Norwich Theatre Review 202021 Digital by Norwich Theatre

What’s Past is Prologue A Review of 2020 and 2021

A reflection on an extraordinary period from Stephen Crocker Over the past year our organisation and our sector have weathered a storm like no other that we have known before. Rough winds have shaken us and at times it has felt as though the waters might overwhelm us. At last, as we emerge into calmer seas, while we have without a doubt been battered, we can begin to chart a new course. It is essential, as we do so, that we take stock of the past year. We must celebrate how we met restrictions with creativity and bravery; how we navigated difficult decisions with honesty and kindness; and how, at all times, despite the many challenges, we reached out to our audiences, supporters and participants for the good of our city, our county and our region. As we look to the future, the thought that is almost constantly on my mind is best expressed in words from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. They speak to me of acceptance of the storm that has been weathered and of looking to the future with excitement and hope: ‘What’s past is prologue’.

At last, as we emerge into calmer seas, while we have without a doubt been battered,we can begin to chart a new course.

Let me offer a profound thank you, from all of us at Norwich Theatre, to every person, family, company and institution that has stood with us — in whatever way — while we have weathered this storm. Your trust in us will never be forgotten; and we have much to offer in return.

Stephen Crocker Chief Executive & Creative Director

As we look to the future, the thought that is almost constantly on my mind is best expressed in words from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. They speak to me of acceptance of the storm that has been weathered and of looking to the future with excitement and hope: ‘What’s past is prologue’. Stephen Crocker

With this support, and a plan for a new future coming to fruition, we feel confident now that Norwich Theatre will not only survive but also truly thrive as a cultural and community hub again. Michael Newey

A message of resilience, thanks and hope for the future from Michael Newey Among the key responsibilities of a board of trustees is ensuring that a charity fulfils its purpose and delivers public benefit. When I became Chair of Norwich Theatre I never imagined that my tenure would include a period during which our ability to deliver this would be placed under the extraordinary challenges that we have faced since March 2020.

My thanks must also go to our Chief Executive, the Executive team and all of our staff and volunteers. As well as supporting the board in fulfilling its duty to protect the organisation’s future, they have also — through ingenuity, creativity and determination — kept our mission alive in the face of huge challenges.

It is also the duty of trustees to manage a charity’s resources with care. Never before have I known a charityto be tested as Norwich Theatre has been since we were forced to close. It was during this time that, facing an uncertain future, we had to undertake a major restructure. It was with the greatest sadness and regret that we said goodbye to many colleagues and I re-affirm my thanks to them for their commitment and dedicationto the organisation.

Finally, I would like to record my thanks to all those who have supported us and, in particular, to the DCMS and Arts Council England for their transformative support through the Culture Recovery Fund. With this support, and a plan for a new future coming to fruition, we feel confident now that Norwich Theatre will not only survive but also truly thrive as a cultural and community hub again.

Michael Newey Chair of Trustees

My thanks must also go to our Chief Executive, the Executive team and all of our staff and volunteers. I am hugely grateful to my fellow trustees for the care and skill they have brought to making important decisions, which have at times been extremely difficult. Their commitment has resulted in our fulfilling our ultimate duty: to protect the future of Norwich Theatre and its ongoing charitable mission.

The impact of COVID on Norwich Theatre " O brave new world… Miranda, The Tempest, Act 5, scene 1

