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The Grand Theatre Blackpool

THE GRAND IS A JEWEL IN THE NATIONAL ARTS CROWN

30-03-2011 | Author: Press Office

The Arts Council has announced today that Blackpool's Grand Theatre will receive regular Arts Council funding as part of the National Portfolio. This is the first time any arts organisation on the FYlde has secured this type of regular income.

It will allow us to broaden our artistic programming and plan ahead with a greater degree of confidence in this genre" Neil Thomson, Chief Executive and General Manager

In a bid supported by Blackpool Council, the theatre has secured £120,000 per year over the next three years to become a regional centre of excellence for contemporary dance.

Blackpool is the world capital of ballroom dancing and has a vibrant variety and cabaret scene, but in recent years the main contemporary dance company tours have moved to Manchester and the Fylde has seen audiences for this genre decline.

This regular funding will mean that local talent can be encouraged, and a new generation of audiences developed for contemporary dance.

The theatre will work with other organisations in the town and the region to commission new work using local dancers, composers and choreographers – harnessing the talent that already exists in the area.

This means that the theatre will produce shows for the first time ever as it normally only ‘receives’ touring productions.

The Grand will also be able to attract the very best contemporary dance companies to Blackpool to perform and run workshops for local performers and students.

The Grand Theatre general manager and chief executive, Neil Thomson, commented, “We are delighted that our plans for The Grand have been recognised by the Arts Council as being of sufficient national importance to attract this level of funding.

“It will allow us to broaden our artistic programming and plan ahead with a greater degree of confidence in this genre.” 


ENDS...

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact Colin Johnston on colinj@blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Notes for Editors:

Blackpool’s Grand Theatre – Heritage and History 

The Grand Theatre was opened on July 23, 1894 by Thomas Sergenson who immediately dubbed the theatre 'Matcham's Masterpiece'. This title is even more merited now there are few surviving examples of the work of Frank Matcham, the leading Victorian theatre architect. The theatre took just nine months to build and cost Sergenson £20,000.

By the early 1960s theatres across Britain were closing due to loss of audience to television and in July 1972 the then owners, the Tower Company, applied for permission to demolish it. In its place they proposed to build a department store. By then, however, following an application to the Department of the Environment, the theatre had been listed as a Grade II* building and there had to be a full public enquiry.

Early in 1973 the Friends of the Grand was formed and after legal and financial wrangling, the Friends of the Grand, together with EMI and the local council, put together a deal involving leasing the theatre for £10,000 per annum and final purchase for £250,000.
Last week the Grand celebrated its 30th Anniversary having re-opened on Wednesday 23rd March, 1981 with Timothy West and Prunella Scales in the Old Vic production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

For further information on Blackpool’s Grand Theatre please visit: www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk .

Arts Council England, National Portfolio Funding

The new National portfolio funding system will come into effect from April 2012 and replaces the Regularly funded organisations (RFO) system, which currently provides funding to 850 arts organisations across the country.

1,333 organisations applied to be part of the new portfolio.

Following its settlement from the government, the Arts Council is operating with a substantially reduced budget for the period 2012/15. Despite an overall cut to grant in aid of 29.6% it is determined to fund organisations at a level at which they can continue to produce the excellent and innovative art that audiences want and deserve.

However, funding for this programme is very limited and there have been a significant number of good applications that it will be unable to fund.

Demand for National portfolio funding has outstripped supply, but the Arts Council is confident that at the end of this process it will have a portfolio of excellent organisations with either an outstanding track record of achievement or outstanding potential.