The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024. The legal and administrative information forms part of this report.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with current statutory requirements and comply with the company's memorandum and articles of association. The directors of the charitable company ("the charity") are its trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the trustees.
Charitable Objectives
The company's charitable objectives are to promote, maintain, improve and advance education, particularly by encouragement of the Arts, including the Arts of Drama, Ballet, Music, Singing, Literature, Sculpture and Painting with particular reference to presenting new texts and adaptations of classical texts in a manner firmly rooted in the North of England.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the company should undertake.
Northern Broadsides Theatre Company provides access to the arts for the community throughout the Yorkshire region and beyond. The company tours the UK and internationally giving performances of classical and new plays that are dramatic, educational and fun. The company's venues include theatres and educational establishments. Theatrical workshops are also carried out in association with various schools.
Public Benefit Reporting
The trustees consider they have complied with the duty in section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2022 having due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission.
Chair's report
I am delighted to report another successful year for Northern Broadsides.
It was a pleasure to welcome new board members Kate Mroczkowski, Andrew Pyke and Nelli Yli-Malmi and we adopted a new governance structure with the appointment of Patsy Gilbert and Lucinda Harvey as Joint Vice Chairs. I am especially proud of the collaborative way in which Northern Broadsides is run, both across the distributed leadership at board level and under the direction of our exceptional joint Chief Executives Ruth Cooke and Laurie Sansom. We were sad to say goodbye to Trustee Pamala Bhupal and thank her for her contribution to our development.
In a further expansion of the team, we were delighted to appoint two new members of staff – Sarah Oliver-Webb as Finance Administrator and Kassie Jones as Production & Administration Assistant. We are already reaping the rewards of this expansion in the skills and talent of our team and I would like to take this opportunity to record my thanks to all our Trustees, staff, freelancers and volunteers for their energy and hard work in helping us promote healthy and vibrant communities in the North by sharing powerful stories made by and for its diverse people.
While the environment for touring theatre remains challenging, the year began with the continuation of our Quality Street tour. The production was co-created with a group of retired factory workers and co-produced with the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme. We received some excellent reviews and the production was particularly well-received in Northern cities and towns.
This was a year that saw us deepen our roots in our home of Calderdale. Our Iron People project began with free Family Creativity Days funded by Calderdale Council and delivered in partnership with artists living and working in our local community. Further workshops followed, including a Writing Eco Work for Children workshop at The Piece Hall. The Writers' Refuge programme for people seeking asylum continued with a residency for refugees and Ukrainian migrants, in collaboration with Arvon, St. Augustine’s Centre, the Valley of Sanctuary and the Library Service. We have also established a new youth theatre in Park Ward.
Other highlights included the launch of our Life in a Northern Town project alongside partners Customs House, South Shields, Blackpool Grand and Barnsley Civic and research and development work for future tours was undertaken, including work with Shakespeare North Playhouse. This year’s Winter Tales podcast collection included Jeanette Winterson reading her own story “The Spirit of Christmas” as its centrepiece and original stories were commissioned from Anjum Malik, Clare Shaw and Hana Gillani.
We are grateful for the ongoing support of our audiences, donors, partners and friends. In particular, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Arts Council England as our primary funder for their encouragement and backing.
I am excited as we embark on another year co-creating touring and place-making theatre that breaks down social, geographic and economic barriers and look forward to our continuing work together.
Deborah Baker
(Known as Debbie Richards)
Achievements and performance
Quality Street
Quality Street opened at our co-producing partner venue the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme in March 2023 before touring to 13 venues across the country. Despite excellent opening reviews and an enthusiastic response from audiences, it was quickly apparent that the touring climate for drama remained extremely challenging. It was hoped that sales and income would reach previously achieved pre-pandemic figures, however they bore closer resemblance to As You Like It figures, which suffered challenges due to COVID-19. In particular we experienced lower audiences in new, commercial and Southern venues.
The financial underperformance of the tour compared to forecasted estimates held considerable implications and has guided the company to explore alternative models for future touring productions.
Iron People
Iron People is an ambitious new community arts project inspired by the environmental message behind two books by Ted Hughes, The Iron Woman and The Iron Man. The project is part of the CultureDale programme, Calderdale’s Year of Culture 2024, and involves community groups across the borough engaging in acting and writing workshops, puppet-making, movement and family creativity sessions. Local residents are given the opportunity to work with writers, makers, performers and eco-groups to co-create work that evokes the spirit of where they live and celebrates their connection with the natural environment.
