Manchester theatres feeling the pinch in the cost of living crisis
Our regional correspondent Victoria Glover investigates the impact of rising bills on small independent theatre venues in the North West.
We're investigating how the cost of living crisis is impacting livelihoods across the North West, with more than a third of us admitting to cutting back on our spending when it comes to nights out and entertainment.
For some small theatre venues across the region, times are tough; especially for those which were already struggling to recover in the post-pandemic world.
Danny Clifford is a Manchester based actor, writer and producer who's seeing first hand how the cost of living crisis is changing the landscape for performers like him.
"It's sad to see a lot of theatres are closing. The investment isn't the same up north as it is down south. Just in the five years that I've been writing and producing shows, I've seen at least three or four theatres shut down, just in the Manchester area. It needs some investment and some revival.
"It's tough for small venues to keep their head above water when they're solely relying on ticket sales. I think in the post pandemic situation that we're in, a lot of people are dubious about coming to the theatre, and then you've also got inflation with prices rising - there's just a lot of pressure on people at the moment."
Meanwhile some venues are being forced to take special measures to survive. Chorley Theatre in Lancashire would normally close for the month of August for building maintenance and repair work - but this year it's not able to do so. It will be the first time since the building stopped operating as a full time cinema in 1959 that it's opened its doors over the summer.
Ian Robinson is the operations director at the venue:
"Just as we seemed to be recovering and getting back to pre-pandemic audience levels, that's when things slowed a bit when bills started going up. It's still going well but it's difficult when even volunteers sometimes can't afford to get here, and you can understand that audiences will cut back on certain areas.
"The only way we can keep open, is to stay open. Normally we spend the summer doing repair work on the building but this year we just don't have that option. We have to keep open to pay the bills, even the cost of wood to build a set has gone up. It all has a knock on effect so we just have to keep open to keep going."
In response to the cost of living crisis this year, 37% of people say they have reduced the amount of paid cultural activities they do at the weekend, like cinema, theatre, museums, concerts or festivals, and a further 16% have considered it but are yet to do it.
An Arts Council England spokesperson said: “We know these are challenging times, and sometimes organisations have to make tough decisions.
“Our much loved creative industries bring people and communities together, boost health and wellbeing and help us all lead happier, more creative lives. In addition to the unprecedented Culture Recovery Funds and Emergency Response Funds distributed throughout the pandemic, our ongoing investments across a range of funds will continue to support organisations across the sector, from creative individuals and grassroot organisations, to national institutions.”