Spotlight on…CURVE, LEICESTER
Photo credit: Hitz Rao
Curve published its review of 2023/24 in October, reporting a positive financial income against a backdrop of rising costs across the business and performances on their stages and on tour selling over 1.5 million tickets. Indeed, the review is full of impressive statistics about their impact on their communities supporting its position as an exemplar of Regional Theatre operations. In many ways, the venue is unique but the commitment and partnerships that underpin its success are a good model for other regional venues.
The theatre was opened on 11 November 2008 by Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II and stands in the centre of what the City Council calls the new "Cultural Quarter" on Rutland Street in Leicester. It was designed by the architect Rafael Viñoly, in association with scenographers ducks scéno and Charcoalblue and the acousticians Kahle Acoustics. It features two auditoria, one with 970 seats (referred to as the Theatre) while a 320-seat auditorium (referred to as the Studio) provides a smaller space with its own power flying system. The Theatre, Studio and their stages can also be opened up to create one large space with a capacity of 1,300. Unlike any other theatre in the UK, they have no traditional backstage area. Audiences can enjoy the full theatre making process, a peek behind the scenes and maybe even spot an actor or two dashing from the stage to their dressing room or enjoying a coffee in the Café.
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
Curve is run by the Leicester Theatre Trust (LTT), an independent charitable organisation, and it is a regularly funded client of Arts Council England (ACE), and receives annual revenue funding from Leicester City Council. It has successfully secured a host of corporate sponsors, trusts and foundations to support its work. The current Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster have developed a strong reputation for producing, presenting and touring a bold and diverse slate of musicals, plays, new work, and dance, which sits alongside a vibrant community and learning programme.
During lockdown, the venue staged two streamed versions of previous productions which, not only showcased their work, but also the venue itself to a wider audience. The first was Sunset Boulevard, first performed at Curve in 2017, with Ria Jones and Danny Mac in the starring roles. The performance was filmed 'as live' and streamed out online between December 2020 - January 2021. Sumptuously and boldly staged within the two Curve theatre spaces opened up into one large empty auditorium, with a band of sixteen playing on the stage and shot with seven cameras, it demonstrated how the small screen presentation of theatre can be every bit as exciting and engaging as a live show. The production was perfectly judged for the time, reminding the audiences of the empty venues around the country by turning the whole space into a beautifully and atmospherically lit sound stage from Paramount Studios in 1949. The roaming close-up cameras are often caught in shot reinforcing the cinematic backstory of Norma Desmond. The second show was The Color Purple, which was originally performed at Curve in 2019 and starred T'Shan Williams, reinforcing their ethos of bringing work to the venue where their local community could see themselves on stage. These two streams took advantage of the unique opportunity that Covid presented in making their work accessible to wider audiences and supporting the UK theatre industry. They do still stream works for children into a local hospice, but the economic and logistical challenges of capture and distribution make it harder to stream their main shows to wider audiences.
The review of the twelve months to March 2024 proclaims 251,230 tickets sold at the venue, with an average occupancy of 74%, which together with their touring productions took their work to more than 1.5million theatregoers. The numbers of participants on outreach activities are impressive too with 27,053 people in Creative programmes work, 392 schools attending productions and 1.3million digital engagements. The Curve Young Community Company put on several shows during the year including Kids 5-6: Arabian Nights, 7-9 Double Bill: The Accordion Shop & The Pack, Musical Theatre 7-9 Showcase: Decades of Musicals and Musical Theatre, and 10-13: Big Fish during June.
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
The diverse and impressive list of productions included Sister Act, My Beautiful Laundrette, Come From Away, The Lion Inside , A Chorus Line, The Lion Inside, An Officer and a Gentleman, and The Mountaintop. On 23 November this year, My Fair Lady opened to rave reviews for the Christmas period bringing exciting new talent to the production, with Molly Lynch as Eliza, David Seadon-Young as Henry Higgins and Minal Patel as Colonel Pickering giving the wonderful score a fresh feel with a twist at the end to send the audience home reflecting on Eliza’s future and the change in Henry.
Their ten touring Made at Curve productions and co-productions in the year took £46million in domestic Box Office income. 42nd Street played Sadlers Wells in London and then Toronto, The Wizard of Oz played at the London Palladium and Grease at the Dominion. The touring shows, produced in partnership with commercial producers, are a vital part of the venues strategy in promoting the city and bringing Curve’s name to a wider audience.
Chris Stafford reflected on the importance of the Arts Council NPO status in the success of the Made at Curve productions where core overheads are covered enabling more risk to be taken in the production budget and a good range in pricing from £10 to £70 per seat. He explained that serving one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the UK placed a duty on them to ensure that the local community see themselves on stage and in the theatre workforce and therefore, the importance and opportunity of telling diverse stories such as The Color Purple and The Mountaintop or in colour-conscious casting.
Partnership and collaboration is at the heart of the strategy whether in programming the venue against nearby venues like De Montfort Hall or Nottingham venues, or in working with trusted partners on producing and touring works. In 2025, they have already announced their own Made at Curve productions of Kinky Boots and the UK premiere of Muriel’s Wedding the Musical as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s hit production of Matilda The Musical, which will embark on its second major tour of the UK and Ireland starting at Curve in October 2025. TTR relief has been critical for them as a producing house in committing to shows and improving margins but equally important in supporting a larger volume of touring shows as a receiving house.
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
The total turnover to March 2024 was £14.8m. In year to March 2023, it made a small surplus of £55k on turnover of £17.1m including an ACE NPO grant of £1.9m and Leicester City Council support of £376k.
Chris Stafford told us that “2023/24 was a terrific year but although we look to the future with caution, we also do so with ambition and optimism to navigate the challenges. The astronomical rise in the cost basis across the board needs to be covered and as we approach our 20th Anniversary, the ageing infrastructure needs replacing with a current estimate of a £4 to £5 million capital spend to be met. Venues like Curve will need critical investment to support this infrastructure which is a central part of a city’s civic purpose and driver of economic and social prosperity. This capital funding and the commercial success of the work on stage is vital to enabling Curve to commission and develop new works and support its efforts to make theatre more accessible.”
Curve demonstrates what can be achieved with strong leadership, a clear sense of identity, strong collaboration and partnership with the city, other venues and commercial producers and a diverse mixed programme. Yet it still needs financial support and along with the rest of the regional theatre sector, must campaign to ensure it can continue to bring social and economic benefits to the city and ensure the next generation grow up with an appreciation and understanding of the value of live performance to our lives.
Nick Wayne
Nick has been involved in Producer and Venue Organisations for twenty-five years, seen over 1200 productions, visited over 160 of the UK Venues and invested in over 30 West End Productions