Business Plan 2018-22

Mission

Unfolding Theatre brings together surprising combinations of people to take part in professional creative processes. These collaborations generate remarkable theatre for national audiences, reflecting stories of people from a range of communities.

Vision

• More people are leading happier, more creatively fulfilled lives • Mainstream theatre better reflects England’s diversity, driving artistic excellence • People with different lived experiences are better connected

Values & Artistic Voice

Unfolding Theatre works to achieve its vision by making big-hearted theatre that delights in bringing people together. It values generosity, warmth, creativity, humour and diversity. Its participatory approach generates warm, distinctive theatre, rich in ideas. Its work has a positive, sometimes profound, impact on participants, artists and audiences. “My hands were shaky at first. Coming here, doing something new, I’ve got my confidence back.” Participant, young person in care, Sunderland

Frost of Forgetfulness, Ashington ‘16, Putting The Band Back Together, national tour 16-17, Best in the World, national tour ‘12-17, We, The Crowd, Newcastle ‘16, Lands of Glass, national 15/16

Awards and acclaim Described by the Guardian as “thrillingly talented people”, Unfolding Theatre projects and productions have achieved the following: • Performance of the Year, Journal Culture Awards, Putting The Band Back Together, 2017 • “Fantastic – funny, big-hearted, moving, truthful” Guardian, Putting The Band Back Together • Engaging Young People Award, National Centre for Public Engagement, What If?, 2014 • Title Pending award; “Chiming, harmonising, enchanting” Telegraph - Lands of Glass, 2014 • Northern Royal Television Society Innovation Award; 3 Big Chip Awards: excellence in digital technology, Time Machine with Tyneside Cinema, 2012 • Best Emerging Company finalist, Total Theatre Awards; “There can only be one word for it: magic theatre” Guardian, Best in the World, 2012 • Performance of the Year, Journal Culture Awards, Building Palaces, 2010 2

Executive Summary: Updated March 2020 (pre-Covid lockdown) Since founding in 2008, Unfolding Theatre has established itself as one of the North East’s leading contemporary theatre companies. It has forged a reputation for joyful, innovative theatre made in collaboration with a wide range of people. In recognition of its achievements and ambitions, Arts Council of England has awarded Unfolding Theatre National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding for 2018-22. Their investment of £105,000 per year enables an exciting phase of development.

Unfolding Theatre’s audiences have grown every year since founding. In 2017/18, it reached 6,678 audience members on tour. 1,169 individuals took part in workshops. 23,747 digital audiences tuned in via BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio Scotland and online. It plans to grow its audiences by 30% in 2018-22. This equates to 31,200 live audiences and 104,000 digital audiences over the 4 years. Unfolding Theatre has made fantastic progress towards this target in 2018-20 reaching 23,500 live audiences, 21,878 online digital audiences to date (2018-19 only; 2019-20 figures being compiled), plus significant broadcast audiences via features on BBC Radio 4.

Its artistic programme is built around 4 major new productions. This will increase the company’s national touring repertoire with 2 new shows reaching audiences across the UK. 1 of these productions is Unfolding Theatre’s first production made specifically for young audiences. 2 major site-specific productions are sited in areas of low arts engagement. This aims to ensure audience growth includes people who rarely access the arts and engagement grows amongst those currently least engaged in arts and culture. Alongside these major projects, the company will continue to deliver its in-demand programme of commissions that helps it reach new audiences from different communities and areas.

All of Unfolding Theatre’s creative processes bring together talented artists and members of the public, from a range of communities, to collaborate. This approach offers inspiring, meaningful arts experiences and generates distinctive theatre, rich in ideas. Unfolding Theatre deliver this activity through 3 Associate Artist posts. The posts, focusing on community, children & young people and digital engagement, enable more people to take part in its creative processes.

Together with talented artists, Ian Fenton (filmmaker), Alex Elliott (performer), Luca Rutherford (writer), Imogen Cloet (designer) and Mariam Rezaei (sound designer), the team are worked with 50 young people at Excelsior Academy and Queen’s Hall youth theatre to make live and digital piece for young audiences, Multiverse Arcade. It collaborated with award-winning choreographer, Liv Lorent (BalletLORENT), elderly people and parents with babies, to make a new touring production, Hold On Let Go, exploring what we remember and what we forget of our lives. It is building on the success of its collaboration with Ross Millard (The Futureheads) and 50+ local people to make 2 new site-specific productions, in Sunderland and in Seacroft, Leeds.

Unfolding Theatre believes in making theatre that reflects 21st century Britain. It plans to increase the diversity of its artistic collaborators, increasing the numbers of the artists it works with from under-represented communities to 22% of its workforce by 2022.

