EVITA Photograph Marc Brenner
WELCOME
We are delighted to report another terrific year for Curve with continued success both on and off stage. Looking back over the last 12 months, we feel immense pride in the incredible work delivered by our fantastic team of staff and freelancers; they really are the beating heart of Curve, and we would be nothing without them.
Throughout the last year we sold over 250,000 tickets across our three stages with performances playing to just under 75% average occupancy. We were delighted to present a dynamic slate of 11 Made at Curve ‘homegrown’ productions alongside a first-class visiting programme. From EVITA and MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, through to THE OWL WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS, SIX and Matthew Bourne’s ROMEO AND JULIET; there really was something for everyone across the year.
Flying the flag for Leicester and Curve is now part of the DNA of our theatre, and in the last 12 months no fewer than 10 Made at Curve coproductions toured the UK and internationally – selling a staggering 1.2million tickets and generating £46m in domestic Box Office income. During 2023, three of our productions also took over the West End with 42nd STREET playing Sadler’s Wells, THE WIZARD OF OZ enjoying a summer season at the London Palladium and GREASE returning to the Dominion Theatre.
We were also incredibly proud to see Curve so well represented at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals in January 2024, a flagship celebration of musical theatre which was performed to a live audience of tens of thousands at Manchester’s AO Arena, before being broadcast on BBC One. Curve was the only regional theatre to have work showcased, with performances from A CHORUS LINE, THE WIZARD OF OZ and GREASE featured.
We believe the work of our theatre should be accessible for everyone and across the year 27,000 participants were engaged in Creative Programmes for schools, colleges, universities, community groups, young people, families, elders and artists. In partnership with Age UK, we continued to deliver weekly memory cafés and activities for our elder communities across the city. Each month over 200 participants took part in our programmes for elders led by Curve Community Practitioners.
We are passionate that every young person should have the right to engage with the arts and during the course of the year over 16,000 young people took part in activities both at Curve and in local schools. We also welcomed 392 schools, with 13,470 young people taking part in creative projects or attending performances in Leicester.
This year also saw the second year of our Neighbour-Hubs programme across New Parks, Saffron, Braunstone, Evington, Highfields and St Matthews – all districts with high levels of deprivation and low levels of cultural engagement. In each area, we delivered a range of free, bespoke creative projects in partnership with primary and secondary schools, SEND and alternative education providers and community groups. Our sincere thanks to PPL PRS, the Headley Trust, and Katey and Jon Jorgensen for generously supporting this programme of work.
Our CYCC (Curve Young Community Companies) based at Curve and in our Neighbour-Hub areas continued to thrive in 2023/24.
In total, 395 young people aged 5-18 took part in weekly classes in musical theatre, acting, dance and technical theatre. Throughout the year, all young people also showcased their work on stage at Curve in front of an audience of peers, family and friends.
In the last year over 1,000 creatives, theatre-makers, practitioners and artists from the Midlands took part in development sessions, projects and performances at Curve. Our artists include those who identify as early career or leaving education, up to those who are established and experienced professionals. Through our Curve Connect programme, 490 local artists were able to gain free rehearsal room use and free or discounted tickets, with Team Curve members providing almost 1,500 hours of free support and guidance.
As we look to the years ahead and the likelihood in further reductions in public investment and increasing costs, we are continuing to find innovative ways to ensure our business model remains relevant and financially sound. As always, our sincere thanks to our fantastic audiences, loyal supporters and the team of staff, freelancers and artists that make up Team Curve; they really are the best in the business.
Chris Stafford CEO Nikolai Foster Artistic Director
Photograph Ellie Kurttz
To round up another extraordinary year at Curve would probably take an entire novel but I will try to condense it into a few paragraphs.
There’s so much that could be included – the struggle is what to leave out rather than what to highlight here. In short, Curve continues to smash it out of the park. The challenges of last year remain, which makes the breadth and quantity of work that Curve produces even more awe-inspiring.
Curve continues to successfully and uniquely bridge the gap between West End, regional and community theatre. I’m not sure there’s another building in the UK that can boast a multitude of West End transfers which sit seamlessly alongside home-grown, Made at Curve shows and invaluable Dementia Friendly sing-alongs and youth theatre.
Furthermore, Curve feeds into that cycle by sending those Made at Curve shows to visit other regional theatres across the country and into the West End. In the last year, several Curve co-produced shows went on tour, including our revival of Hanif Kureishi’s MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE as part of the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships, our 2016 award-winning production of GREASE, and Frantic Assembly’s METAMORPHOSIS. Curve also had a presence on the international stage, with our co-production of 42nd STREET playing to over 71,000 people in the majestic Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto.
Alongside the razzamatazz of the world stage, Curve’s Creative Programmes team continued to establish and build links with the local community via our Neighbour-Hubs programme, offering an extensive programme of work for children, young people, teachers and community participants. As the inequalities in society grow deeper as well as wider, now more than ever we need to do all we can to help bridge this gap and ensure Curve remains a place for all. Our Neighbour-Hubs programme of free projects operates in partnership with community rooted organisations and last year offered year-round activities for thousands of people who might not otherwise have engaged with theatre.
