Flagship theatres under spotlight over claims of poor management

A REVIEW has been ordered into the running of two of Edinburgh's main theatres, amid claims of poor management and a string of shows which have performed poorly at the box office.

Senior figures at City of Edinburgh Council are at logger- heads with the arms-length organisation which programmes events at the King's and Festival theatres.

The Festival City Theatres Trust has been plunged into crisis after bosses announced jobs would have to go to save about 300,000.

The number of theatre productions at the historic King's is expected to be drastically cut this year, meaning it will be open for only 15 weeks, rather than the usual 24.

A long-awaited refurbishment - scaled back from previous proposals because of funding problems - was due to get under way in April but is also understood to have been put back by the council, which owns the two theatres.

However, senior sources at the council have accused trust chief executive John Stalker of "brinkmanship" by announcing plans for the cuts just days before the authority is expected to slash 24,000 from its annual grant. Officials are already looking into whether the trust could be wound up and the running of the two venues brought back "in-house".

The local authority has asked consultants to look at how the two theatres are performing compared to other publicly funded arts venues throughout the UK.

Last night, sources at the trust hit back at the council, accusing it of trying to undermine the King's, which was supposed to undergo a 14 million revamp in time for its 100th anniversary in 2006. It is thought only the flagship pantomime season and the programme of events during the Edinburgh International Festival will be protected from any cutbacks.

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Mr Stalker has complained that the trust has had to cope with "standstill" funding of almost 800,000 over the last six years, while it has seen costs soar over the same period.

The trust - which employs 50 full-time and more than 100 part-time staff - is facing a 3 per cent cut in its grant, which is expected to be approved by councillors tomorrow, along with similar cuts for the city's festivals and arts organisations.

Mr Stalker said: "There's been a downturn in the number of people going (to shows], but critically also a downturn in the number of times people are attending.

"We've seen quite a considerable reduction in the number of people who would come four or five times a season; they're now coming two or three, and that's half your audience."

Mr Stalker added that the trust had made savings and cuts across the theatres already; the staffing bill was the final area to be considered.He insisted nothing should be read into the timing of the announcement about job cuts.However, senior councillors are believed to be furious that the threat of job cuts has been raised on the eve of the authority setting its budget.

One source said: "It's a clear case of brinkmanship. These theatres get a very large subsidy from the taxpayer in the city but they are not attracting the audiences they should considering the city's cultural standing."