Belgrade 2020 Vision

The Belgrade Theatre Coventry 2020 Vision

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The Belgrade Theatre Coventry 2020 Vision

The Belgrade Theatre is the vibrant, creative heart of Coventry and proud to be a key player in the City’s bid to become the UK’s City of Culture in 2021. In 1958 the Belgrade was the first civic theatre to be built after WW2 and soon became renowned for its programme of ground-breaking new drama and led the way in Theatre in Education. Today the Belgrade celebrates its position as a major arts and cultural facility serving Coventry and far beyond.

Behind the Belgrade’s team of skilled and hard-working staff are a dedicated Board, and the Senior Management team, who are committed to a dynamic vision of the Belgrade’s future. This 2020 Vision helps provide a clearer view of our plans in the lead up to Coventry’s City of Culture bid for 2021 and beyond. The Belgrade is supportive of Coventry City’s Cultural Strategy 2017-2027 and our 2020 Vision clearly demonstrates this support, as well as the very practical, positive and innovative ways the Belgrade seeks to build its developing role in making real change in our City and its cultural life.

An important theme running through this vision is to advance and reflect diversity. We want to ensure that we reflect and influence our local community though the work we put on, the audiences we attract, the talent we nurture and the people we work with.

These documents aim to help the Belgrade to provide a focus for further discussion and support. Thank you for your interest in the Belgrade Theatre.

Stewart Ferguson Chairman, 2016

Audiences

Audiences are at the heart of everything we do.

We want the Belgrade to be the beating heart of the City and region; loved and used by all with thriving ticket sales and growing audiences.

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Belgrade Theatre Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1GS

Earned income in excess of 70% by 2020 From 2008/09 to 2015/16 our earned income (income in addition to public funds) has grown from 46% to 66%. Steps taken to increase the box office income element of this have been implemented over recent years, including a review and revision of Panto pricing, which has seen ticket income grow by 14%, and the introduction of a booking fee. More recent changes include single pricing structures for our ‘Big Night Out’ productions and B2 shows. These are just some of the ideas that will help us to reach our goals for 2020 and beyond.

Inspiring collections of shows Our seasons are always varied with a broad range of shows to appeal to as wide an audience as possible from many different backgrounds. The intention is to focus, where appropriate, on ‘Branded Seasons’ (such as 2016’s Hidden Histories) as a way of facilitating marketing and driving new audiences to the Theatre.

Rewarding loyalty Our customers are our best ambassadors and building their engagement with the Belgrade Brand is key to growing ticket sales.

My Belgrade is just one of our new programmes that rewards frequent bookers with opportunities for deeper engagement.

Expect more on the road to 2020.

Reaching out In 2015/16, 51% of bookers came from outside the City of Coventry. The work the Belgrade produces sees people travelling to Coventry from far and wide, but the potential to grow this is huge. The intention is to build on the success of events such as our free Family Days with promotions targeting audiences from beyond

How to help This is YOUR Belgrade. How can you help in its journey? You can start by encouraging people to attend more – telling them about the wide variety of shows that are on - and spreading the word about different ways to get involved.

For more details visit www.belgrade.co.uk/support-us the City, as well as a programme of events aimed at building greater engagement from diverse audiences.

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Hub

The Belgrade is an energetic and creative facilitator that will work in partnership with others to harness the vibrant local arts infrastructure; promoting a strong and diverse cultural identity for the City and maximising the contribution of arts and culture to our economic future.

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Belgrade Theatre Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1GS

What is the Belgrade Hub? The Belgrade Hub serves as a creative producer, facilitator, broker, co-ordinator and promoter of theatre and performing arts in the City and sub-region. It will provide support, encouragement, and broker interaction and knowledge transfer between organisations, groups and individuals, particularly those under-represented in the Arts. Together we can help increase the contribution Culture and the Arts make locally in aiding regeneration, growth, quality-of-life and sustainable prosperity.

Ambition The Belgrade Hub will offer the Theatre an opportunity to be the voice of the future once again. A radical model of how theatre and performing arts can become more deeply embedded and valued in society and economic life. By 2020 an Action Plan will have been devised and be on-going in helping develop a community that unites local artists, educational establishments and companies to share time, in-kind support and create far reaching opportunities.

Success A successful Belgrade Hub will boast a wide number of partners offering a deeper level of engagement. This will highlight the benefits the Arts has across a number of platforms and will generate investment and development from a broader sector.

Key networks As well as local performing arts organisations we also want to engage more strongly with young people, new and diverse communities, voluntary organisations and educational establishments, along with their cultural offshoots. We also hope to work alongside other commercial organisations from the wider cultural economic sector such as the computer games and film industries.

How to help This is YOUR Belgrade. How can you help in its journey? Start by encouraging people to see a show by one of our Springboard companies and spreading the word about how Culture and the Arts aids regeneration and improves local quality of life.

For more details on how to help please visit

www.belgrade.co.uk/support-us

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Transformation

Theatre has the power to transform lives both in the classroom and the community. The Belgrade will continue its pioneering role in ensuring that our children grow up with the gifts of imagination and artistic endeavour.

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Belgrade Theatre Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1GS

A Theatre for learning We will continue to bring theatre to Coventry’s schools, further education colleges and universities. Our ambition is to provide a theatre experience for all those under 18. We want to build indepth relationships with targeted schools, develop relationships with teachers, identify school youth ambassadors and provide a broad, open offer to all schools, with a drama practitioner in selected schools one day a week by 2020.

Aiding the National Curriculum We will identify Ofsted’s priorities, expressed by the National Curriculum, to ensure our proposed programme delivers what our schools and young people need as closely as possible. This will include at least one production annually to fit with the National Curriculum.

A resource to aid community integration We will work with the varied communities of Coventry and the region, using theatre to enhance community cohesion and personal wellbeing and reflect its diverse make up.

Regeneration We will work in partnership with organisations who work with the City’s most vulnerable communities, to provide tailormade arts engagement opportunities, as well as helping local businesses to become more successful.

How to help This is YOUR Belgrade. How can you help in its journey? Start by encouraging people to attend more and spread the word about the great work we do in schools and the community.

For more details on how to help, please visit

www.belgrade.co.uk/support-us

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Enterprise

The Belgrade is a multi-skilled resource offering numerous income-generating opportunities such as set-building, conferencing and catering.

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Belgrade Theatre Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1GS W W W. B E LG R A D E . CO. U K

Belgrade Production Services (BPS) BPS offers a unique package of practical and creative skills, generating valuable income for the Theatre. Its new service of CNC routing and cutting simple or complex shaping, and profiling on a wide range of sheet materials, offers the potential to grow new business customers.

Catering We’ve taken our catering in house. We’ve turned around the profitability of this element of the Belgrade offer, and we’re developing exciting new food and drink opportunities.

Events and Conferencing The Belgrade offers a complete event package for anyone looking for an inspiring venue for their event or conference.

With technical, hospitality and catering skills available and a range of dates between shows, we look forward to maximising the potential for other events or corporate clients.

Thinking outside the box!

There’s a wealth of creative ideas that evolve from show to show and offer income-generating opportunities. For example photo opportunities on the Little Shop of Horrors set and special merchandise items for Panto.

How to help This is YOUR Belgrade and with your help we can maximise its potential as a catalyst for regeneration in the area. Start by encouraging people to attend more and spread the word about our conferencing facilities.

For more details on how to help please visit

www.belgrade.co.uk/support-us

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Belgrade Theatre Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1GS

BOX OFFICE 024 7655 3055 www.belgrade.co.uk The Belgrade Theatre Trust (Coventry) Ltd is a registered charity number 219163