Throughout the year Curve continued to gain critical and audience recognition. Alongside stellar reviews for our Made at Curve programme of produced work, our co-production of THE WIZARD OF OZ received two WhatsOnStage Award nominations (Jason Manford for Best Supporting Performer, and Best Musical Revival).
In 2023 Curve’s standing in the industry was once again recognised, with Chris Stafford and Nikolai Foster being placed at number 18 in The Stage 100 list of the most influential people and partnerships in the UK theatre today.
As an NPO, Curve continues to receive funding from Arts Council England and thoughts are already looking towards applications for the next tranche of bids for 2027 onwards. We never take our funding for granted and remain immensely grateful to Arts Council England as well as Leicester City Council, who have confirmed their continued support for another 12 months.
To sign off, once again I’d like to extend my huge thanks to Chris and Nikolai for their continuing devotion to Curve. They and the entire team at Curve make my job as Chair so much easier because of their ongoing loyalty and hard work. They are collectively creative, strategic, smart and kind and it’s an honour to chair them.
Sita McIntosh Chair
Left to right: Chris Stafford (CEO), Sita McIntosh (Chair) and Nikolai Foster (Artistic Director)
FACTS AND FIGURES
27,053 Participants in Creative Programmes
74% Average occupancy
5,280 Curve Members
14,200 Participants took part in free or low-cost activity
395 CYCC Members 8.6 million
1,500 People engaging with regular Neighbour-Hub activity
26,127 Audience members under 26 years old
Viewers saw Curve productions featured on national television
£14,808,108
Annual turnover
251,230
Tickets sold for performances at Curve
10 Made at Curve productions and co-productions generated
£46 million in Box Office income across the UK
392 Schools attending performances
37%
CYCC Members receiving a bursary or free place
145 Accessible performances
1,310,851
Digital engagements
95% of our audiences rated their visit as either good or excellent
1,276,155
Tickets sold on tour
1,161 Participants in Artist Development activities
£2,250,588
Received in public funding (15.2% of total income)
For every £1 spent on theatre tickets, an additional £1.40 is generated in the local economy which equates to approximately £8.4 million
“What the Curve Team did was absolutely amazing and I appreciate every part of the process.”
“relevant, profound, thought-provoking”
Photograph Kieran Vyas
DMU STUDENT
A co-production with De Montfort University
Director Cara Nolan • Set Designer Abby Clarke • Costume Designer Edd Lindley
Lighting Designer Jonathan Payne
Sound Designer Dave Norton and Li Li Peberdy
Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.
Photograph Dan Lowenstein
A co-production with Kakilang
Director Si Rawlinson
Performers Si Rawlinson, Yukiko Masui, Jamaal O'Driscoll and Lisa Chearles
Designer Christine Ting – Huan 挺歡 Urquhart
Jim Cartwright Si Rawlinson
SEEING DANCE
Book, Music and Lyrics
Movement Director and Choreographer Natasha Harrison
Lighting Designer Jamie Platt
Sound Designer Andrew Johnson
Production Designer Matt Powell
Illusion Designer John Bulleid
Photograph Danny Kaan
Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams
“memorable images, thought provoking ideas and Sissay's fierce poetry”
METAMORPHOSIS
Designer Jon Bausor
Lighting Designer Simisola Majekodunmi
Video Designer Ian William Galloway
Sound Designer Helen Skiera Costume Designer Becky Gunstone
Composer
Casting Director Will Burton CDG
Photograph Tristram Kenton
Adaptor Lemn Sissay
Director Nikolai Foster
Orchestrations David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based on Orchestrations Originally by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Designer Michael Taylor
Lindley
Photograph Marc Brenner
Book Tim Rice • Music Andrew Lloyd Webber
OWL WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS
Choreographer
Photograph Ellie Kurttz
“Watching the sisters in full flow, boogieing away in rainbow-sequinned habits, is sheer theatrical bliss.”
Photograph Mark Senior
Book Cheri Steinkellner
Book, Music and Lyrics
Irene Sankoff and David Hein
with Smith and Brant Theatricals
Ltd, Gavin Kalin
Tulchin Bartner Productions, Echo Lake Entertainment UK Ltd, Square Peg, Stephen and Paula Reynolds, Judith Ann Abrams Productions/Peter May, Nancy Gibbs
Photograph Craig Sugden
MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE
Photograph Ellie Kurttz
Hanif Kureishi
– Sun 17 Mar 2024
co-production with Nicoll Entertainment, Rose Theatre Kingston, MAST Mayflower Studios and Unicorn Theatre Adaptor and Director Sarah Punshon
Music and Lyrics Eamonn O'Dwyer
Photograph Pamela Raith
Based on the book by Rachel Bright and Jim Field
CURVE ON TOUR
Flying the flag for Curve and Leicester around the UK and across the globe
2023/24 was another incredible year for Made at Curve productions on tour with 10 shows visiting over 100 theatres throughout the year.
