THEATRE'S ROLE IS NOT CLEAR
09:40 - 12 April 2008
Of Course, we are all delighted that the Mitchell Memorial building has received a massive reconstruction grant from the National Lottery, but are we all certain what the resulting building will be? And will it be run by people who understand theatre, which is certainly not the case at the present time.The Sentinel's article illustrates the heart of the problem for the city council. In your article, the building is variously called The Mitchell Memorial Youth Arts Centre, the Mitchell Memorial Youth Centre and the Mitchell Memorial Youth Theatre. Which is correct? And is the building only for youth groups now, as all these names suggest? What happens to the rest of the local arts community?
I hope the end result of the revamp will be a theatre. If it is, it will need to be run like a theatre. It must be run under the terms of a normal theatre licence and within the laws governing theatrical performances. It must have rules that make it easy for local groups to use it for theatrical performances, without council red tape. This is not currently the case.
For example, at present, groups using the building have to be out at 4.45pm on a Sunday, the day they enter the building to prepare for a production. The current management clearly has no idea that it is impossible to get-in for a production and have a technical rehearsal all before 4.45pm.
If the council insists on groups leaving at 4.45pm on the Sunday, when is the technical rehearsal to take place? If it has to be held on the Monday evening, that pushes the dress rehearsal to the Tuesday, the day that most groups open their run.
If the opening night then has to be pushed to the Wednesday, groups will lose a performance night, depriving them of some of the valuable income needed to pay the costs of the production and the hire of the theatre. It would be especially hard for groups presenting musicals, with their added orchestral commitments and very expensive royalties.
Another current problem is that the new contract for amateur groups bans all smoking throughout the building, even on stage. Yet, the new bill gives exemption to the stage during a licensed theatrical performance, since many plays often have smoking as an integral element in the plot. Surely the current managers know this. Do they keep abreast of the laws governing theatre? It would seem not.
Now, it could be argued that the building is not a theatre, but a youth centre, as some of the titles used in your article suggest. In that case, the managers can fix their own rules, without reference to the laws governing theatrical productions. But if it is used as theatre and has a theatre licence, then it is a theatre and should be run as such. You can't have it both ways.
Presumably, the National Lottery thinks it is a theatre or it would not have awarded the grant in the first place!
I do hope that the money will be spent with advice from people who know theatre, unlike the disastrous Regent Theatre project. That fabulous building was meant to be available to community groups, too, but the failure at the start to install proper sound and lighting facilities, and the current high cost of rental and staff wages, means that the theatre is now way out of the range of most amateur societies.
I await the details of Mr Courtie's revamp plans and the plans for the subsequent management of the Mitchell Memorial 'Building' with bated breath.
BRIAN RAWLINS Westlands