The new chief executive of the Hippodrome has vowed to battle for culture in Birmingham as major cuts hit the arts across the region.
theatre with a view to fighting for community arts in the face of cuts by the Arts Council and local authorities.
She revealed she wanted to take the Hippodrome out into communities across the city but said Birmingham needed to improve how it publicised its rich artistic output.
READ MORE: {}
The theatre attracts 500,000 people a year with more than 400 performances, but through outside events in the community.
Ms Allan, who formerly ran Leicester’s Curve Theatre, said: “Cities that have culture high in their sights are the ones that attract investors and the ones where people want to live and work.
“It is not just money going into putting things on stage – there is far more to it than that. It is about becoming a place where people bring their children or a place where people want to stay after they study.
“I think my role is to run this as a business but also to be an advocate for culture because we could be doing so much more.
She added: “A number of companies who visit us are facing sometimes substantial cuts, like the Welsh National Opera and .
Most Read
“They are all funded by the their capacity to continue and to make sure we don’t see dips in audience.
“The funding climate brings with it a risk aversion and I think that is the big danger for the subsidised sector. Where is the next Billy Elliott or Warhorse coming from?”
Ms Allan has succeeded Stuart Griffiths, who has taken a role at Ambassador Theatre Group, where he will be its new programming director.
As a newcomer to the city, she said she was surprised by the depth of the .
“I think more could be done to sell culture as a package for Birmingham,” she added.
“It needs to be better sold as a place to come to and have a cultural experience because I think we are punching well below our weight. You have to come here to discover it and it shouldn’t be like that.”
Elsewhere, Ms Allan said her new role was a daunting task – the Hippodrome is self-funded and consistently turns over between £25 million and £30 million and returns a surplus.
Don’t miss
She said: “It is daunting but also a massive opportunity. isn’t reliant on public subsidy, it doesn’t get anything from or the Arts Council, but it is able to generate a surplus every year.
“For me, the great opportunity is to look at the charitable work and new ways to reach people.
“We are looking at ways to make the Hippodrome brand travel and how we can get into other communities.”
During her time at Curve, Ms Allan was credited with overseeing the development of daytime programme workshops and performances, and she is likely to draw on that experience with a new brand of events showcasing the Hippodrome to a wider audience.
She said: “These things can cost at least £100,000, if not much more.
“I want us to be doing one every couple of months – that is on our wishlist.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have half a million people coming to the Hippodome and reaching another half a million outside?”