Perth Concert Hall has hosted just one sold-out show since November, prompting fresh concerns about its management at the hands of Horsecross Arts.
The only act to fill the 1,600-capacity venue in that time was Lewis Capaldi in May – and that show was booked by Perth Festival of the Arts and not Horsecross itself.
The under fire arts charity generated just under £650,000 through the sale of 31,382 tickets for feature performances in the Mill Street hall’s Gannochy Auditorium between April and September, a Freedom of Information Request has revealed.
The total plummeted by nearly £350,000 from the previous season.
Perth Festival of the Arts, run separately from Horsecross, generated more than a sixth of the auditorium’s revenue last season and made up around 14% of bookings over the six-month period.
The revelation comes just weeks after Perth and Kinross Council had to step in to bail out Horsecross after a spiralling cash crisis put staff wages at risk.
In August it emerged that the local authority had fast-tracked funding for Horsecross to ensure its 150-strong workforce got paid and appointed senior officials to try to get the business back on track.
The operators of Perth’s theatre and concert hall were told to turn around their performance record and boost attendance figures in April, following serious concerns about poor financial management.
Alexander Stewart MSP said the latest attendance figures did not make good reading.
“[Horsecross] have to think about being more commercial and think about the future because the thought of losing our once thriving Perth act scene is simply not acceptable,” he said.
Indie stars Ocean Colour Scene were the only act to come close to filling the Concert Hall, falling just short in July with their Scottish tour’s curtain-closer.
Seven other acts hit the 1,000 ticket mark, including Jimmy Carr, Jane MacDonald and UB40.
However almost 40% of the auditorium’s performers, including lunchtime concerts, drew in less than a quarter of the maximum capacity.
A handful, such as Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside in April and the Yamaha Neo Ensemble in May barely scraped over 100 tickets.
Folk stars from Scotland and Sweden, The Proclaimers and First Aid Kit, were the only other acts to draw in capacity crowds in the last year, both in late 2018.
Lewis Capaldi.Horsecross Arts said all of the available tickets had been snapped up for the next three nights in a row for Caputh comic Jim Smith’s trio of shows.
The organisation is also preparing for a confirmed full house when acoustic singer Jack Savoretti stops off in the Fair City in November.
Horsecross chairman Magnus Linklater said the team were looking at the positives.
“Perth Concert Hall had a busy summer with an exciting and eclectic range of concerts and events from big name stars to celebrated classical performers,” he said.
“We were delighted, along with our friends at Perth Festival of the Arts, with the success of this year’s festival.
“We are looking forward with excitement to our traditionally busy festive period with seasonal specials for music and theatre fans of all tastes and ages.”
Conservative MSP Mr Stewart said: “Having had sight of the figures, they do not make good reading.
“There still seems to be a propensity to fill the schedules with acts which routinely only bring in between 100 and 300 attendees.
“We have a phenomenal facility here in Perth and if we are not careful we are in very great danger of killing the goose which laid the golden egg.”
