Harsh economic realities won’t dent the optimism of Alnwick Playhouse’s new boss, as DAVID WHETSTONE discovers

JO POTTS is the new broom sweeping through Alnwick Playhouse and not just metaphorically speaking. I arrive to find the venue’s manager carrying out bits of broken furniture, demonstrating her hands-on approach.

Jo, whose office in a cubby hole looks under-used, will be known to lots of young people around the region. For seven years she worked at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal, running the education department for late boss Peter Sarah.

During that time she struck up fruitful partnerships with national theatre companies, enabling youngsters to get a taste of life on stage and behind the scenes.

She left in 2005 and went to Spain, aiming to freelance and learn the language.

Now, though, she is back in the North East, aiming to put the Playhouse, which is more than just a theatre, on a par with arts centres such as The Maltings in Berwick and Queen’s Hall in Hexham.

Both those places are sitting pretty, having been admitted to the Arts Council’s new national portfolio with the regular funding that will bring from April.

Alnwick Playhouse, on the other hand, went for national portfolio status in partnership with Northumberland Theatre Company (NTC) and was knocked back, meaning the Arts Council subsidy will dry up in the spring.

But Jo assures me: “We’re going to be fine. The mood is all about enthusiasm and the excitement of going forward.”

There’s a slightly odd situation at Alnwick Playhouse. The theatre company, which is based on the ground floor, owns the building, having saved it from demolition after it closed as a cinema in 1979.

But the theatre company, which takes family-friendly shows to rural communities, is now fighting for survival.

Jo’s optimism stems partly from the fact that the Arts Council subsidy has accounted for 65% of the theatre company’s income but only 7% (about £40,000) of the Playhouse’s, with a similar sum coming from Northumberland County Council.

“I already knew they had lost the bid when I came for the job, but we could make up that money by putting a coffee machine downstairs,” says Jo.

“For me this is a time to look at what we can do to revitalise the programme and maximise the building’s potential.”

There are little things that can help a lot. Jo says she recently decided to open the bar during one of the regular film nights and took £200 to boost revenue.

Some things are not so simple and she says it took her three months to unravel the complex history of the venue.

Alnwick Playhouse is a tenant of the theatre company, which has the building on a 99-year lease. Jo says: “The lease is watertight.”

If the theatre company goes under, the activities in the Playhouse itself – overseen by the Alnwick District Playhouse Trust – are protected.

The venue is billed as an “arts centre for the whole community”. As well as presenting professional shows, it is used daily by local groups of writers, mat makers, lace makers, dancers and others. Volunteers make up the bulk of Jo’s eager workforce. There is also a thriving Friends of the Playhouse organisation.

Jo says that although the Playhouse was set up by the community for its own use, it was always the intention that it be a window on the wider arts world, enabling local people to benefit from high quality cultural initiatives.

“It’s about bringing it back to what it was originally set up for. We now have a vision about how we can put learning and education back at the core of the Playhouse activities. I don’t really think it’s had a vision for quite some time.

“I’m interested in how we can link up strategically with The Maltings (itself with a new boss, Matthew Rooke) and Hexham.”

There’s a fundraising strategy in place, too, backed up by a new specialist appointment to the board.

Despite the hard work and running about, Jo seems to be in her element.

She’s yet another protege of Chris Heckels, the inspiring drama teacher at Benfield School, Newcastle, who also taught playwright Lee Hall and North East actors including Dave Nellist and Trevor Fox.

Jo, who is 41, recalls: “I was in a production of Gregory’s Girl at school because I could play football. Chris sent me to audition for the National Youth Theatre and I got in although I didn’t really understand what a big deal it was.

“I’d never got Shakespeare, but Chris was such a good teacher, so passionate.”

At the Theatre Royal Jo enthused a new generation of youngsters. But then came her Spanish interlude, sadly truncated when her parents contracted cancer at the same time.

Her dad had bought a cafe in Warkworth as a retirement project – Jo rolls her eyes: “Typical dad” – so the couple had a lot on their plate.

She flew home to offer support but realised, as her father’s health deteriorated, that her permanent presence was required. Back in the region, she worked freelance for various arts organisations until her father died. Then, with her mother unwell, the cafe became her prime concern.

The last few years, Jo says, have seen the family juggling with ill health and the business. At the beginning of last year the cafe was finally put back on the market.

It was a friend who showed Jo the advert for the Alnwick job and she applied straight away.

She recalls: “I had a look round the theatre and got a really good vibe about the place. I just felt it would be the right place for me to be.

“They wanted someone who understood the community aspect but could also link the place back up with the national arts scene because it had become very insular.”

Jo has already made great strides, revamping the website and making contact with opposite numbers.

“The board have been very supportive and so has everyone else,” she says with a smile. “The only way is up.”

For all events and information visit www.alnwickplayhouse.co.uk or call the box office on 01665 510785.