In May 2023 Curve opened a spectacular production of 42ND STREET, coproduced with Jonathan Church Theatre Productions, Crossroads Live and David Mirvish. Directed by Jonathan Church with choreography by Olivier award-winner Bill Deamer, 42ND STREET embarked on a 29-week national tour, ending with a limited run in Toronto, Canada.
June 2023 saw the return of our Made at Curve production of GREASE, directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Curve Associate Artist Arlene Phillips. The production had a five-month limited run at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End before embarking on a UK tour.
In the autumn, we were delighted to join our long-term collaborators Frantic Assembly as co-producers for a new production of METAMORPHOSIS adapted by Lemn Sissay OBE. The production toured to 12 venues across the nation, with just under 5,000 people seeing the drama at Curve, and 60,000 people watching across the tour.
Following a hugely successful summer season at London’s Palladium, we headed back down the Yellow Brick Road for Christmas in Liverpool with the return of THE WIZARD OF OZ in collaboration with Michael Harrison Entertainment. The production was enjoyed by over 62,000 audience members over the festive period at Liverpool Empire Theatre, which was then followed by a 28-venue national tour.
Continuing our partnership with Jamie Wilson Productions, SISTER ACT entertained audiences across the UK and we were delighted to start 2024 by welcoming Deloris and the team back to LE1 ahead of a West End run at The Dominion Theatre. Since 2022 SISTER ACT has been seen by over 500,000 people.
In partnership with The National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships programme, we revived Nikolai Foster’s production of Hanish Kureishi’s masterpiece, MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, directed by Nicole Behan. Following the run at Curve the production then visited Queens Theatre Hornchurch, Theatre Royal Wakefield, The Lowry, Liverpool Playhouse and Blackpool Grand Theatre and was enjoyed by over 11,000 people.
In February 2024, we made a trip to Birmingham to remount the hit Made at Curve production of AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, which continues to engage audiences across the country. AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN returned to Leicester in the summer of 2024 before embarking on a tour of the Netherlands.
We rounded off the year with the life-affirming co-production of COME FROM AWAY. Since we first saw the show on Broadway in 2017, we were determined to bring this groundbreaking new musical to Curve, and so we were delighted producers John Brant and Joe Smith invited us to be part of this special show and chose Leicester to launch the UK tour.
I just wanted to thank everyone for a brilliant week with My Beautiful Laundrette! The show was seen by 2,812 people and we played to 89% capacity across the week. The production was really enjoyed by everyone who saw it and was a huge success for us. Steve Cowton – Head of Theatre Operations, The Lowry
MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE
A Theatre Nation Partnerships production produced by Curve National Tour
Director Nicole Behan
Photograph Ellie Kurttz
“A powerhouse of musical theatre” THE TIMES
A Curve production in collaboration with Michael Harrison Entertainment London Palladium and UK Tour Director Nikolai Foster
Photograph Marc Brenner
42ND STREET
A Curve and Sadler's Wells co-production, presented by David Ian for Crossroads Live UK and Jonathan Church Theatre Productions UK Tour and Canada
Director Jonathan Church
Photograph Johan Persson
COME FROM AWAY
Produced in the UK by Smith & Brant Theatricals in association with Curve UK Tour
Director Christopher Ashley
Photograph Craig Sugden
AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN
A Curve production produced by Jamie Wilson, Jack Maple, Gavin Kalin and Jason Haigh-Ellery UK Tour
Director Nikolai Foster
Photograph Marc Brenner
METAMORPHOSIS
A Frantic Assembly Production, co-produced with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre National Tour
Director Scott Graham
Photograph Tristram Kenton
RIDE – A NEW MUSICAL
A
Director
SISTER ACT
THE LION INSIDE
DEM production in association with Curve
London and United States
Sarah Meadows
Photograph Danny Kaan
Produced by Jamie Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg in association with Curve
London West End and UK Tour
Director Bill Buckhurst
Photograph Mark Senior
GREASE
Produced by Colin Ingram for In Theatre Productions, Frankel/Viertel/Baruch/Routh Group, Playing Field and Curve
London West End
Director Nikolai Foster
Photograph Marc Brenner
A Rose Original Production with Nicoll Entertainment, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Unicorn Theatre
National Tour
Director Sarah Punshon
Photograph Pamela Raith
VISITING PRODUCTIONS
Welcoming the best work on tour to LE1
Welcoming a diverse programme of work to our stages
Curve is one of the most welcoming theatres in the country to bring touring work to, as well as to develop work with. All of our actors and creative teams would say the same!
