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Search forPlayhouse box office still not open less than a fortnight before opening night
Wednesday, September 03, 2008, 15:00
The Killing of Sister George is due to launch on September 13, starring comedienne and television actress Jenny Eclair.
It will be the first performance since a run of Treasure Island finished in February, after Derby Playhouse Ltd went into administration.
On July 30, creditors agreed a plan to reopen the theatre, which was reliant on £300,000 being given to the company from a mystery funder.
The Evening Telegraph has learned that the cash has not yet been transferred. The box office has not opened and no tickets have been sold.
Jonathan Powers, chairman of the board set up to get the theatre company out of administration, said the delays were due to a mixture of drawn-out legal requirements as well as the summer holidays.
But he said the show would still go on and he hoped tickets would go on sale at the end of this week once phone lines were up and running.
Mr Powers said: "The show will run for five weeks and we will be selling tickets throughout that time as well as during the week before the show starts."
He said that despite the delays he was confident the show could still at least break even.
"We have calculated that the theatre can break even with 51% capacity and I think this show will sell very well as soon as the box office opens," he said.
Karen Hebden, chief executive of the Playhouse, said staff were working around the clock to make sure the performance went ahead.
"We have cleaned the building, rehearsals have started and the show will take place," she said.
"The delays have been frustrating but we are working extremely hard to get everything in place."
Sets are already being constructed for the show but Mr Powers said the cost of the work being done now was being paid for out of cash collected from well-wishers.
Dilip Dattani, of Tenon Recovery, the administrators overseeing the theatre's revival, said it had been hoped the deal could have been completed within a month.
Despite the setbacks, he was still confident that the money from the mystery funder would be transferred soon.
"We are reviewing the position on a daily basis but I have seen evidence that the money is on its way," he said.
"We have the discretion to allow more time for that funding to come and that is what we are going to be doing."
working hard: Karen Hebden
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