NT Does Sundays Year-round, Weathers Recession

The National Theatre will begin permanent, year-round, seven-day-a-week programming from summer 2009, following completion of the three-month trial of Sunday openings that launches with the Sunday matinee of War Horse on 21 September (See News, 22 May 2008).

NT artistic director Nicholas Hytner confirmed the scheduling change at a press briefing this afternoon to launch the National Theatre’s 2007-8 Annual Report (See Today’s Other News for future programming revelations) and predicted that, once operational, it will have “a domino effect on the West End”.

Though the NT’s Sunday implementation has been more than three years in the planning, Hytner and executive director Nick Starr said that agreeing terms with various unions – including actors’ union Equity, which voted four-to-one in favour during a members’ ballot – was, in the end, more straightforward than anticipated. There was general agreement with the NT’s own view: “We’re a public service an we’re responding to what we very strongly believe the audience wants and needs.”

Building plans

Beyond the expanding opening hours, the NT’s management team is now looking at what else can be done with the listed building itself to make the theatre friendlier and more accessible. A conservation management plan has been commissioned from architects Haworth Tompkins to develop a future building strategy.

Amongst items on the wish list are: better connections with the river, better usage of vacant land at the rear and sides of the building, expanded education and designer facilities and an improved Cottesloe foyer, as well as overall, more ways to entice South Bank footfall which has dramatically increased in recent years to 20 million per annum.

“This building should be making a big hello (to those people), every day of the year, every hour of the day,” said Hytner. Starr added that, while not wanting to undermine original architect Denys Lasdun’s original vision, “we’re taking another look (at what’s now possible) from a position of respect for the building”.

Recession proofing

With daily reports of the worsening worldwide economy, Hytner was inevitably quizzed on effects of the credit crunch at the NT’s box office. His response was far from doom and gloom: “It’s not yet affected our audiences,” said Hytner. “Wisdom is, theatre is one of the last things people stop doing. Theatre did rather well in the last recession.”

The NT has also guarded against the inevitable tightening of consumers’ belts by continuing the wildly successful Travelex £10 Season and keeping overall ticket price rises outside of Travelex still well below the rate of inflation over the past five years. Corporate sponsorships have also remained buoyant. As a result, said, Hytner, “We’re pretty well placed to ride out a recession.”

Annual Report: Facts & figures

The National’s 2007-8 Annual Report shows that attendances across the financial year, ending on 30 March 2008, witnessed a slight increase on last year with 730,000 paid attendances taking houses to 87% of capacity – compared to 85% in 2006-7, 84% in 2005-6 and the all-time high of 94% in 2004-5 (the double-whammy year of The History Boys and His Dark Materials).

Capacity was even higher – 90% – for the Travelex £10 Season, which will return for its seventh year in 2009, and higher still – an incredible 99% (some 12% of them under-18s) – for the year’s biggest earner, the multi award-winning adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse, which alone took £2.3 million at the box office last year and has returned to the repertoire this month.

Financially, turnover for the year increased to £49 million, and the NT achieved a surplus of £93,000 taking unrestricted reserves to their target level of £1 million.

During the 2007/2008 financial year, the National mounted 26 productions (19 of them new), had three productions (The History Boys, Rafta Rafta, Chatroom/Citizenship) touring the UK for 25 weeks plus a schools education tour, had one production (The Seafarer) transfer to Broadway (care of Boyett Ostar Productions and its first-look arrangement), had another (Happy Days) tour internationally, and acted as its own West End producer for the second time (for The History Boys‘ final London season). In total, 920,000 people saw stage performances given by the NT during the year.

Other key developments during the financial year included: the reopening of the NT Studio after a £6 million refurbishment; introduction of the Entry Pass scheme, providing £5 tickets to 15- to 19-year-olds; and the inauguration of the new outdoor entertainment space, The Deck, during the summer.

The Annual Report is available to download from the National Theatre website.

– by Terri Paddock