'Anything less than a sell out is not acceptable': The true cost of bringing community theatre to Sheffield's famous Lyceum

The person who has to maintain a vigilant approach to expenditure is the group’s treasurer Christine Minott, who admits that every time the company takes to the stage is something of a gamble and means juggling the needs of the cast with the constantly shifting tastes of the audience. “A show like last year’s Take That musical The Band did very well for us and didn’t actually cost too much because it was a small company, a small band, a simple set and, because it had a contemporary setting, it didn’t have any elaborate costumes,” she says.

“But the year before, when we did George Gershwin’s Crazy for You, there was a full orchestra, a big set and costumes that had to reflect all the glamour of the 1930s setting, all of which added up to a much bigger bill. It’s difficult when you are choosing shows because the reality is that people don’t seem to want to see things like Crazy for You any more. The shows that sell are the jukebox musicals, though they might not satisfy our members’ desire to be in something that is a bit more of an artistic challenge.

“And being totally honest, one of the reasons we chose The Band last year was that we knew it wouldn’t be an expensive show and just like Sunshine on Leith, which we did a couple of years ago, we knew we could do it well within budget.”

This year STOS have chosen Nativity: The Musical, the acclaimed stage version of the hit film featuring all the hits from the original - including Sparkle and Shine, Nazareth, One Night One Moment and She’s the Brightest Star - along with a whole host of new songs filled with the spirit of Christmas!

It runs at the Lyceum from November 17 to 21, just right for getting audiences in the festive spirit. “Because we are on stage so close to December, it does mean we can look at shows with a seasonal theme and we have done very well with productions like White Christmas, Scrooge and Elf,” Christine says. “Nativity will be good for us because we only have a five-piece band and the costumes we are doing ourselves which means we’ll have more budget for some very special effects.”

The choice was seemingly a smart one because already several performances are near to selling out, with only limited availability on other evenings. Christine will admit that along with the popularity of the original film and this new production’s proximity to Christmas, there might be another reason for such healthy sales - a cast that includes a cast of 48 children. “Like I say, we always do well with Christmas-themed shows but we did choose Nativity because it is a show with lots of of children in it because that always helps with ticket sales,” she concedes.

It’s not just healthy ticket sales that keep a company like STOS afloat, however - there is also the safety net of the society’s charitable status that can be very beneficial in a year when audiences are not so impressive. “When we first became a charity one of the questions that was posed to us was what we were doing with the money we already had in our account,” Christine explains. “It was almost as though keeping the money were not the right thing to do and it did make us think much more closely about our finances.

“What we like is to have funding enough to put on the next show, with enough to absorb any loss on a less profitable year. And our charitable status does mean that we can benefit from Theatre Tax Credit, which is something you receive through the corporation tax system, a government initiative to support the arts.

“Every year when we have done our accounts we put in a claim and you get money back. It means that in the Crazy for You Year, for instance, the loss on the year was cushioned by the tax credit. We are proud to say that we have never been at the point where there is nothing in the bank but at the same time we will admit that the Theatre Tax Credit has been a big help.”

The omens are already looking good for Nativity, therefore, but already the STOS production team are looking at what comes next. “People come to the theatre nowadays depending on the show and not simply because of loyalty to the company,” Christine says. “We have already been discussing what we might do next and we have to ask those two questions - do we think it is a show that will sell and, for our members, do we think it is a show people want to be in. We do have a shortlist of possible productions at the moment but that will probably come down by the time we make the final choice.

"Every amateur company has faced some challenges since lockdown and the audiences haven’t perhaps been what they were before 2020. But I think we are just getting back onto an even keel now and people are finally getting used to being back in the theatre. I am very happy to be able to say that we are getting close to a sell out with Nativity but my motto that I say to everybody is anything less than a sell out is not acceptable.”

For Nativity: The Musical tickets, visit www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/lyceum. For more information about STOS, visit stos.org.uk