State Theatre doubles box office takings
The State Theatre Company’s box office takings more than doubled in 2013-14, with the organisation also delivering a record surplus.
Artistic director Geordie Brookman described the year, in which a total of 400 performances were presented to audiences of more than 110,000 across Australia, as one of “sparkling success, expansion and hard work”.
“It feels as if the company has built up considerable momentum and confidence that will serve it well in the year ahead,” he said in a statement accompanying the annual report tabled in State Parliament yesterday.
An increase in the number of subscription season productions and two record box office results – first with Brief Encounter in September 2013 and then with Neighbourhood Watch in May this year – helped increase total box office takings in 2013-14 by 117 per cent, from $1,040,467 to $2,262,652.
Overall State Theatre Company turnover increased by 45 per cent, from $4,988,475 to $7,242,740.
There were also significant rises in subscription numbers and income from sponsorship and donations, all of which helped contribute to a surplus of $279,874.
“A busy 12 months saw the company’s longest ever tour, with The Comedy of Errors touring nationwide in partnership with Bell Shakespeare, a major win at the prestigious Helpmann Awards, our box office record being broken twice and the premiere of a number of major new Australian works,” said CEO Rob Brookman.
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The Adelaide Festival Centre also tabled its annual report in Parliament yesterday, showing an operating surplus of $246,000 for the Festival Centre Trust in 2013-14. The Trust raised more than $25 million, or almost 70 per cent of its operating revenue, from commercial activity to supplement a government operating grant of $11.4 million.
However, it described 2013/14 as “financially challenging”, saying management had accepted a wage freeze “to ensure another year in the black”.