Innovative digital projects are at the heart of Unfolding Theatre’s work with children and young people from 2018-22. High profile public presentations of their creative work aims to offer young people remarkable experiences and opportunities to make their voices heard. The programme kicked off with Multiverse Arcade presented as part of Great Exhibition of the North 2018.

Unfolding Theatre is committed to learning. The company is offering mentoring and volunteering opportunities to young artists across its programme. It plans to share its own learning through speaking at events and publishing independent evaluation of its practice. It is also receiving mentoring by highly experienced artists to keep developing its own artistic practice. Examples of past mentors include Phelim McDermott (Improbable) and Alex Kelly (Third Angel).

In 2018, Unfolding Theatre grew and diversified its board from 4 to 6 trustees to improve its skillset. The company is also establishing a youth steering group, enabling young people to shape its artistic and audience development plans.

NPO funding enables longer-term planning, which improves Unfolding Theatre’s ability to achieve trust and foundation funding and larger commissions. It is proud of its success in achieving at least 50% of turnover through earned income. It plans to build on this, and its growing relationship with trusts and foundations, to improve the company’s financial sustainability. Its programme aims to see the company’s turnover grow by 50% over the 4 years, reaching £300,000 by 2021/22. 5. 3

S Talent Artistic / Expertise W T Artistic quality/reputation of work: joyful, high quality Reliant on flow of good ideas. Concentrated IP. E R Annie and team of artists who buy into UT’s vision Understanding and experience in Arts Award A E K N Profile / Partnerships Profile / partnerships N G Good reputation/relationships with funders (ACE & some T&Fs) & partners Lower profile/partners in national arts sector. Fewer Southern partners E T Key venues relationships (Northern Stage, BAC) & CPPs (bait, Cultural Spring). Mostly NE Lack of networks/partnerships with universities, local authorities & schools S H xsite architecture relationship: office, finance admin in-kind, donation ‘Only as good as your last show’ syndrome S

S Audiences / Participants Audiences / Participants E Strong audience & participant base (mostly NE) Low profile with audiences beyond NE S Participatory approach = depth of engagement in/with different places & people “Outstanding” (ACE) children/young people’s work Diversity Board and workforce diversity increasing but still needs to develop. Resources NPO funding 2018-22 Resources Shows can re-tour without expensive re-working Lack of rehearsal space?

Sound financial footing, office base with xsite & built strong reserves for scale Organisation

Organisation No succession plan for Artistic Director, trustees & staff Small, fleet of foot, knowledgeable, committed team. Well-run. Good systems. Vulnerable to small changes/souring relationships. Touring financially precarious Michael’s Company Producer skills. LittleMighty’s help building national touring Run of ‘close but no cigar’ unsuccessful pitches. Still ‘young’ company. Annie is a great spokesperson Admin capacity: additional pressures coming as NPO O Artistic: Talent & Diversity Artistic: Talent & Diversity T P NPO investing in building & diversifying team to make great art. Not achieving artistic excellence. Running out of ideas. H P Artistic potential of UT’s participant relationships R O ‘Now’ / zeitgeist vision. Develop ‘blockbuster’. Partnerships & Context E R Not increasing national partners A T Partnerships & Context Partners’, commissioners’, councils’ budget cuts T U ‘Civic role of arts’ agenda leading to opportunities Less developed local authority networks: hard to access opportunities / budgets S N NPO status builds reputation and networks Reduced CPP budgets in NE > fewer larger commissions I Advocates at key venues/orgs/touring networks, helping us grow / co-producing Transition from ‘emerging company’ into being seen as an established company T Festival 2023. GEN2018. Change in key partners: time it takes to forge new partners I CPP, Great Place schemes & Creative Case for Diversity – fit UT approach ACE change of priorities leading to less match with UT

E Audiences Audiences S Digital Associate: build audiences on new platforms Not achieving a national profile. Competition for audiences: other events/TV. Increasing touring frequency, building momentum with audience relationships Social division, so social theatre less welcome? Geography unlimited – non-building based. Mid-scale touring & bigger tours Lower national audiences: less promoter confidence Better understand audiences: better evaluation/data Resources Resources Decline in lottery revenue – impact on ACE’s budgets. Losing NPO status. T&Fs: building on relationships. Match funds & longer term security through NPO. Impact of Covid-19. Competition for funding pots/commissions. Poor paying environment. ‘Scale up’ tasks with requisite financial risk. Increasing need for working capital Organisation Growing board. New networks. Organisation Scale up participatory approach: town/place level Managing NPO transition. Getting right staff in place. Build reputation for site-specific work. Commissions (i.e. Without Walls network) New staff and trustees – retaining shared vision Business training: leadership, creativity, teambuilding Increased administration for NPO 4