Simon Friend
CAKE
Director and Choreographer Drew McOnie
SUCKER PUNCH
Director Roy Williams
UNEXPECTED TWIST
Director James Dacre
Photograph Mark Senior
Manuel Harlan
Photograph Manuel Harlan
ROMEO +
Director and Choreographer Matthew
SIX
JULIET
Bourne
Photograph Johan Persson
THE BOOK THIEF
Director Lotte Wakeham
Photograph Pamela Raith
Director Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage
Photograph Pamela Raith
2:22 A GHOST STORY
Director Matthew Dunster and Isabel Marr
Photograph Johan Persson
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
Director Timothy Sheader
Photograph Evan Zimmerman
LIFE OF PI
Director Max Webster
Photograph Johan Persson
CREATIVE PROGRAMMES
Placing creativity at the heart of learning
Across the year 27,000 participants engaged with our Creative Programme offer for schools, colleges and universities, community groups, young people, families, elders and artists.
Neighbour-Hubs
Our Neighbour-Hubs programme continued to engage young people across five areas of the city; New Parks, Saffron, Braunstone, Evington and Highfields & St. Matthews. In each locality we have built long-term creative collaborations with education providers and community partners to ensure as many people as possible living in a ‘Hub’ area have access to the work of our theatre.
In the last year, we introduced a new school into our core of five secondary schools and delivered a range of projects and initiatives including in-school workshops led by Curve practitioners, work placements and backstage tours. Every week we delivered free workshops with 80 students from across the five districts, and all students performed on stage at Curve during the course of the year.
In collaboration with The Grove Community Centre in Braunstone we piloted a new musical theatre project – Curve at The Grove. Over 15 weeks, 12 young people took part in free creative sessions focused on dance, acting and song. In addition to outreach sessions, participants performed in a special showcase at The Grove and also attended performances at Curve free-of-charge.
Across each academic term more than 270 young people took part in free Neighbour-Hubs activity led by Curve practitioners.
Curve Young Community Companies (CYCC)
Young people aged 5-18 met regularly at Curve to develop skills, have fun and gain 'hands-on' experience within the theatre industry.
In addition to weekly sessions led by artists and practitioners, CYCC participants took part in a range of performances including; GARGANTUA, GENIUS and our Christmas production of EVITA. CYCC Dance took part in the prestigious Making Moves programme, culminating in them successfully securing a place to perform at the prestigious Sadler's Wells.
CYCC in numbers
• 395 CYCC participants took part in regular classes at Curve and Neighbour-Hubs settings
• 532 CYCC classes in Acting, Dancing and Musical Theatre delivered across the year
• 5 CYCC Neighbour-Hub Drama clubs ran every week during term-time in city schools
• 1 CYCC Technical Theatre Course ran for 10 weeks
• 64 public performances featuring CYCC participants
• Over the year we offered 61 bursary places to ensure finances were not a barrier to taking part in CYCC at Curve, with a proportion of these bursary places made available thanks to support from the Martin Trust and Virtual Schools. Sponsorship from our friends at PPL PRS, enabled us to offer all CYCC Neighbour-Hubs sessions free of charge for all 100 participants.
Find out how we're engaging young people through creative experiences at Curve
Schools and Universities
We welcomed over 390 school trips to Curve across the year, with performances of METAMORPHOSIS, THE BOOK THIEF and THE OWL WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS proving particularly popular. 13,470 students and teachers came to see a show at Curve and we delivered a range of projects to support student engagement with the work on our stages. Early in 2024 we carried out research to explore the educational, social and health impact of the work we do with young people. We shared the results at a special event with invited guests – including Liz Kendall, MP for Leicester West and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – who had the opportunity to hear first-hand from young people about the importance of drama to their lives.
We also hosted four Theatre Days around our Made at Curve shows, with cast and creative teams sharing insights into the performancemaking process. In addition, we programmed a special careers event as part of the BBC’s Bring The Drama initiative, which saw 119 people of all ages come to Curve to hear about the different roles in the industry and connect with members of Team Curve.
As part of our collaboration with the National Theatre and the Theatre Nation Partnerships programme, we worked with five schools in areas of high deprivation in Leicester on ‘Speak Up’, a national programme which enables young people to work with artists to explore the issues they care about and find creative ways to share these publicly. In the last year 147 Speak Up sessions were delivered engaging 162 students.
Curve’s strategic partnership with De Montfort University (DMU) continued to thrive with 40 students taking part in performances, workshops and work placements at Curve across the year, including our Made at Curve and DMU co-production of Jim Cartwright's ROAD. We also once again had the honour of hosting DMU Graduation Ceremonies, which saw over 7,700 students graduate at Curve over the course of the year.
In partnership with the University of Leicester we launched a pilot programme to encourage new voices in theatre journalism and criticism. ‘Emerging Writers’ saw 20 Journalism BA students visit rehearsals for our Made at Curve production of MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE to observe the process and interview company members. The students also joined virtual talks and Q&A sessions hosted by leading industry PR professionals, and attended the show’s press night, with their reviews published on Curve’s website.
Photography Kieran Vyas
Life is extremely challenging for us. We are often left wondering what on earth we can do week to week to keep our heads above water. But knowing that our children are able to access such a wonderful resource as these CYCC sessions takes some of the heat out of our weekly struggles and gives us all hope somehow.
