The Stage

ACE grants Leicester’s Curve more than £1m from Sustain

Published Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 15:00 by Natalie Woolman

Leicester Curve is the first theatre to be awarded more than £1 million from Art Council England’s recession fighting fund Sustain.

The £60 million, new-build venue, which opened less than 18 months ago and came in significantly over budget, is one of only three arts organisations to have received more than £1 million across the seven rounds of Sustain funding so far, alongside visual arts venues the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Curve interim chief executive Pat Weller explained that the theatre had not met its targets during its first year of operation, under-earning both in terms of sponsorship and box office sales.

She said: “We applied for the award for the same reason that all the other theatres applied for it. We’re no different to any of the other theatres. The recession hit - for us it was particularly difficult because we were in the middle of opening a new business and beginning to build it.

“We needed that support in the way that the other theatres did, in terms of under-earning and also to ensure we could sustain the quality of the work and we could go forward positively.”

Curve’s £1,030,000 award from the Sustain fund is more than half of the annual subsidy that the arts council currently gives the venue. However, Weller said she believed the regular subsidies set for the venue, from the city and county councils as well as ACE, would be large enough to sustain the venue in better times.

An ACE spokesman added: “Curve is a complex and large business, based in a fantastic building that is innovative and cutting edge, with commensurately high running costs. The opening of Curve came in the midst of a severe recession and while the theatre has consistently produced work of a high standard, the effect of the economic downturn meant its income was lower than expected.

“This Sustain award will allow Curve to maintain an exciting artistic programme in 2009/10 and 2010/11, which is vital for its long-term future and for audiences in Leicester and beyond.”

Other organisations that received substantial contributions in this round of Sustain funding included London’s Roundhouse, which was awarded £800,000, the Royal Court Theatre, which received £454,000 and Leeds’ West Yorkshire Playhouse, given £424,710.

This was the penultimate round of Sustain funding and applications have now closed. ACE is considering 13 more applications from bodies requesting £6 million funding for the final round.