Theatre Hire
Theatre hire is for professional companies and artists seeking to book your show in our programme and perform at our venue. We provide a fully-equipped 100 seat theatre with all Front of House staffing, a full Box Office service including online sales and, if the event is booked in time to meet publication deadlines, half a page in our season brochure. If you would be interested in hiring the theatre for a professional arts group to present a performance please contact us by e-mail with details of your planned performance and the dates you are looking for.
CYGNET THEATRE is a flexible performance space seating approximately 100 people. The playing space is approximately 10 mtrs x 7 mtrs with some wing space and back stage cross-over. We have a full size cyc and projector which can be used by arrangement in performance. Two dressing rooms are available for performers with storage space and shower facilities in both. There is also a shared kitchen including fridge, microwave, toaster and kettle, toilet facilities and disabled access.
PRICES AND DATES
Theatre hire is available during our Spring and Autumn Seasons only. Please only apply if you are looking to perform between February – March or October – November. Please also ensure you apply at least a Season ahead to allow for our programming. As a visiting company, we would offer you either a straight hire or a box office split- you can decide which works best for you and tell us when applying. Cost details below:
Venue hire prices
Type of Hire |
Price |
Total |
|---|---|---|
Straight Hire |
£250 for the day and Admin charge £50 plus Technician fee £100 |
£400 (£300 if you provide your own technician) |
Box office split |
70% of all ticket sales to performer, 30% to Cygnet Theatre + Admin charge £50 + Technician fee £100 |
£150 (£50 if you provide your own technician) |
Our Programming
For incoming shows we are looking for professional productions with a proven track record; you must be proactive in selling your show and work alongside us to ensure your production is a success. Some things we would need from you as a visiting company:
1. Print – we need lots of this from you to sell the event. Flyers are the most important part of this. We use them to exit flyer other events and also for direct mail to carefully hand-picked audiences (we pay for all the distribution). Ideally they should be over-printed with our details, but we can also print stickers if you have generic flyers. Amounts vary according to a number of factors, but as a guide, around 800 per night of performance.
2. Exclusion Zones – we share audiences and media coverage with venues in Plymouth, Taunton, and Torquay so we don’t take events in the same season if they are playing in these places.
3. Interval – these are really important to us, so all events need to have one. If there are any issues with this, please discuss at the initial stage of booking as it will affect the deal we are able to offer you.
4. PR & Marketing – we cover audiences that we have contact with and local press, but we need the act to be actively involved in getting audiences for their event. The marketing team will speak to you directly to plan the campaign, but generally you deal with national press and national and local radio as well as your own social media.
5. Tech spec and Times – please keep it as simple as possible and tell us on applying anything special you require. Also give us an idea of when you would need/ like access to the building to prepare for performance.