There is more than a little Shakespeare to the story of the past eighteen months at Norwich Theatre. On 16 March 2020 — quite in the dramatic vein of Twelfth Night, The Tempest, or The Winter’s Tale — we were shipwrecked by the news that our stages, our bars and restaurant, and our venues must close immediately. Shipwreck is not too strong a word. As the second oldest Theatre Royal in the country, we had long been fiercely proud of our historic warrant, granting us the right to stage productions at our discretion, and keeping us open — near-continuously — for more than 250 years. Yet here we were, pulling the plug on the evening performance — and the run — of Les Misérables, one of the biggest and best-subscribed productions in our history, and the highest-grossing. Nor could we know, in March 2020 as the storm raged, where we would be cast ashore, or whether we would survive there. Certainly, in the days leading to the first lockdown, the executive team felt like castaways — turning to one another for comfort, in an unknown landscape — as they gathered daily in the CEO’s office to listen to the Prime Minister’s ever-bleaker briefings. It was in these days that we realised just how dependent we had always been on our venues — our ships, if you like — for our existence as a charity. Fully 96 per cent of our income, and our ability to fulfil our charitable purpose, depends on the community of Norwich and Norfolk having access to our buildings. Our buildings which had been forcibly closed. As the lockdown became more open-ended, with no promise of our theatres opening again, nor of any revenue, it became starkly clear how vulnerable we were: how we must learn, and reinvent, and rise to a challenge the like of which we had never imagined.

‘Oh, wonder!’ Miranda says, ‘How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is!’ Truly, in the hour of our need we were overwhelmed and humbled by the loyalty which you extended: you, our audiences, supporters, friends and participants. You transferred your tickets as we rescheduled shows, often many times. You showed the most enormous patience. You turned your bookings into donations when we were forced to cancel altogether. ‘O brave new world that has such people in it.’

It became starkly clear how vulnerable we were: how we must learn, and reinvent, and rise to a challenge the like of which we had never imagined.

Your generosity in our time of crisis " The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop on me… Caliban, The Tempest, Act 3, scene 2

Sometimes what happens before our eyes in theatre can seem miraculous. The response of our audience and supporters to our COVID public appeal was such a miracle. We realised early in the pandemic that we could either hide from it, cowering until it had passed, or hurl our energy into facing it, and into the continued delivery — by whatever possible means — of our mission.

It was our duty to you — the people of Norfolk and East Anglia — to carry on. To do so, however, in the absence of income, we would need support. So we approached our database of friends and audiences, asking for your help to keep our work in the community alive. For a second time we found ourselves in the eye of a tempest. But now it was a storm of generosity and support. We received £150,000 in individual donations and £400,0000 in grants from foundations and trusts and donations from our corporate supporters. We were profoundly moved. This lifeline kept our ship afloat, and our work in the community going, albeit for the time being online. And it gave us a platform from which to face the many challenges of our future.

In all, we cancelled over 80 shows across our three venues. More than a hundred were rescheduled, some multiple times. At the height of lockdowns, as many as 95 per cent of our staff were furloughed, leaving almost nobody but a handful of colleagues at work. Most sadly of all, we lost highly valued colleagues in the restructure into which we were forced by our financial straits. But you trusted us. You believed in our purpose and our people. And this is the story of what we have endured and learned through a tempest, and on an uncharted shore. It is the story of how we have grown, and come back stronger, and the map which will guide us into a surer future, more creative and resilient than ever before. With you, our friends and audiences, at our side.

"Truly, in the hour of our

need we were overwhelmed and humbled by the loyalty which you extended: you, our audiences, supporters, friends and participants. You transferred your tickets as we rescheduled shows, often many times. You showed the most enormous patience. You turned your bookings into donations when we were forced to cancel altogether.

Culture Recovery Fund " Hast thou not dropped from heaven? Caliban, The Tempest, Act 2, scene 2

The next huge milestone in securing our financial viability — and our creative future — came in October 2020 when we received a grant of three million pounds from the Culture Recovery Fund administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This was later followed by a further two and a half million pounds in repayable finance.

As a charity with no state support, almost entirely reliant on the operation of our venues for income, we had been left exquisitely vulnerable by the lockdowns. The monies we received from the DCMS felt like recompense for years of holding our own without Arts Council funding. And without them we would have folded. They ensured instead that we could continue operating until March 2021, offering support to communities struggling with their mental health and wellbeing, and hope to audiences that our theatres would survive, re-open and again delight with world-class performance.