Parent in receipt of a Curve Bursary
makes me a better person.
participant
For many it was their first experience of being in a live theatre. The feedback from the students was that it was an experience they will not forget.
Secondary School Teacher, Hub Partner
I enjoyed acting, singing and performing but wasn't brave enough to take lessons. I really enjoy singing, drama and acting now (after the project) and I would take more lessons if I had the chance to. I never liked dance but after coming to The Grove and performing I really enjoy it now. It made me so much more brave and happier.
Curve at The Grove participant
It
CYCC
CYCC Act has helped me with my recovery from a brain injury both mentally and physically. It has given me the ability to access my emotions and the confidence to speak out about my experience. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and encouragement from the practitioners.
CYCC Participant
Speak Up has truly engaged my students, helped them with their mental health, and they are now finding their voices, and next year I am sure they will be confident enough to share them even more.
Drama Teacher, Sir Jonathan North Girls School
I just want to say a HUGE THANK YOU for all the work and understanding that went into setting up for the Signed Performance on Friday evening. We had a group of deaf patrons in and they had the best experience. The group left the Studio Theatre buzzing in relation to their experience at Curve.
Really want to say a massive thank you to Curve for giving us the opportunity to be involved. Every point of contact with Curve has been amazing, the staff are professional reliable and supportive. Our students have been given opportunities to express themselves and “Speak Up” about what matters to them. They have increased their cultural capital in ways they would never have had chance to, they have had chance to explore and access the arts without the barrier of funding and expense- for an inner city school this has been invaluable. Thank you.
Speak Up Teacher
Stacey Green, Registered Sign Language Interpreter
I've learnt a lot about teamwork, about what it's like to communicate with other people, but also about just having fun, letting loose, not being afraid.
CYCC Participant
Photography Kieran Vyas
COMMUNITY AND FESTIVALS
Creative experiences for everyone
An extensive Community Engagement programme was rolled out across the year, with workshops taking place in care homes, memory cafés and local settings, as well as events, projects and festivals taking place at Curve.
Working in partnership with Age UK and Anchor Housing, our Community Practitioner delivered over 80 free dance, music and storytelling workshops. Every month, over 200 elders took part in creative workshops that sought to improve their physical and mental health as well as providing opportunities to socialise and have fun. We also marked the festive season with a Christmas Cabaret and afternoon tea for over 150 elders.
Throughout the year we continued to host weekly free and lowcost community workshops at Curve, with over 320 sessions led by Curve Associate Companies Moving Together, Sidekick Dance and Kainé Choir. We also launched Little Curve, our weekly programme of workshops for under 5s and their families and carers, with over 640 people taking part across 37 sessions.
We showcased our hugely diverse local talent in Leicester with the return of Curve on the Square festival in summer 2023. The free, weekend-long event saw over 2,000 audience members enjoy 27 local acts (125 performers in total), a third of which were from our Neighbour-Hub areas.
Our free and low-cost Community Days engaged 2,800 people who took part in creative activities, workshops and performances across the building and outside on Orton Square. An Indian Summer Community Day, in partnership with Inspirate, celebrated South Asian contemporary art and performance with an eclectic programme of activities taking place inside and outside our building. During Black History Month we curated free performances on our Foyer stage, programmed African Caribbean dance workshops and shared a stage reading of Katori Hall's THE MOUNTAINTOP. We also celebrated Diwali with a Community Day including dance workshops, performances and family activities.
Curve also welcomed performances as part of Associate Company Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage’s Let’s Dance International Frontiers Festival. Across April and May 2023, dance performers from the UK, USA, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, Jamaica
and beyond visited the theatre. The festival also presented the UK premiere of BLACK HOLE: TRILOGY as part of LDIF and TRIATHLON, a multidisciplinary performance choreographed by award-winning movement artist Shamel Pitts, co-created and performed by Brooklyn-based arts collective, TRIBE.
We continued our partnership work with Leicester City Virtual School – who support young people living in care and care leavers – on the ‘Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival’ project. Curve practitioners worked with eight young people living in care to develop their own version of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, which they performed at Oxford University’s Magdalen College.
Over Christmas 2023, we partnered with Leicester-based video production company Crosscut to share a special recording of THE OWL WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS for children, their families and carers at Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People. The recording was shared for free and enjoyed by almost 40 people across six sessions at the hospice.
Everyone who attended the Big Sing has been touched by dementia of some type. Either having it, caring for a loved one with it or having lost someone that had it. To be together and joining in joyful song makes us realize we can still enjoy our time together. Curve did an excellent job of making us feel wanted and welcome and we couldn’t have been better looked after. A HUGE thank you to all who made it possible.
Foyer Cabaret visitor
Curve staff enabled the young people to create such an original and imaginative piece. The relationships you built with them were lovely and it really was beautiful to watch them relax, form strong bonds and grow in self-belief. I genuinely think it was lifechanging for them. The whole thing was very special and something they, and we, will remember forever. Virtual Schools
The range of local talent on offer today was more than enough to keep us in our seats and entertained. The fact that it was free in times of financial hardship for many made it even more special and we look forward to many more. Curve on the Square audience member.
