READING Repertory Theatre has called on Reading Borough Council to provide greater transparency around the financial and operational plans for the ongoing Hexagon update.
The plans feature a proposed new studio theatre at the site, which the theatre has said cause concerns that the project could ‘duplicate’ existing cultural provision and compete for limited arts funding.
Over the last eighteen months, Reading Rep has said it has ‘repeatedly’ sought clarity on how the new venue will be funded, programmed, and governed.
Despite assurances that the project will “complement” Reading’s cultural offer, no detailed business, funding, or operating plan has been published.
The theatre company has written to the council, as well as local MPs for clarification on funding, business plans, and operational details to be published.
While they concede that the council has made assurances that it would enter into conversations with relevant parties about how the project will affect existing projects in the town, Reading Rep has said that there are still questions over the public funding and new infrastructure.
Though the Rep “welcomes” the Minster Quarter redevelopment, it is seeking assurance that the new space would not compete for public funding for arts, which it says is already “limited.”
Nick Thompson, CEO of Reading Rep Theatre, said:
“We absolutely support investment in Reading’s cultural infrastructure, it’s vital for the town’s future. But without a clear public plan for what the new studio theatre will present, how it will operate, or how it will be funded, there’s a real risk it could end up duplicating work that already exists, rather than strengthening it.”
He continued: “Over the past year, I’ve asked the Council repeatedly for details about the theatre’s business model and funding structure, and been told only that it will ‘wash its face’.
“As someone who operates a studio theatre, I find that deeply concerning. To my knowledge, almost no studio theatres in the country break even without subsidies.”
He also explained: “At Reading Rep, we raise over half a million pounds every year to deliver our artistic and community programme.
“That’s the level of investment it takes to run a sustainable cultural organisation–suggesting that a new theatre of this scale could simply cover its costs doesn’t reflect meaningful business planning for such an expensive publicly funded project.”
He said that the £20m of levelling-up funding which underwrites the project is: ““An eye-watering sum of public money coming into Reading, and it could be genuinely transformational for the town.
“But without clarity, realism, and meaningful collaboration, it risks becoming a missed opportunity and one that could ultimately damage and fragment Reading’s cultural sector rather than strengthen it.
“Without transparency, this project risks becoming a white elephant, and Reading deserves better.”