Norwich Theatre Team

Focussing on our core purpose to provide Creative Experiences " Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears, and sometimes voices… Caliban, The Tempest, Act 3, scene 2 What is a theatre without theatres? This question circled in our minds as we faced the indefinite closure of our stages. After the cancellation of our shows, and the many difficulties which followed, there came a quiet understanding, that — much as we loved them — we were not defined by our venues; that our meaning in the community of Norwich, Norfolk and East Anglia lay in people’s hearts and their imaginations. Understanding this, we resolved to keep our mission alive, however great the challenge; to mine our creative reserves still deeper to meet the needs of our audiences, our supporters and our many friends. To deliver this, we needed to do two things. The first was to take our creativity to new levels; to be bolder than ever before, bringing the life, the music and

the meaning of our theatres into people’s homes. Initially this meant activities by phone, through the post and digitally. Later, as regulations changed, we offered performances in the open air. ‘Be not afeard;’ as Caliban says, urging us to courage, ‘the isle is full of noises / Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.’

To deliver this, we needed to do two things. The first was to take our creativity to new levels; to be bolder than ever before, bringing the life, the music and the meaning of our theatres into people’s homes. And hurt not. The second thing we had to do — at all costs — was rebuild the bond of trust we held with our loyal audiences. So we surveyed you and listened to what you needed in order to feel safe when the time came for us to reopen our venues and welcome you back in person. Much later, as restrictions eased still further, your feedback gave us the confidence to stage our COVID-secure A Right Royal Christmas: in exactly the way which you had told us would make you feel secure and give you the sense of festivity and normality that we were craving.

INTERLUDE: our brand new stage " In this same interlude it doth befall That I, one Snout by name, present a wall. And such a wall, as I would have you think, That had in it a crannied hole, or chink… Snout, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, scene 1

How prescient of Shakespeare to factor into Pyramus and Thisbe’s wall a chink, by way of good ventilation; for ventilation was the limiting — and wonderfully un-limiting — factor in our summer 2020 season, entitled INTERLUDE.

For six weeks last summer our big top became a crucible for creativity, participation, community and — in a time of darkness — joy.

Thanks to our partnership with Lost in Translation Circus, and support from Norwich City Council and Norwich BID, INTERLUDE was staged in a COVIDsecure big top, pitched in Chapelfield Gardens in the city centre. For six weeks during that summer our big top became a crucible for creativity, participation, community and — in a time of darkness — joy. Countless performers came together to deliver INTERLUDE, many of whom had been booked for the Playhouse season which we were forced to cancel. Contributing artists included Mark Watson, Arabella Weir, Ben Hart, Graffiti Classics, Jimmy Carr, Ruby Wax and Norwich favourite Karl Minns. Lost in Translation Circus brought their own flair to cabaret and circus performances for all ages. With Interlude gaining momentum, feeding East Anglia’s hunger for in-person performance, we put on INTERLUDE Fringe, featuring a host of local poets, musicians and artists.

As autumn came and the University of East Anglia faced the unique challenge of offering a warm welcome to new and returning students — while keeping everyone safe and respecting COVID regulations — Norwich Theatre and Lost In Translation Circus were invited to help. So we pitched our big top on campus, delivering INTERLUDE@UEA from late September to mid-October. Performances included comedy by Eddie Izzard and a concert production of Hair directed by Arlene Phillips, and featuring West End stars Jodie Steele, Sophie Isaacs, T’Shan Williams, Layton Williams, Cleve September and Jordan Luke Gage.

In summer 2021, to coincide with Dippy on Tour visiting Norwich Cathedral, we pitched our big top in the Cathedral Close and INTERLUDE was revived, in a partnership between Norwich Theatre, Lost in Translation Circus, Norwich Cathedral and the Norwich School. INTERLUDE in the CLOSE featured a dazzling range of performance and immersive experience, including The Wind in the Willows musical, The Handlebards’ The Importance of Being Ernest, comedy from Rhod Gilbert, Rhys James and Henning Wehn, and more brilliantly entertaining circus from Lost in Translation. An interlude, for Shakespeare, was a play within a play, or a scene bringing light relief from looming tragedy. Our INTERLUDES during the COVID pandemic were all exactly that: light, laughter and creative escape from darkness all around us. But beyond performance, beyond music, beyond art and beyond applause, INTERLUDE was our gift to Norwich and East Anglia, our way of honouring the trust that you, our audiences, have in us.