Artistic Plan Unfolding Theatre’s artistic plan aims to build on its success in making award-winning theatre through participatory creative processes. It responds creatively to social and political issues described in the PESTLE anaylsis. It builds on the company’s creative strengths and upcoming opportunities. It also aims to address weaknesses and threats identified in the SWOT analysis. The programme is structured around 4 new major productions:

Multiverse Arcade This studio-scale live event, and associated digital activities, will be Unfolding Theatre’s first touring piece made for young audiences. It is inspired by a question asked to young people at Eton College: “What are you going to do when you’re in charge?” The question assumes future power: an ability to change the world. Unfolding Theatre believes all young people should be asked this question.

The piece will develop Unfolding Theatre’s digital output. A series of online provocations will invite young audience members to consider their own future power and how they could use it to influence and effect 2040’s social and environmental issues. Live events then gather the young audiences together to put their ideas into action and see what happens.

Multiverse Arcade will be showcased at Great Exhibition of the North 2018. This high-profile festival platform enables the piece to reach a range of audiences in Newcastle and visitors to the city. The piece will then be developed for national touring to venues, schools and young people’s settings, and to be accessed digitally.

Hold On Let Go This studio-scale touring production explores telling a life story through the forgotten parts: early childhood, dreams, wild nights, ‘autopilot’ routines and later life dementia. It invites audiences to imagine their own forgotten lives. It explores memory loss as part of life, and how we only know a fraction of ourselves.

The project enables new collaboration with award-winning choreographer, Liv Lorent MBE (BalletLORENT). It builds on the company’s cross-artform practice. This first dance collaboration aims to generate visually captivating physical theatre.

Northern Stage and Battersea Arts Centre will support research and development (R&D). Residencies will showcase work to promoters and gain audience and peer feedback to fuel artistic development. National touring from 2019 helps build Unfolding Theatre’s audiences and venue partnerships.

The B-Sides [working title] A large-scale, site-specific production in Sunderland will be made in collaboration with local people and Sunderland Culture. Performances will be sited in a surprising location offering memorable audience experiences. This aims to build on Unfolding Theatre’s track record of site-specific events that attract audiences who do not regularly access the arts. [Note: This is planned as a live event but due to Covid-19 disruption digital versions may be explored.]

The piece will build on the success of recent collaboration with over 50 local people (aged 8-80+) and musician Ross Millard (The Futureheads), Putting The Band Back Together. It will explore acts of hospitality and the welcoming of strangers. Made in collaboration with diverse local people, including Leavers and Remainers, it aims to explore how difference can be less divisive and what brings communities together.

The project aims to realise Unfolding Theatre’s artistic ambitions for longer-term community collaboration. Longer-term creative planning, made possible by 4 years of NPO investment, aims to strengthen long-term relationships with community collaborators to generate innovative, high quality theatre made for specific places.

Site-specific Production A further large-scale, site-specific production, sited in an area of low arts engagement, aims to extend Unfolding Theatre’s participatory theatre-making practice beyond its home region of the North East. Unfolding Theatre is currently building a relationship with community organisation, LS14, in Seacroft, Leeds, as a potential partner and location for this work. This ensures the company’s audience growth is made up of people who may rarely access the arts, as well as those reached through venue-based national touring.

Similar to The B-Sides, this project will take hospitality as a creative starting point. R&D with local communities will explore the development of content and theme.

Resourcing

Governance Unfolding Theatre is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. In 2018, it had 4 trustees (Anna Disley [chair], Tim Bailey, Mark Robinson and Wendy Smith). To achieve 18-22 objectives it sought to develop the board’s skillset, networks and diversity by recruiting 2 trustees (Kevin Wilson, Rebekah Bowsher, Michelle Booth appointed Dec 18). 3 trustees recruited due to quality of applicants. Wendy Smith stepped down at the end of her term (Dec 2018), bringing total trustees to 6. Michelle Booth stepped down due to lack of capacity to attend board meetings in December 2019. Recruitment planned for 20/21 for 2 new trustees.

The SWOT analysis identified a lack of succession plans for key roles. The board seeks to draw up succession plans through the course of 2018-22.

Staff Full-time Artistic Director, Annie Rigby leads Unfolding Theatre’s programme. Part-time (0.6) Company Producer, Michael Barrass leads on fundraising and evaluation. Garry Lydon works as a part-time marketing and administrative post (0.4) to support the planned activities.

