programme in which there are two or three shows for everyone in a season.”

There are also live opera screenings from London, Paris and Moscow in the venue’s cinema, where a small stage has been added. Now hosting comedy and drama, the venue has doubled its income from around £22,000 in 2009 to £44,000 in 2010.

Other additions include new flooring, a repainted stage and new furniture with coloured lights at the entrance.

Mr Flint said: “It did feel like a civic theatre whereas now the foyers have been decorated all the way through. Cosmetically we look like a proper theatre and somewhere people want to spend a bit more time.”

Mr Flint now hopes to work on longer-term projects, such as putting in tiered seating. Set the task of reducing the operating costs of the theatre by five per cent each year, he hopes this can come from “working smarter” and higher ticket sales as well as school and other uses.

He added: “Theatres are community resources. They are like pubs, churches or football grounds. That’s what theatres are supposed to be.”