Co-created by Calderdale’s diverse communities, its unique freelance artists and organisations, and led by Northern Broadsides, the project commenced in autumn 2023 with a series of free-to-attend family creativity days across Calderdale in Sowerby Bridge, Elland, Mytholmroyd and Todmorden. A special creativity day was also held for the children and parents of Parkinson Lane Community Primary School. Across spring 2024, we hosted three poetry workshops with Ian Humphreys in Todmorden, Sowerby Bridge and Halifax, and also launched taster sessions for our adult acting workshop programme at our home in Dean Clough.
Life in a Northern Town
Delivered in partnership with Barnsley Civic, The Customs House (South Shields) and Blackpool Grand Theatre, Life in a Northern Town (LIANT) is new three-year programme that supports the creativity of young people across the North of England. Through a series of workshops, residencies, peer learning and sharing opportunities, the programme aims to develop and co-produce new work by diverse artists and provide a ladder into the profession for under-represented communities. In this first year of the programme, the cohort of young writers met online for writing masterclasses, learning to develop stories about their hometown and create their own short plays. This year also saw preparations made ahead of the first LIANT residency taking place in April 2024.
The Writer’s Refuge
Our regular free-to-access creative writing workshops for refugees and people seeking asylum continued at St Augustine’s Centre in Park Ward, Halifax. In partnership with St Augustines, Artists in Exile and Calder Community Cares, in October 2023 our writers came together for a week-long residential at Arvon’s Lumb Bank with tutors Anjum Malik, Iryna Shuvalova and mid-week guest Yomi Sode. The writers have since been working with local poet Clare Shaw to learn the basics of writing poetry and plays.
Shakespeare R&D
In March 2024, we visited Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot for research and development on a potential title for a future co-production and tour. We worked with actors Cora Kirk and Adam Fenton, spoken word artist Blue Saint and movement director Jen Malarkey, with a particular focus on exploring one of Shakespeare’s protagonists through a neurodivergent lens. Young people from Imaginarium Youth Theatre, an award-winning theatre and community arts organisation based in Knowsley, joined the team to work on developing characters, soliloquies, script layering and performing on a beat.
Winter Tales
Our annual podcast series returned at the end of 2023. This year’s eight stories centred on the theme of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas. We worked with composer Robert Bentall, writer and narrator, Jeanette Winterson, actor Andrew Whitehead, actor Samuel Barnett, poet Clare Shaw, writer Anjum Malik, actor Jamie Parker and Hana Gillani, a writer from our very own Writer’s Refuge programme.
Future plans and development
Iron People
2024/25 sees the launch of Northern Broadsides’ first ever youth theatre as part of our Iron People project. Aimed at young people aged 11-18 living in Park Ward, Halifax, the youth theatre aims to increase access to free creative opportunities in the area and enable young people to develop their skills in drama, build confidence, make friends and encourage team building, self-expression and collaboration. Alongside this, we will launch community projects in Halifax, Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden, as well as borough-wide actors and writers groups, inviting local residents to engage in a variety of environmentally focussed creative workshop programmes to explore, celebrate and protect their connection with home.
The project is made possible by funding from (at the time of writing) Calderdale Borough Council, West Yorkshire Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund, Calderdale Community Foundation, the Liz and Terry Brammall Foundation and UKSPF. We await the outcome of further funding applications.
Life in a Northern Town
In April 2024, the LIANT cohort came together for a writing residency at IOU’s Hebden Bridge Hostel. Joined by Artistic Director Laurie Sansom and two leading playwrights, the young writers developed characters for short monologues and duologues ahead of a group sharing at the end of the week. The second year of the programme will also see the young writers engage in a series of online playwright masterclasses and opportunities to collaborate again in person. Fundraising plans will also be implemented to secure further support for the programme and enable development of the most promising work into a piece of mid-scale touring theatre.
The Writer’s Refuge
Creative writing workshops will continue at St Augustine’s in Park Ward, Halifax for refugees and people seeking asylum. At the end of May, the writers came together for a residential in Grasmere kindly hosted by the Glenthorne Quaker Centre & Guest House. In June 2024 writers presented their work in public sharings at the We Are Calderdale celebration and Refugee Week events. Further activity will take place as part of the Iron People project and we will seek further funding to continue the project into 2025/26.
Shakespeare R&D
A second phase of development of the potential title for future touring took place across a week in June 2024 at Leeds Conservatoire when students worked with our creative team to explore scenes through movement, music and performance. Co-producing partnerships will be explored and further stages of development agreed.
Winter Tales
Our festive podcasts are planned to return in December 2024. Building on learning and engagement from previous years, we are exploring new formats and approaches to further platform a diverse mixture of new, young and classic writers, and engage listeners.
2025 Touring Production
In 2024/25 we will also plan and prepare for a mid-scale tour to take place in autumn 2025. The model for the tour will take on valuable learning from recent tours of As You Like It and Quality Street. Agreements with co-producers are in progress and the title of the production will be announced once development begins.