Photograph Kieran Vyas
NEW WORK AND ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
Investing in talent across the region and beyond
We’re proud to support and develop local talent, and across the last year more than 1,100 creatives, theatre-makers, practitioners and artists from the Midlands took part in Artist Development sessions, projects and performances at Curve. We also engaged with local artists through Curve Connect, our free membership scheme which is open to all professional practitioners living and working in the region. Across 2023/24, 490 active Curve Connect members were able to benefit from free rehearsal space, free and discounted tickets, and support through one-to-one meetings with Curve staff.
Our annual New Work Festival 2024 engaged 79 artists, with over 80% being connected or based in the Midlands and over 50% working with Curve for the first time. Throughout the festival almost 1,000 tickets were sold for workshops, seminars and performances. Highlights included SCENES FROM RENT performed in British Sign Language and English, directed by Curve's former RTYDS Resident Director Lilac Yosiphon, and an exciting new comedy-thriller for the Netflix generation, ROTTEN, from emerging Midlands writer Josie White.
Curve Resident Creative Si Rawlinson and his company Kakilang brought new dance-theatre piece SAVING FACE to Curve in May 2023. A Curve co-production, co-commissioned by The Place, this fusion of storytelling with contemporary and hip-hop dance styles marked Si’s first full-scale dance theatre work.
In October 2023 we supported Midlands writer and performance poet Neal Pike with a sharing of new play, THE WALK. Neal first came to Curve as a Graeae Beyond artist and during a period ‘in residence’ at Curve, Neal and his team received dramaturgical support from Team Curve members and explored the development a touring version of the production.
We presented an immersive production of ROAD by Jim Cartwright with a cast of 19 De Montfort University students. Harnessing the full potential of our 314 seat Studio Theatre, the design wrapped around the audience and included a working bar for audiences to enjoy a drink with the characters from the show. The young performers worked with us over two terms, developing their skills and learning about the processes behind presenting a full-scale production at Curve.
We’ve continued to support the development of our 23 Curve Resident Creatives with advice, seed commissions, rehearsal and performance space. We also supported Curve Associate Artists Sheep Soup to take their new show, HOUSE OF LIFE, to Edinburgh Fringe.
Throughout the year, we continued to collaborate with artists and organisations across the Midlands, including Bamboozle, Mara Ba, The Centre For Indian Classical Dance (CICD), Carol Leeming MBE, Nupur Arts, Aakash Odedra and Kesha Raithatha.
Really loved being a part of the Festival and getting to meet the team. Looking forward to the rest of the events!
NWF Artist
Thank you for the space inkind – we wouldn't have been able to do it without you :) Local Artist
It instils so much faith, hope and joy that New Work has the potential to really put Leicester talent on the map. New Work Festival participant.
This is an excellent opportunity and I haven’t heard of another building doing this. Very grateful to be able to access help and advice from Curve. Cara was an excellent and approachable fountain of knowledge who has given me multiple pointers for action which I began to work on right after our meeting.
First Friday Participant
Photograph Marc Brenner
FUNDRAISING
Working in partnership to support our charitable mission
In 2023/24 we launched our new fundraising strategy and have subsequently enjoyed our most successful year to date with a 71% increase across all sources of giving. We are grateful to everyone who has given to us across the year with donations large and small; without the support from individuals, trusts, foundations and businesses we simply would not be able to do all we do. Thank you!
Our annual appeal for the Andy Nairn Bursaries in Technical Theatre, in memory of our former Head of Production, raised £5,000. In partnership with the Mackintosh Foundation, these funds enabled us to support a Creative Venue Technician apprenticeship and our Curve Young Community Company Technical group (CYCC Tech).
I like the fact I've had time with each different department; I started with lighting and then moved to sound and then stage, so I've gained good all-round basic knowledge over the last year. For my last six months I've decided I'm going to specialise in lighting and learn about it more in-depth.
Amber Crowle, Mackintosh Technician Apprentice
At Christmas, we launched our Gift a Ticket appeal, encouraging customers to add a donation to their purchase which enables us to offer free tickets to people who are living in financial hardship. Over £5,000 was raised in just a few months, which enabled us to welcome hundreds of new visitors to Curve free-of-charge.
During the year, we launched two new individual giving schemes. Our Patrons programme (£1,500 per year) offers donors even closer access to Curve's work. We also introduced the Made at Curve Circle, which acknowledges the support of philanthropists who give £5,000+ per year. We are delighted to have welcomed nine new Patrons and members of the Made at Curve Circle in our first year and we look forward to working with more supporters over the months ahead.
We continued to work in partnership with our business sponsors, who include De Montfort University, the University of Leicester, PPL, PPL PRS, David Wilson Homes, voco Leicester and Nelson’s Solicitors. Their transformative support is deeply appreciated.
