Cancelled shows and a huge roof renovation have made the last 18 months “very difficult” for Harrogate Theatres but the chair says it is going into 2022 “cautiously optimistic”.

Knaresborough-born Deborah Larwood, who has been visiting the theatre for years, worked in the arts sector for over a decade before she took a seat on the board four years ago. She then became chair in December 2019.

Harrogate Theatres is a charity that hosts events at Harrogate Theatre, Royal Hall and Harrogate Convention Centre.

Its biggest challenge during the pandemic has been generating enough income to cover costs whilst being unable to get on stage.

It has held online workshops, socially distanced theatre and launched its HT Together fundraising campaign.

Ms Larwood said initiatives like these and grants from the likes of Arts Council England have been crucial to the theatre’s survival and allowed it to plan for upcoming events.

Cinderella ends today

The biggest event for the theatre each year is its annual pantomime. As Cinderella comes to a close today, after running since November, Ms Larwood said she was pleased with its success although it is unclear how well tickets sold compared with previous years. She said:

“People’s habits have changed during the pandemic and some of our usual audience members still aren’t comfortable in the auditorium. We still had huge success in terms of ticket sales, but it was different especially with some schools choosing to cancel their trip.

“When we lost the panto in 2020 it was a significant worry because we rely so heavily on that revenue we earn.”

Some of the cast of this year’s pantomime, Cinderella. Photograph: Karl Andre

She added tickets for this year’s pantomime, Aladdin, are already selling with a number of schools also choosing to book.

Roof completion date still set for March 

One of the biggest projects undertaken in the last 12 months has been the roof renovation. The project has been managed by Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the building.

Work began in May last year and with multiple setbacks due to covid and building materials it is now due to be completed by March.

Ms Larwood said workers on site were “determined” to stick to that date.

The theatre roof during works in June 2021.

The board has been trying to recruit new trustees. Last year, Ms Larwood, said multiple trustees came to the end of their tenure, which gave the opportunity to bring in new people and expertise.

She said:

“The pandemic allowed us to refocus and its exciting to hear from new people who are equally as passionate as us about the arts.”

So far the charity has added Fiona Hunt to its board but plans to speak to more potential new trustees after panto season.

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‘Necessary evil’ to make people redundant 

During the pandemic the theatre made staff redundant in an attempt to remain open. Ms Larwood said it was a “necessary evil”.

Long-term closures in 2020 and 2021 meant a big loss in revenue. Ms Larwood said despite the grants, cuts had to be made.

However, the charity hopes to start recruiting again this year. She said:

“We had terrible levels of redundancies but we had to make sure we made it through the other side. Recruitment will begin in earnest, but it’s all about striking a balance. We need people but we live in a time of rapid change and hiring too quickly is a big investment to lose.

“Our core team has been amazing throughout, doing the job of a team normally two or three times its size. It’s now time for us to bring in new people as we move into a busy year.”

A £100,000 government grant has enabled the charity Henshaws to reopen its arts and craft centre in Knaresborough this month.

Henshaws announced last year the centre would be closed for the “foreseeable future” because it was no longer economically viable.

However, it received a grant from Arts Council England in the second round of funding awards from the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which helps organisations affected by covid.

Henshaws which supports disabled young people with special educational needs is inviting disabled people to come forward and apply for places as art makers.

The centre, which runs a range of workshops including music, crafts, pottery and horticulture, will remain closed to the public for the time being.

Henshaws chief executive Nick Marr said:

“Covid has had a massive impact both on the arts and crafts centre and the charity as a whole and we have been working tirelessly to continue to support those who need it most, so I am absolutely delighted that we are now able to take this major step forward.”

About 2500 people signed a petition in June to keep the centre open.

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The charity is hosting a virtual tour on May 12 between 10am and 2pm to give potential art makers and their families a taste of what is on offer.

In October, the charity announced a Harrogate-based provider, Homes Together, would take over its residential services due to its financial situation.

Harrogate Theatre has today been awarded £249,820 from a government rescue fund for the arts.

Other local venues have also been successful, with £238,590 awarded to Deer Shed Festival near Topcliffe, £117,500 to Ripon Museum Trust and £54,339 to Ripon Amateur Operatic Society.

