Credit crunch?

It’s still too early to say whether the ‘credit crunch’ is affecting theatres in the UK. Several shows have posted early closing notices in the West End, but the summer is always the slowest time of the year – people want to be out enjoying the lovely weather (there’s irony) – and many regional theatres have said that, so far, they have noticed no unexpected slowdown in ticket sales. CCTA’s recent production of Beauty and the Beast produced their best result in terms of ticket sales in six years.

We, of course, don’t operate in quite the same way as a major touring venue and our ticket prices are considerably lower. The vast majority of our shows are presented by local non-professional companies, although we regularly welcome local professional outfits like Focus (http://www.focustheatre.co.uk/) and Dreamshed (http://www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk/). We are certainly looking at increasing the number of professional performances here – witness The King of Spain’s Daughter – but the best way of keeping audiences interested is in presenting a wide variety of productions so that there is, to use the old cliché, “something for everyone”.

To this end, on Thursday 11 September we are hosting a visit from two extremely well-respected local mediums, Anna Galliers and Carol Green, both of whom have featured on television. On their last visit to Cheltenham they sold out the Pillar Room at the Town Hall and they are much in demand both on a one-to-one and group level. Anna and Carol will present an evening of Clairvoyance and Spirit Communication where they will endeavour to bring messages and proof from our loved ones of a continued existence beyond the physical world. You can find more information at http://www.annagalliers.com/ and http://www.carolgreenmedium.co.uk/