Trust, foundation and statutory grants make up a crucial part of Curve’s income. Over the year, we received grants from the Mackintosh Foundation, Backstage Trust, the Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund.
Donations are a vital part of Curve, making a difference to every aspect of our work and enables us to:
• Support 500 older people to take part in Curve’s Dementia Friendly dance classes every year
• Ensure 400 young people can attend our free or low-cost theatre workshops every week
• Inspire hundreds of East Midlands creatives to learn new skills and gain artistic experience through our Curve Connect programme
• Ensure 128 access performances (BSL interpreted, Captioned, Audio Described, Dementia Friendly and Relaxed) are presented across the year
• Fly the flag for Leicester’s arts and culture zacross the UK and internationally.
Thank you for helping make Curve a place where everyone can experience the magic of theatre.
Memberships
Membership numbers grew in all levels across the year. Our membership is now the largest it has been in Curve’s history, with over 5,000 people choosing to have a closer relationship with Curve and enjoy special benefits including priority booking, ticket discounts and event invitations.
We would like to thank our Friends, Supporters, Business Friends and Patrons whose membership includes a donation to support Curve as a registered charity.
I love theatre generally, and Curve in particular. I understand how expensive it is to put shows on and I am keen to support youth theatre and outreach projects especially.
Supporter
Photograph Jonathan Pryke
At PPL PRS Ltd, we take great pride in our partnership with Curve. Supporting our local community is of paramount importance to us, and the work that we collaborate with Curve on – in particular the Neighbour-Hubs project –means we get to make a tangible difference to those who would not otherwise enjoy access to theatre. Like Curve, we believe access to the arts should be a right for everyone, and Neighbour-Hubs delivers just that in the areas of Leicester that need it most.
Andrea Gray, Managing Director, PPL
PRS Ltd.
Supporting up and coming theatre technicians, stagehands and staff means skills are passed on to the next generation.
Supporter
I am an annual Supporter because I think you produce fabulous entertainment and do a huge amount of work to encourage people from all backgrounds to attend the theatre.
Supporter
To find out more about supporting Curve visit www.curveonline.co.uk/join-and-support-us/ or email give@curvetheatre.co.uk
Playing our part for a sustainable future PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENT
Over the course of the year we have made further advances with increasing our sustainability across the organisation.
At the start of the year we were extremely grateful to receive a funding grant from the Wolfson Foundation, which enabled us to replace our existing foyer lighting with new energy-efficient LED lights. In addition, Curve’s Green Team (which is made up of individuals from across the organisation) has continued to meet regularly and department environmental representatives have been engaged to ensure sustainability is embedded across the whole organisation.
Over the summer period, Carbon Literacy training was delivered for all Green Team members, and this will now be rolled out to the wider organisation throughout 2024/25. Environmental sustainability is part of core annual training given to all staff, and each team member agrees their own individual environmental objective as part of our annual appraisal process.
All produced work is planned with reference to the Theatre Green Book, which is used to inform and shape working practices across the business. Over the last year Made at Curve productions of ROAD, THE OWL WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS and MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE were all created to the Theatre Green Book’s baseline
Photography Marc Brenner
standards, with materials sustainably sourced, deliveries minimised, and the majority of materials re-used or recycled after the show.
We are looking ahead to the future, with a number of feasibility studies also underway, including the possibility of installing solar roof panels.
PEOPLE Championing and nurturing a safe and inclusive environment for everyone
Team Curve is at the heart of everything we do, and we continue to celebrate diversity across our theatre both on and off stage. Our team is 53% female, with 20% identifying as LGBTQ and 18% identifying as Black, Asian or ethnically diverse. 17% of our staff identify as being either D/deaf and or disabled or as having a long-term health condition, and 13% identify as neurodiverse. In addition, 50% of our Board identify as Black, Asian or ethnically diverse and 50% identify as female.
We recognise there is more work to be done around increasing the ethnic diversity of our workforce. To support this, our Voices for Change committee formed of staff and stakeholders met regularly across the year to ensure Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity remains embedded across all activities of the organisation.
1,893 training sessions were delivered either online or in person, covering a range of areas including safeguarding, disability awareness and environment sustainability. For many years we have adopted a blended learning approach that combines the strengths of online and in-person training methods.
During the summer of 2023, we ran the Passport to Leadership programme for 17 managers within the organisation focussing on key dimensions of Leadership: Authenticity, Vision, Achievement, Ownership and Collaboration. In addition, PPL PRS kindly supported three places on a Future Leaders Management Development Programme delivered by the University of Leicester. Both these programmes aimed to enhance the leadership capabilities of our managers by developing skills and attributes essential for effective leadership.
In the last year we launched a new professional development initiative designed to build the management and leadership skills of staff from across the business who have the potential to take on greater responsibility. Five members of staff have been selected to take part in the programme. Each participant receives a bespoke plan including mentoring, coaching, individual training and leading on a critical business project to encourage ‘on the ground’ learning.