Harrogate Theatre, which will remain closed until next year, said the award would cover its losses from November 2020 to April 2021

This money is in addition to an Arts Council England grant of £395,000 in July and £100,000 raised from an emergency appeal.

It means the theatre has now received nearly £750,000 to help it survive the coronavirus-enforced closure.

David Bown, chief executive of the theatre, said:

“The funding provides an urgent lifeline to Harrogate Theatre and many other arts organisations across the country. We are thankful for this vital intervention, which demonstrates our value to our local area and the wider cultural sector.”

Mr Bown hopes that the money will help the theatre to “return stronger than ever” in 2021.

Read more:

• Harrogate theatre will remain closed until 2021
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The government handed out £257 million to nearly 1,400 cultural and creative organisations in today’s first round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is run by Arts Council England.

Deborah Larwood, the theatre chair,  said:

“This support will play a crucial role in enabling us to stabilise the theatre following the devastating impact of the covid pandemic. In these most challenging times we have had to make some very difficult decisions, but this funding gives us the opportunity to focus on planning for the future.”

Harrogate Theatre has been on its knees in recent months but has welcomed a £395,000 grant from Arts Council England to help it survive until September.

The money is part of a £90 million fund separate to the government’s £1.5 billion arts rescue package – there are no details for that yet.

David Bown, Harrogate Theatre’s chief executive, told The Stray Ferret that he was “very grateful” for the money but he added that they still needed more support:

“This is a good amount of money and it will help us to survive to the end of September but we still need more support. We have had a fantastic response from Harrogate so far. We understand that a lot of businesses are struggling financially but we are important to the town’s economy.”

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So far more than 1,200 people have donated over £60,000 to keep Harrogate Theatre going. Donate by clicking or tapping here.

The theatre has been losing £1 million every three months since coronavirus forced it to close its doors.

Mr Bown also estimated Harrogate Theatre brings in around £25 million a year to Harrogate’s local economy which is leaving a “huge hole” the longer it remains closed.

Harrogate Theatre relies on the panto season which Mr Bown said they may have to cancel due to social distancing guidelines.

Two Harrogate charities have received emergency funding from the Arts Council in an effort to recover from the impact of coronavirus.

The pandemic has left many charities unable to fundraise making grants essential in securing their futures. Harrogate International Festivals and Artizan International have both received grants from the Arts Council.

Grants such as these are being put towards programmes to continue to support their members over lockdown and also give the organisations the opportunity to plan for future events.

The amounts varied between organisation, Harrogate International Festival received £25,000. The chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar said:

“We’re incredibly grateful that we have received this funding especially during such a challenging time for all. These funds will ensure we continue to deliver and communicate with our audiences during this pandemic. We have focused on our digital strategy producing and developing work for our newly launched HIF Player and bringing the arts into people’s homes. It has enabled us to pay our artists and to create a free podcast.”

Artizan International received a grant of £18,000 to help run online sessions in the upcoming months. Before lockdown the charity ran free craft workshops for adults and children with disabilities in Harrogate and worked with long-term patients at Harrogate District Hospital.

The UK programmes officer for the charity, Liz Cluderay said:

“Coronavirus has had a huge impact on us, we hold hundreds of craft workshops throughout the year but we haven’t been able to hold any over the past months. Our participants are already isolated under normal circumstances being vulnerable and disabled. This pandemic means that they are cut off from the few social opportunities they had available to them.

We had to look at the long-term problems we could face and we sent a plan to the Arts Council to hold our craft workshops over zoom. The funding is covering the costs for six months of weekly zoom meetings with craft packages sent to our members’ door. They are all very excited and looking forward to seeing their friends faces on zoom sessions.”

Harrogate International Festivals is relying on extra funding due to its loss of income during the pandemic.

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The Arts Council announced that a total of £64.8 million has been awarded to almost 9000 individuals organisations through their Covid-19 emergency response package.

Nina Baptiste, Senior Relationship Manager, North, Arts Council England said:

“I am really pleased that we have been able to support Harrogate International Festivals and Artizan International with our Emergency Response Funding.

“During this unprecedented time it is has been heart-breaking to see organisations being negatively impacted by the pandemic. I hope that our support will enable them to tackle the immediate challenges that they are facing.”