Member Article

New Life Begins at 40 for Northumberland Theatre Company

Northumberland Theatre Company is celebrating its 40th year and looking to a bright and exciting future, as it completes a deal to secure its financial future for several years.

Supported and advised by the team from Peter Millican Law, Northumberland Theatre Company (NTC) has recently completed a deal to transfer its Alnwick base, The Playhouse Theatre, to Northumberland County Council. The deal has secured sufficient funding for the theatre company to operate for more than six years, and relocate to Amble where it is planning to open a Performance Centre.

Having launched in 1978, NTC made The Playhouse Theatre in Alnwick (now known as the Alnwick Playhouse) its home in 1984, converting the near-derelict cinema into a studio theatre with offices, workshops and wardrobe facilities, while the Alnwick Playhouse Trust operated the theatre and café.

The Council will grant a new 50 year lease to the Alnwick Playhouse Trust to enable them to continue to operate the theatre, studio, bar and an expanded cafe facility. Meanwhile the council will use the remaining part of the ground floor to provide a library, tourist information and customer service facilities.

Bryan Ellis, Chair of the Board of Directors for NTC, commented: “This is a very exciting time for Northumberland Theatre Company. At a time when funding for productions is ever harder to come by, we have secured this deal with Northumberland County Council and are now able to look confidently to the future. We’re planning to create a Performance Space in the heart of Amble, a town increasingly known for its arts and crafts, which we feel will be the perfect base for NTC, and from where we will continue to tour across the country.

“Peter Millican Law has been the perfect partner throughout our negotiations, providing expertise both for the sale of the Playhouse Theatre, and in negotiating the lease for our new space in Amble.”

Peter Millican, of Peter Millican Law, added: “This is a win-win story. The future of the Alnwick Playhouse is secured and Northumberland County Council is able to provide services from an ideal Alnwick location. At the same time, Northumberland Theatre Company has a really exciting future to look ahead to. Its reputation as ‘one of the very best small theatre companies in the country’ is well deserved, and now they can continue to take professional theatre far and wide for many years to come.”

Northumberland Theatre Company is currently touring its Christmas production of Princess and the Goblin, which will visit venues in County Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria in December 2017 and January 2018.

Peter Millican Law is a specialist law firm working for company owners, businesses, local authorities and the public sector. Its team has extensive experience in business sales and acquisitions.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Millican Law .