Curve’s Wellbeing Committee, comprised of team members from across the organisation, continued to programme and deliver activities to support the health and wellbeing of staff.
87 employees (92% of the team) took part in a confidential staff survey. We are delighted staff engagement continues to increase and in the last year engagement exceeded 75%.
Working here has given me a chance to showcase my creativity and I've been offered so many opportunities that I had never expected.
Chandni Mistry, Creative Programmes, Practitioner
Curve is a wonderful place to work. Everyone is given the opportunity to thrive and develop in a respectful and supportive environment.
Mary Jayne Harding Scott, PA to Artistic Director and Producing Assistant
I love working at Curve as it is a charitable organisation, and no two days are the same, it is a place where staff loyalty is valued and respected.
Pallvi Sharma, Finance Assistant
Photography Ellie Kurttz
TEAM CURVE
Staff, cast, creatives, freelancers and volunteers
Aarti
Abby
Abigail
Aimee
Aleksandra
Edalia
Edd
Eleanor
Eleanor
Elspeth
Oviya
Paul
Paula
Pawlet
Pete
Peter
Peter
Phil
Phil
Phil
Phil
Phil
Phillipe
Phimphilai
Phoebe
Pippa
Pooja
Poppy
Rachael
Rachael
Rachael
Racheal
Rachel
Rachel
Rafail
Ramin
Renae
Rene
Stephanie Greenslade
Stevie
Scarlett
Sean
Sergejs
Shadi
Shaira
Shane
Shannon
Sharan
Sharon
Shilpa
Shona
Shonatya
Shreya
Si
Simeon
Sue Pyecroft
Sumayya Si Tayeb
Suriah Thompson
Susan Jones
Suzanne Berraoui
Suzie Wood
Svetlana Gorodecka
Sydneé Thompson
Sydney Allen
Tamsin January
Tanisha-Mae Brown Tara Overfield
Tarot Monhirsch
Tasmin January
Siu
Smita
Sneya
Sophie Macfadyen
Stacey Green
Stacey Henson
Stacey McCarthy
Stefan Janik
Steph Modd
Tom Nelson
Tom Slade
Tom Tait
Tomas Lock
Tracy Lane
Troy Glasgow
Tyrone Huntley
Upasana Kadam
Valerie Concar
Vanessa Foley
Victoria Coulton
Vijay Sharma
Vikki Frost
Vivi Wei
Waring McKenna
Warren Letton
Warren Price
Will Burton Will Mauchline
Winston Denerley
Witold Szlamp
Yasmina Berraoui
Yasmine Alyassin
Yue Miyagi
Yukiko Masui
Yuliya Zlatkova
Yusufahmat Raheem
Yvonne Julien
Zainab Rao
Zion Gunner-Ramratan
Zoe Ambrose
Zoe Chambers
Zoe Gale
Zoë Hurwitz
80s Revellers
Tim Williams
Toby Seddon
Tom Marshall
Tom Meany
THANK YOU
PRINCIPAL FUNDERS SPONSORS
Martin Trust for Young People Mackintosh Foundation Headley Trust Backstage Trust Garfield Weston Foundation National Lottery Community Fund
PARTNERS
Crosscut Everards of Leicestershire
Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust Wolfson Foundation
MADE AT CURVE CIRCLE
PATRONS TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS
Jane Harris-Lock
Jon and Katey Jorgensen
J.J. Murphy
Neil and Tanya Russ
FRIENDS AND BUSINESS FRIENDS
Angelic Photo
Annie Bannister
Yvonne Burge
Anthony and Lisa Clare
Mike Dalzell
Nikolai Foster
Linda Fox
Neil and Jackie Frettsome
Pepe Gallardo Mora
The Gresham Aparthotel
Mike Griffiths
Alan Heggs
Peter Hollis
Helen Johnson
KAS Electrical Services
Jonathan Kerry
Theatre Nation Partnerships
Andrea Gray
Ros and Alan Haigh
Simon Harrison
JK Training
Jeremy and Mary-Vere Parr
David and Diane Statham
Weightmans LLP
Katrina Kinch
Robert and Janie Martin
Barbara Matthews
Lynne McCormack
Elizabeth Owen
Paula René
Jean Roberts
The Rowleys Partnership Ltd
Surinder and Vijay Sharma
Ali Sinclair
Chris Stafford
Steven Mather Solicitor
Stowe Family Law LLP
Philip and Alison Tasker
Robert David Williamson – in memoriam
Curve do an excellent job. Not only do you have a huge variety of fantastic shows featuring some very talented performers, all members of staff both front of house and behind the scenes provide an incredible service. Well done to everyone.
Audience Member
Just when I thought I couldn't love @curve_ leicester anymore. Thank you for making theatre accessible for everyone.
Audience Member
Curve is an incredible theatre. One of the best for accessibility, modern technology and amazing productions. If a show I want to see is on, I want to see it at Curve.
Audience Member
Such an inclusive theatre Audience Member
Director Nikolai Foster
Photograph Marc Brenner
