Alphabetti negotiates funding 'bump' as new season begins
Audience closure move explained
Newcastle’s popular and award-winning Alphabetti Theatre has announced its spring season… along with a following period of taking stock when it will be closed to audiences.
Not, however, to artists and creatives, as artistic director Ed Cole has subsequently made abundantly clear.
A press release issued recently said the spring season would showcase the venue’s distinctive blend of new writing, comedy, emerging talent and creative experimentation.
“Then, from June onwards,” it went on, “Alphabetti will temporarily reshape its programme to prioritise artist development, regional voices and experimentation, deepening its support for freelance creatives across the North East.
“This transitional period will build towards a full relaunch in early 2027 when artistic director Edward Cole will look to write a new chapter in the organisation’s story inspired by the North East’s creative community.”
Speaking at the venue this week, Ed said the loss of some core funding at the start of the year had been “a bump in the road”, triggering a conversation with the trustees about not receiving productions at the theatre for a period.
But he added: “I also wanted to use it as a catalyst to perhaps move us towards a different model of programming.”
Having taken over in June 2024 from Ali Pritchard, Alphabetti founder and creator of its current home on St James’ Boulevard, he had always intended to spend time getting his feet under the table.
“As with all small arts organisations, there’s a constant battle for funding and we have the cost of running a building,” he said.
“I wanted to spend time getting to know the business and the people who use the building and also understanding my role as an artistic director because I’ve never done that before.”
That done, he had begun to envisage a future in which the organisation spent more time focusing on freelance opportunities.
“More rehearsals, work-in-progress, scratch nights, all that kind of stuff for which there seems to be a big sector gap,” he said.
“I think, in terms of people starting out and development opportunities, that’s a responsibility fringe theatres should take upon themselves.
“So I already had the idea that I wanted to revamp what Alphabetti was all about and maybe have fewer long-running shows and touring shows, and more scratch nights and the like.”
Then came that funding blip which will strike a chord with anyone running an arts organisation without regular financial support.
“So, yes, from June onwards we will not be having anything in the theatre,” said Ed.
“We’ll stay open for hires, functions, rehearsals and that kind of thing but there’ll be no programme brochure released to say what’s on.
“If there’s someone doing a rehearsal who really wants to put something on for 20 minutes, we can say, ‘Well, actually, there’s a theatre downstairs’ and we’ll open the door.
“It’s just not going to be a ticketed programme all the way through until the end of the year.
“Then the plan is to relaunch at the start of 2027 when we’ll fully open to the public again.
“So the message really for artists is that we’re still open and please get in touch and let’s work on new ideas.
“But for audiences, yes, we’ll be dark for six months until the end of the year in terms of our regular programme – but that’ll be coming back in the new year.”
Ed admitted some “incredibly difficult” decisions had had to be made.
“The hardest thing is that we weren’t able to renew some contracts beyond the end of March.
“That’s been really tough because there are people who’ve been with Alphabetti for a long time and shaped it to what it is now.
“But when you work in the arts you get used to crises and you have to find a way to adapt or die, as they say.
“So it is really tough in the short term and has involved some management and strategy to get beyond the medium term.
“The idea is that in the long term we’ll fill a really urgent gap in the regional creative sector as somewhere to develop ideas and try stuff out.”
In this, Alphabetti has already proved its worth, with emerging actors, directors and writers able to cut their teeth at the venue before approaching established theatres blessed with Arts Council backing.
The recent closure of Laurels, at Whitley Bay, another fringe theatre, would seem to have made Alphabetti’s contribution even more crucial.
Ed said there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic and others in the sector had proved supportive.
“In the last 18 months we’ve had a big up-take in private hires, with people wanting to book us for parties and that kind of thing. We’re very conveniently located.
“But we’re looking at introducing, throughout the year, regular events where people can come in and engage with us.
“So we’re starting a play-reading group in March with Live Theatre, called Reading Room.
“It’s like a book group meeting once a month, alternating between Alphabetti and Live, when people can come and read plays written in the 21st Century, because so many shows come and go and people don’t get a chance to experience them.
“Having a chat to JD (JD Stewart, new work producer) at Live Theatre, that seemed like a really useful thing we could do quite simply.
“There will be other things of that ilk and if they all run throughout the year, then when it comes to relaunching we’ve already got 50 or 60 artists/writers who are engaged with us and can inform the programme.”
Meanwhile, funding applications have been made or are being made, Alphabetti is open as usual and among forthcoming offerings are the following:
Fixing (February 27 and 28), Matt Miller and Peader Kirk’s show “about family breakups, learning car maintenance and choosing the right shade of lipstick to do it in”, returning after its 2024 Alphabetti debut.
Our Little Hour (March 5-7), a new musical from Live Wire Theatre, in association with Show Racism the Red Card, telling the story of Walter Tull, the first black footballer to play to the highest level and the first non-white British officer to fight in the First World War.
Hold the Line (April 29 to May 2), a new play by Sam Macgregor, from Heaton, set in an NHS 111 call centre.
Jorvik (March 19 and 20), billed as “a bold new immersive and interactive Viking theatre experience”.
Post Traumatic Slay Disorder (April 22 and 23), a first commissioned play by Lois-Amber Toole, Offie-nominated actor and writer from Whitley Bay, which is being developed into a TV series.
And there’s much more.
For details of shows and creative community opportunities such as Common Thread, Writing Group and the new Reading Room, go to the Alphabetti Theatre website.