A Right Royal Christmas Christmas is a time of magic, of imagination, and of family. For Christmas 2020, through hard work, meticulous planning, and not a little luck, we were able to deliver all of these and more in our riotous show A Right Royal Christmas.

Creative Community Recovery Programme

Traditionally when we stage a show we worry about set, actors, music, lights and performance. Last Christmas — as, with excitement and trepidation, we opened our doors for the first time in many months — we had your safety and your trust foremost in our minds. We installed a misting system into the roof at Theatre Royal to disinfect the auditorium between performances. Backstage, the theatre was zoned, to keep performers, crew and audiences safe. Between the front door and your seats we made a huge effort, with screens, social distancing, and the tireless work of our wonderful staff, to make you feel both safe and warmly welcome.

A Circus Carol

She Go Does it Under the Christmas Tree

Panto in a Pickle!

A Right Royal Christmas featured three productions: comedy; circus from our friends at Lost in Translation; and our very own pared-down Panto in a Pickle, written for us by Norwich’s favourite panto dame Richard Gauntlett. On the busiest day of the Christmas season we staged six shows, two of each production, putting a buzz back in the wings of the Theatre Royal and keeping Norwich Theatre in your hearts at Christmas, where we belong. As Christmas is always such a busy time in theatre, Norwich Theatre teams had not enjoyed a relaxing family holiday for years. With this in mind, CEO Stephen Crocker insisted that A Right Royal Christmas should run only until Christmas Eve. This decision proved hugely fortuitous. As lockdowns began again immediately after Christmas, Norwich Theatre Royal was among the only venues in the country to deliver its Christmas programme in full.

O, I have suffered with those that I saw suffer. Miranda, The Tempest, Act 1, scene 2

One strand of activities — delivered in partnership with care homes and charitable organisations such as Age UK — was designed for older people who had been left isolated by the COVID pandemic. At first workshops were delivered by telephone, by post or online, embracing dance, poetry, acting, singing and craft. As it became safe to do so, we began giving workshops in person too, to small, socially-distanced groups, in care homes and libraries and, eventually, in our own venues too.

While, at our core, Norwich Theatre remains the home of live performance in East Anglia, COVID threw into relief the second facet of our mission: as a force for positive change in the community. In October 2020 we launched our Creative Community Recovery Programme, using participation and creativity to redress the widespread sense of loss and isolation occasioned in the region by the pandemic. Reaching far and wide across Norwich and Norfolk, our ten-month programme offered creative and artistic activities to those whose lives had been hardest hit by the pandemic. All our workshops were compliant with COVID regulations and we took the greatest care to keep participants safe.

Our second strand of activities was for children whose lives had been made more challenging or traumatic by the pandemic. Working with schools in the city, our specialist team tailored workshops encouraging children to tell their own stories — through drama and other creative arts — and work towards emotional wellbeing through self-expression. Our Creative Community Recovery Programme was made possible by the generosity of individual donors and by grants from Anguish’s Educational Foundation, Norfolk Community Foundation and Norwich Freemen’s Charity.

UK Tour: Carlos Acosta " When you do dance, I wish you A wave o’ the sea, that you might ever do Nothing but that… Florizel, The Winter’s Tale, Act 4, scene 4 In the depth of winter, at his lowest point in the long lockdowns, CEO Stephen Crocker answered the telephone to Carlos Acosta CBE. The dance legend wanted to remount his show On Before, which had been cancelled in 2020 thanks to COVID. And, Stephen recalls, ‘When Carlos has the bit between his teeth there is no stopping him.’ To render Carlos’ vision viable, other venues would need to be included to make a tour. Dates were agreed with The Lowry, Salford, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, and The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, and, the first large-scale touring show in Norwich Theatre’s long history was conceived. This was a daring move for all involved; in Carlos’ words, an act of resilience. For Norwich Theatre the tour was a statement that we would not just survive the pandemic; but that we could come out of it stronger and more dynamic than ever before. We were hugely proud to be chosen as Carlos’ creative partner and likewise moved by the response of audiences across the country, who saw their social and artistic horizons re-expanding as Carlos’ performance of On Before wove a powerful story of doomed love.

