The Watermill: Life outside the National Portfolio

My enduring memory of the phone call letting us know our Arts Council England (ACE) funding would be completely cut is the silence that followed. Paul Hart (Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive) and I were rendered speechless by the news and by the realisation that, after months of planning – not to mention the hours of application writing and form-filling, our plans would not be funded. 

Within an hour, we spoke to staff to ensure they heard the news directly from us and reassured them that, while this would undoubtedly mean change, we were determined it wouldn’t diminish our ambition or commitment to our communities. 

The challenge was how we would adapt to become an independent charity, after 13 years of regular funding, amounting to 14% of our turnover.   

Galvanising support 

Communication was vital in navigating those early days. The ACE announcement focused on the successful, it was less clear who had sustained cuts. We needed to get the message out – quickly. 

We focused our communications on the value The Watermill brings: the outreach programme engaging up to 20,000 people every year; the quality and ambition of the work we produce for audiences in West Berkshire and beyond; and the opportunities available to artists to establish and develop their practice.  

Just over a week after the news, we launched Thrive, a campaign designed to inspire people with our value, asking them to help us secure our future. While fundraising was important, the drive behind this campaign was raising awareness and galvanising support. So, our ask was modest: to give £1 and share the campaign on social channels. We wanted everyone to know any support could make a difference. 

We were overwhelmed with the response in those first few weeks – from artists sharing how important we were to their career path, to youth theatre alumni sharing the difference the theatre had made to their lives. The campaign brought support from across the country and from every corner of the industry – boosting awareness of our challenge and lifting our morale.

Full support of trustees

At the time, we had been in the process of confirming our budget for the year; the programme was 80% confirmed; most of the shows were on sale. The work reflected our values and celebrated our strengths: telling classic stories in new ways; reaching people living in rural isolation; investing in the next generation. 

We knew ACE transition funding would help us honour the commitments already in place. But it wasn’t enough to deliver the year we had planned. To address the shortfall, we approached existing donors, we developed our commercial offer and implemented a robust approach to pricing. We were determined to demonstrate the quality, ambition and impact of our work.

Our trustees were vital in helping us navigate the loss of funding. One of the benefits of going through the NPO planning process with the board was that we had a strong shared understanding of our purpose. 

Trustees supported our decision to go ahead with the planned programme and our calculated risk to stage the biggest production in our history: The Lord of The Rings.

Continues…

The Ensemble in The Lord of the Rings. Photo: Pamela Raith

Organisational change 

In February 2023, we announced The Lord of The Rings as our summer musical. This new actor musician-led production, performed inside and outside the theatre was the epitome of the kind of work we create. 

It offered the potential to attract new audiences, raise awareness of our funding status, and – we hoped – make a positive contribution to the bottom line. It would also act as a catalyst to change long-established ways of working, helping us to increase our earned income.

The show’s concept was based on welcoming everyone to ‘The Shire’, which meant creating an immersive experience for audiences. The whole organisation was involved in the planning, ensuring shared ownership for the changes. 

We transformed our site – new signage, new furniture, a new pop-up bar on the riverbank. We expanded our catering offer and offered a range of merchandise. And we encouraged experimentation – the chance for our teams to try new approaches that we might adopt in the longer term. 

As a result of what we learned during that run, we now offer our expanded bar member on every show and experiment with merchandise on other shows, such as cuddly Totos to accompany The Wizard of Oz. 

These are small changes, but the bigger impact is having a team engaged in thinking about how we adapt the business model and suggesting new ways of working. This is a real strength as we continue our journey as an independent charity. 

The future 

In January, we were over the moon to be named The Stage’s Theatre of the Year alongside the National Theatre. This, in addition to nine Broadway World awards and the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production for The Lord of The Rings, was unexpected recognition for a remarkable year. 

While 2023 held many challenges for us, we’re proud to have delivered a full programme of work, that welcomed over 55,000 people to the theatre, 40% of whom were attending for the first time.  

The last twelve months have strengthened our resolve to continue to originate work with the distinctive Watermill style and our commitment to working with and in our communities.

While rising costs and increasing competition for funding remain challenges, we hope our strategy, that places our mission and purpose at its heart and hinges on the engagement of staff, trustees and key stakeholders, will stand us in good stead for the future.

Claire Murray is Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive of The Watermill Theatre.
 watermill.org.uk/
@WatermillTh | @CMurray24