The artistic team was expanded through 3 Associate Artist posts in 2018. The Associate Artist: Community (0.2) is Alex Elliott, building on his long-term collaboration with the company. Associate Artist: Children & Young People, Luca Rutherford, (0.2) and Associate Artist: Digital, Garry Lydon, (0.2) engage people from a range of different communities in the company’s creative processes.

Unfolding Theatre plans to build on its track record of collaborating with exceptionally talented artists, technicians and production staff. Past collaborators include Ross Millard (The Futureheads), Mariam Rezaei, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Selina Thompson, David Almond (Carnegie Medal), Simon McKeown, Chloe Daykin (Northern Writers Award), Kathryn Tickell (BBC Folk Musician of the Year), Tom Bancroft (BBC Jazz Innovation Award) and Lily Arnold (Off West-End Design Award Nominee). It will continue to be ambitious in approaching internationally successful artists to collaborate. Unfolding Theatre monitors the diversity of its workforce every year. At the outset of this business plan, the company set out plans to address under-representation from people of colour and disabled people amongst its workforce. It has achieved its targets to date but recognises there is more to be done. It regularly works with partners (i.e. Eclipse Theatre’s Slate, GemArts, Disability Arts Online), to build new relationships and ensure recruitment is accessible and reaches networks of artists from communities currently under-presented. The diversity of Unfolding Theatre’s workforce is crucial in enriching its theatre-making.

Unfolding Theatre is investing in its artistic skills through appointing a highly experienced mentor on each of its 4 major projects 2018-22. The company recognises lack of experience in Arts Award. It invested in training in 2019 for the Associate Artist: Children & Young People to deliver this work.

The company plans to continue contracting LittleMighty to lead on its touring programme (venue booking, national partnership building, marketing).

Recruitment processes will be undertaken in line with Unfolding Theatre’s equality and diversity policy and plans.

Finance Unfolding Theatre is in a healthy financial position. It has significantly adjusted its annual budgets and cashflow forecasts for 2020-21 and 2021-22 to reflect the negative impacts of Covid-19 on earned and fundraised income. The original forecast turnover for 2020-21 was £246,000. This has been reduced to £159,900.

Unfolding Theatre’s adjusted annual budgets are based on ‘worst-case scenario’ income levels. They ensure core and project expenditure falls within these parameters, so the company breaks-even at year end and cashflow remains healthy. Budgets will be adjusted within the year to support additional artistic activity as any additional income is secured. Detailed annual budgets and cashflows are available on request.

Unfolding Theatre’s 2020-21 secured income (£159,900) comes from Arts Council England National Portfolio funding (£106,932), Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund via Community Foundation (£10,000), commissioned project income (£25,000 – Multiverse Lab and Voice of the Creative), touring income (£7,000 based on Hold On Let Go touring in Feb 2021 – if touring is postponed/cancelled, savings on touring costs mean lost income will be balanced by savings in expenditure) and Theatre Tax Relief due on the production of Hold On Let Go (£11,000).

Unfolding Theatre’s core annual expenditure (including all salaries plus on-costs, Associate Artists’ fees, Tour Producer & core PR fees, rent and overheads) is £97,700. It has a project budget of £62,150 towards R&D on The B-Sides in Sunderland, Hold On Let Go touring and commissioned projects.

Unfolding Theatre holds unrestricted reserves of £32,140. This figure is slightly above its Reserves Policy target of £30,000. The small surplus enables modest investment in addressing unexpected issues or opportunities that may arise.

Office and Storage Unfolding Theatre will continue to rent office space at xsite architecture in Ouseburn, Newcastle. xsite support Unfolding Theatre through subsidised rent, a monthly donation of £50 and through the in-kind staff time of finance administrator, Gail Temperley.

Unfolding Theatre will also continue to rent storage in Sacriston & shared space with November Club in Killingworth. This enables it to store its sets and equipment.

Assets Unfolding Theatre has minimal assets other than stage equipment. It has purchased 2 office computers and a small amount of stage equipment (where more cost-effective than hiring) to deliver its programme of activities.

Data & Evaluation Becoming a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England brings more detailed audience and participant reporting requirements. The company has signed up for Audience Finder and began to use its tools to support audience data capture from April 2018. This includes Show Stats, Audience Spectrum and the Audience Finder dashboard. In addition, Michael Barrass is leading the development of participant evaluation and monitoring systems. This will be designed in keeping with new Data Protection legislation. The marketing and administration post will support the collection, recording and analysis of audience and participant data.