Dublin Theatre Festival's deficit doubles after sharp fall in ticket sales

THE DUBLIN Theatre Festival more than doubled its trading deficit to €113,649 last year as income from ticket sales fell by more than a third.

Accounts for 2009 show that the company’s accumulated shortfall now stands at €98,246.

The company said it has implemented a “comprehensive budgetary review” which will allow the festival to trade out of the deficit over the next three years.

The company’s primary focus is the annual theatre festival, now in its 53rd year, which runs in September and October each year.

The accounts for Dublin Theatre Festival Ltd show the company’s total income shrank by 14 per cent to €2.5 million last year. Ticket sales were particularly affected, dropping from €1.16 million in 2008 to €730,000.

As a result, Arts Council funding accounted for the bulk of the company’s income last year. Funding from the State agency stood at €870,000 last year, an increase of €37,630 or 4.5 per cent on the previous year. However, other sponsorship fell by more than a fifth to €653,000, according to the accounts.

The festival’s main sponsor is Ulster Bank. In 2007 the bank committed to a three-year sponsorship deal worth €1 million.

A spokeswoman for the bank said yesterday it is in negotiation with the festival about sponsorship. “We keep our sponsorship portfolio constantly under review and are currently evaluating our festival sponsorships,” she said.

Dublin Theatre Festival said that while it had anticipated and budgeted for a significant reduction in many of its income streams due to the economic climate, ticket sales had fallen more than anticipated. It also pointed out that there was a 10 per cent shortfall in income from corporate entertainment.

The company said it was particularly grateful to the Arts Council and Culture Ireland for minimising the reduction in its support for the festival in 2009, at a time when State funding for the arts is coming under pressure.

Dublin Theatre Festival reduced spending by more than 12 per cent during the year, according to the company. Twenty-nine people were employed during the year, 23 of whom were hired to work during the festival itself.

This year's festival runs from September 30th to October 17th. Highlights include Enron, which comes to Dublin from its West End run, a Druid production of The Silver Tassie, and a Frank McGuinness version of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkmanstarring Alan Rickman and Fiona Shaw.