This was a daring move for all involved; in Carlos’ words, an act of resilience

His most deeply personal work, On Before was created in honour of Carlos Acosta’s late mother. In addition to his own, it features choreography by world-renowned artists including Russell Maliphant, Kim Brandstrup and Will Tuckett, set to a musical repertoire stretching from Händel to contemporary Cuban composer Omar Puente. Carlos was joined on stage by fellow Cuban dancer Laura Rodríguez, a founding member of his ground-breaking company Acosta Danza. The show was a sell-out; and as it toured COVID restrictions loosened, meaning still more people could enjoy its final performances. Our journey with Carlos Acosta is far from over: we are thrilled to be exploring a future life for the show both nationally and internationally as well as other future projects.

What’s past is prologue "

And by that destiny to perform an act Whereof what’s past is prologue; what to come In yours and my discharge. Antonio, The Tempest, Act 2, scene 1 What a storm we have weathered these eighteen months past. What a raging, turbulent sea that shipwrecked us. Let us hope we do not see their like again.

Our perspective is wider and our ambition greater.

As we pick ourselves up, and we stride up the shore — like Alonso and his courtiers in The Tempest — we face an unknown landscape, full of challenges, but also of new scope and opportunities. Likewise, as we emerge from lockdowns, from cancellations and financial losses, we are the same Norwich Theatre that we always were, yet somehow our perspective is wider and our ambition greater.

Our Young Cultural Leaders programme will help young people, aged 18-30, to shape the future of the creative sector, be it as artists, managers, or audiences. Through mentoring, peer-led workshops and shadowing professionals, young people will be helped to bring their voices, their diversity and their passion to the cultural landscape.

We face our future with a new resolve: to fulfil our purpose in the community of Norwich and East Anglia with even greater relevance and resilience. We will target our work in the community to have still more positive impacts in people’s lives.

Our Artist Advisory Group, active from autumn 2021 to March 2022, offers paid positions to twelve performance artists from Norfolk and Suffolk. Their input, as consultants, will help us tailor our future to the audiences, communities and artists with whom — and for whom — we work.

With the groundbreaking success of INTERLUDE behind us, and with a wealth of knowledge gained from consulting our audience, we will be bolder too and more creative. We entered the pandemic with three much-loved stages: the Theatre Royal, the Playhouse and Stage Two. Having overcome it by developing our own Digital Stage, a new streaming platform for workshops and performance, and creating INTERLUDE, our pop-up outdoor venue, we come out of it with five stages, giving us greater flexibility, relevance and reach.

And this is but the start. We have now launched three major initiatives to ensure we best represent the needs of our community. Through our Creative Community Enquiry we are asking the people of Norwich and East Anglia for your views on our creative future. Whose stories would you like to hear told? How best can we tell them? How do we remove the social, cultural and economic barriers to your experience of Norwich Theatre? Our consultations will include creative workshops, online surveys and open days, and will count on the participation of diverse partners, including Norwich Age UK, MIND, St Martin’s Housing, East Norfolk Sixth Form College, Norwich City of Sanctuary, Deaf Connections and New Routes.

Finally, we are close to completing our next four-year strategy, which will embrace all that we have learned during the pandemic. It will be built on the four pillars which underly all our work: place, people, prosperity and performance. Full details will be released in 2022. Facing the future we feel strong. What’s past, we’ve come to realise, is prologue. And what’s to come, with your continued support and trust, is ours to create together.

"Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep Prospero, The Tempest, Act 4, scene 1 24

Thanks Theatre, at its most powerful, is a gift. But not a gift that passes in one direction. It is an act of shared creativity and trust, enacted by performers, but enabled by an audience. Over these past eighteen months, you, our friends and audiences, have enabled us — quite literally — to keep going. All of us at Norwich Theatre has been humbled by the overwhelming warmth and generosity you have shown. Without exaggeration, we would not be here without you.

