Curve releases 2023/24 annual report
- More than 1.2million audience members saw Made at Curve productions and co-productions on tour
- Over 250,000 people visited the theatre in Leicester
- Curve engaged 27,000 participants with Creative Programmes activity
Curve theatre has released its 2023/24 annual review, revealing its most successful year ever for work on tour.
Between April 2023 and March 2024 Curve’s work was seen by more than 1.2million theatregoers, with Made at Curve productions and co-productions including 42nd STREET at Sadler’s Wells, on tour in the UK and a limited season at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, as well as THE WIZARD OF OZ at the London Palladium and on national tour, GREASE at the Dominion Theatre and on tour across the UK and – in partnership with the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships programme – a revival of Hanif Kureishi’s MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE. In total, these touring productions generated £46million in domestic Box Office income.
At its home in Leicester, the theatre welcomed over 250,000 audience members to see performances on its stages and produced 11 shows under its Made at Curve banner, including Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webbber’s EVITA and a world premiere stage adaptation of children’s picture book, THE OWL WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS. Across the year, Curve reported its annual turnover to be £14,808,108.
Curve continued its commitment to ensuring everyone is able to access theatre, with 27,000 participants engaging in its Creative Programmes work for schools, colleges, universities, community groups, elders and artists. This figure includes 1,500 people who regularly engage with Curve’s flagship Neighbour-Hubs programme, which takes Curve activities and practitioners to five selected areas within Leicester city centre.
The theatre also supported new work and local artists, with over 1,000 Midlands-based creatives, theatre-makers and practitioners taking part in projects, development sessions and performances. Through the Curve Connect network, almost 500 local artists were able to access free rehearsal space and Team Curve members provided just under 1,500 hours of free support and guidance.
Read Curve’s 2023/24 annual report in full here.
Speaking about the results, Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:
“2023/24 was another terrific year for Curve with programmes both on and off stage going from strength-to-strength. Against a backdrop of immense challenge with navigating rising costs across the business, we are delighted we were able to deliver a positive financial outcome for the year, and performances on our stages in Leicester and our co-productions on the road sold a total of over 1.5million tickets making it our most successful year to date. As inequalities in our communities grow deeper as well as wider, we’re proud of the work colleagues across the theatre undertook to ensure as many people as possible were able access Curve’s work, and during the course of the year over 27,000 people took part in free and low-cost community and creative learning programmes.
“Whilst we might toast a successful year for Curve, we look to the future with caution; the continued increase in costs, standstill public funding and the demands of capital asset replacement will require careful navigation if our theatre is to continue to thrive into the future. As always thanks to our incredible audiences, our donors, sponsors and public funders especially Arts Council England and Leicester City Council, and the biggest thanks to our fantastic team of staff and freelancers; they really are the beating heart of our theatre, and Curve would be nothing without them.”