Promoters of a sell-out Meat Loaf tribute show say they won’t be bringing acts back to Arbroath’s Webster Theatre after a cash row with operators Angus Alive.
Bat Out of Hell fans told Carlton Entertainment last month’s Heaven Can Wait show was the best they had seen at the council-owned venue.
It was one of five Webster dates for the promoter this year, alongside tributes to Cher, Elton John, Celine Dion and George Michael.
But Carlton’s owner says the shows are no longer viable after the leisure trust asked for a bigger cut of ticket sales at the 500-seat theatre.
Angus Alive has said it wants to make an 80:20 ticket revenue split a 60:40 deal.
Webster Theatre demand would ‘pay cast wages’
Carlton Entertainment director Kerry Carlton-Senior said it will kill off the viability of bringing shows to the Webster.
“A 20% difference for us would mean £2,000 going into their pocket rather than ours,” she said.
“That is my cast’s wages. It simply means it’s not affordable for us to perform at the theatre.
“We also spent around £2,000 on selling this show ourselves.
“It sold out easily and the feedback was absolutely outstanding.
“We’ve had lots of messages from people asking why we’re not coming back to the theatre. They also wrote to Angus Alive and have been given a vague response.
“At the moment I’m not planning on bringing any shows back.”
Angus Alive respond to Webster Theatre row
Angus Alive rejected the claims.
A spokesperson said: “We love to see high quality shows operating from all our venues across Angus.
“We’re pleased this performance was well received.
“But we do not recognise the claims being made publicly in relation to our booking process, programming decisions, or communications.
“While we cannot publicly discuss the specifics of individual commercial arrangements with promoters, we always look to act in the interests of everyone – our customers, the performers and promoters we work with and ourselves.
“We are really pleased with the level and variety of programming we are delivering across our venues in Angus, bringing a real diverse set of acts for locals and visitors to enjoy and we will continue to do so.”
Promoter ‘priced out’ of Webster Theatre
The Courier has seen previous correspondence between the parties confirming “a whole host of deals from set fees to percentage splits (50/50 – 90/10)”.
Last September, the leisure trust told Carlton: “The fairest deal would be a 50/50 split (win – win).
“A 60/40 split is still tilted in your favour.”
Kerry Carlton-Senior added: “Here we have a high-quality production with proven success and public demand.
“But we are being priced out of a venue we helped fill.
“We challenged this when we discovered they were offering favourable deals to other promoters.
“If public venues like the Webster are to serve the people of Angus, then accountability is not optional, it’s essential.
“The community deserves transparency, fairness, and programming decisions based on merit, not monopoly.”
Conversation