The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
The future of live productions at a Spalding theatre is being questioned after a raft of role redundancies, including technical and operational staff.
South Holland District Council announced that the centre is to re-open via the social media network Facebook – and that was the first time staff had heard anything about it said an employee.
According to a member of the team, some 21 roles are to be reduced to just seven, which means the future of live performances could be under threat.
The member said: “We were all redeployed to other council departments at the start of the pandemic and everyone has been working really hard throughout. To be told we are no longer needed because our jobs are not ‘expert roles’ is ridiculous.
“I don’t know how they can run live performance shows with only five roles left. There isn’t even a rota yet for when the centre is supposed to re-open for films later this month. We usually start working on the panto in February, for example.
“To have worked there for years and to then find out the centre was re-opening by social media was very poor. The whole thing has been done very badly.”
The council-owned centre venue is the only public theatre in South Holland.
It has been closed for more than a year and received grant money of more than £170,000 to help during the pandemic,
South Holland District Council carried out a survey in May and asked residents what they were most looking forward to when the doors re-opened.
It said the results from the public consultation showed resounding support for films and they are due to return later this month.
Coun Gary Taylor, portfolio holder for communities and facilities, said the theatre would re-open for live shows when it was back at full capacity.
“We are re-opening at 80 per cent and want our customers to feel comfortable,” he said.
“We need to run the centre efficiently and it is a very important part of the cultural landscape. Our customers want to return,” he said.
The council is currently consulting with staff over the changes and declined to comment until the process is completed.
“We’re really pleased with the film schedule we are able to offer,” added Coun Taylor.
The films start on July 22 with Godzilla vs Kong in 3D, Nomadland and Peter Rabbit 2 all scheduled in the first week of re-opening.
There will be two screenings a day, at 2pm and 7pm, from Wednesday to Saturday. For more information see the website: www.southollandcentre.co.uk