And when cautiously we began to open our doors, you flooded back. Your trust in us, and belief in what we do, will never be forgotten.

When we closed our doors, you changed your bookings, then turned your bookings to donations. When we appealed for money to stay afloat, you gave it, handsomely. When we asked for your advice on making you feel safe, you offered it. And when cautiously we began to open our doors, you flooded back. Your trust in us, and belief in what we do, will never be forgotten.

All of us at Norwich Theatre has been humbled by the overwhelming warmth and generosity you have shown. Without exaggeration, we would not be here without you.

We are also immensely grateful to the many charities, statutory bodies and companies which extended their support to keep us open. And to the countless collaborators who have worked with us — in ever bolder and more creative ways — to keep theatre and our community work alive in Norwich. Finally, we are deeply grateful to our own people: our staff and volunteers who have ridden this storm with us, with courage, determination and good humour. Our doors are open; our stages wider and more diverse than ever; so too the stories we can tell. We are thankful and excited to have you with us as we turn to face the future. Together we are such stuff as dreams are made on.

Our supporters Mavericks Dr Peter Blake Lady Delia Goodenough Ken Hobbs Nicholas Lodge David Steward Olwyn Venn Patricia West

Angels Mr S Back Neil Bain Ann Ford Samantha Gurney Jill Noble Karen Peel Mr & Mrs C Williams

Front Row Marya Diggle Chris Harrod Lesley Jones Trevor Nichols Stephanie Renouf

Ambassadors Regina Gray-Lyons Rebecca Hillman Rod Mills Mrs S Pearce Robert Sharp

Trusts & Foundations Anguish’s Educational Foundation Arts Council England Barratt Family Charitable Trust Garfield Weston Foundation DCMS Culture Recovery Fund The John Jarrold Trust The Lady Hind Trust Nigel Bertram Charitable Trust Norfolk Community Foundation Norwich City Council Norwich Freemen’s Charity

Paul Hamlyn Foundation Paul Bassham Charitable Trust Simon Gibson Charitable Trust

Sponsors Gleniston Facilities Management Hatch Brenner Loveday and Partners Rosedale Funeral Homes Ltd

Associate Sponsors ABC Taxis Charles Stanley Contract Personnel Desira Smith & Pinching Financial Services Ltd Hatch Brenner Larking Gowen Orchard Toys Signs Express

Premium Corporate Members

Loveday & Partners Lovewell Blake M&A Partners Marsh Mayday Integrated Office Systems Mills and Reeve Norfolk Chambers of Commerce Norfolk Country Cottages Norfolk Police Social Club North Norfolk Theatre Goers Nu-Image ReAssure Rosedale Funeral Homes Ltd Savills (UK) Ltd Sinclair International Ltd Smith & Pinching Financial Services Ltd

Associate Corporate Members Holiday Cottages

Thank you To everyone who donated to our Coronavirus Crisis Appeal and Creative Recovery Fund.

Alan Boswell Insurance Group Andrew Denny Consulting Anglian Group PLC Archant Birketts Solicitors LLP Carters (RG Carter Holdings Ltd) City College Norwich Computer Service Centre Contract Personnel Ltd (ACB) CSSC Sport and Leisure (Anglia Area Civil Service Sports Council) Dipple & Conway Ltd Eastern Voice & Data Elizabeths The Florist The Forum Trust Ltd Hatch Brenner LLP Howes Percival LLP Jarrold The Store Larking Gowen LLP Leathes Prior Solicitors

norwichtheatre.org 01603 630000 Photo credits: Dave Guttridge, Manuel Harlan, Max Hilton, Richard Jarmy, Johan Persson Norwich Theatre Royal, Playhouse and Stage Two are part of Norwich Theatre, the operating name of Theatre Royal (Norwich) Trust Limited. Registered Office: Theatre Street, Norwich NR2 1RL. Company Registration No. 997352. Registered Charity No. 262259.