Financial review
Results of the year
The charity has net expenditure for the year of £26,576 (2023 - £60,756 net expenditure). This is made up of net income in unrestricted funds of £10,610 and net expenditure from restricted funds of £37,186. The main funding sources for the charity are from the sale of tickets for the theatre performances and from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation. The funding sources directly support the objectives of the charity.
The net expenditure from restricted funds includes depreciation of the costs associated with the redevelopment of the Viaduct Theatre in 2016 and 2017. The company has secured a 10-year lease on the property and the costs are being depreciated over the life of the lease. It is important to note that these restricted funds represent neither funds that can be spent nor an asset that can realistically be sold. However, they represent a significant improvement to the infrastructure of the organisation which is intended to reduce costs and generate income for future years. Also included within restricted funds this year is a Calderdale Cultural Fund grant of £15,000 which was spent in the year.
Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the Board of Trustees to keep sufficient reserves to ensure the sustainability of the charity and its ability to fulfil its objects for the foreseeable future. In common with the charitable sector as a whole, the Arts face uncertain times in terms of funding and the current economic climate continues to place pressure on all forms of income. The financial challenges experienced in recent years demonstrate the importance of the reserves in ensuring the charity can maintain its activity despite inevitable fluctuations in performance. The company is mindful of the need to ensure financial sustainability while looking for innovative ways to produce art and regularly looks for alternative funding streams to support this work.
The reserves policy sets a recommended target range of reserves of £110,000 to £225,000.
The unrestricted reserves held at 31 March 2024 of £159,413 fall within this range. The level of reserves is reviewed throughout the year and if the level of reserves falls more than 20% outside the target range, the Board will consider actions needed to either increase or reduce the level of reserves held.
Risk management
The major risks to which the charity is exposed are continually reviewed and systems have been established in order to mitigate these risks.
Structure, governance and management
Trustees
The following have served on the Board of Trustees during the period:
Appointment of trustees
As set out in the articles of association the chair of the trustees is nominated and appointed by the existing trustees. The trustees have the power to co-opt further members in order to fulfil specialist roles. Open advertisement has been used to recruit new trustees and they are interviewed by a panel of existing trustees and members of the Executive before being invited to join the Board.
Trustee induction and training
New trustees undergo an induction to brief them on their legal obligations as required by charity and company law, the content of the memorandum and articles of association, decision making process, the business plan and recent financial performance of Northern Broadsides. During their induction, new trustees will meet key employees and other trustees.
The Organisation
There have been five members of the team during this period:
Laurie Sansom - Artistic Director/ Joint CEO
Ruth Cooke - Executive Director/Joint CEO
Jess Rooney - Marketing and Communications Manager
Kassie Jones - Production and Admin Assistant (Appointed December 2023)
Sarah Oliver-Webb - Finance Administrator (Appointed January 2024)
Contractual/freelance staff, all actors, technicians and marketing personnel are engaged throughout the year for particular projects/productions.
The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
Signed on behalf of the board of trustees
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Northern Broadsides Theatre Company (the company) for the year ended 31 March 2024.
As the trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2022 (the 2022 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2022 Act.
Since the company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2022 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ACCA, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Northern Broadsides Theatre Company is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Dean Clough, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 5AX.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the company's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. This expectation is based on having surplus unrestricted reserves at the year end of £159,413. The trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the company has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.
Charitable expenditure comprise those costs incurred by the charity in delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
At each reporting end date, the company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The company has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the company's balance sheet when the company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. Contributions payable for the year are charged to the profit and loss account.
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Arts Council Grant
Other grant income
Room hire
Sale of goods
Travel & subsistance
Transport costs
Insurance
Marketing & publicity
Royalties payable
Postage and stationery
Telephone and internet
Premises costs
Sundry expenses
Bank charges
Project staff costs were previously included in staff costs in 2023 and from 2024 these costs are now allocated under Direct project costs.
Loss on disposal
Marketing and publicity
Direct project costs
Marketing and publicity
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Notes
The Viaduct Improvement fund comprises of donations and a capital grant from Arts Council England to improve the facilities at the venue. The closing balance represents the Net Book Value of the capital expenditure and will be released over the life of the assets.
The Calderdale Cultural Fund grant received in the year was a restricted grant to be spent only on the project for which the funds were obtained. All funds were spent within the year.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.
The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £11,573 (2023: £15,399).The amount due to the fund at the end of 2024 was £1,208 (2023: £3,940). There were 5 employees that were in this scheme during 2024 (2023: 3).
Unrestricted
Restricted
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
The company had no material debt during the year.