Open Air Pantomime

Scarborough's Open Air Theatre full for the opening by the Queen. 

As news leaks out about the Scarborough Open Air Theatre and having no act's signed up for the 2012 summer season, it comes as no real surprise when you consider the failings from all parties involved. Apollo Leisure, who handle the theatre and Scarborough Borough Council are blaming each other and further blaming the public of Scarborough for not having anything penned in for the coming summer months. 

O2 Academy in Leeds at it's 2,300 capacity.

The failings though, start from the very beginning. £3.5 million was spent refurbishing the old arena, which was more like rebuilding than refurbing. It has a capacity of 6,500 much less than other arenas such as the Manchester Evening News Arena (21,000) or Newcastle's Metro Arena (11,000+), but then comfortably more than O2 Academy in Leeds (2,300), Newcastle (2,000) or Sheffield (2,350). The acts that these O2 arenas can attract are good enough for the OAT and will start to build a good impression of the venue among artists and the public, but for some reason Apollo has no bookings. Maybe they are just looking at the marquee bookings where they can sell 6,500 seats at £50+ a go? Even still, 6,500 seats for a big act isn't enough, they'll go and do stadium or arena tours instead. 



Look at anything that makes the above arenas credible venues for spectators. As a spectator at many venues, mostly sporting, you look for various things when planning your trip and whether it's worth going. 


Transport - is there good access by road, rail, tram, bus? The train station is the other end of Scarborough, there isn't a clear road to the venue, with very little parking available for 6,500. I'm sure there is a bus service that goes along Burniston Road, or to the seafront, but if they had anything about them, they'd put on a shuttle from the train station down to the OAT. 


The Venue - what is the venue like? If it rains or is freezing cold, will I be OK? The OAT is obviously Open Air, it says it in the name, but there in itself lies a problem. While the romantic side of the refurbishment is credible, the fact that we live in England, and in the north of England for that matter, someone somewhere must have put some thought into that, preppy artists who don't want to be cold, spectators who don't want to be cold or wet, was never going to be viable. Would the £3.5 million been better spent building a multi-purpose arena that can be used all year round? Or how about this, a new football stadium for the town, with covered stands that can double up as a music venue like many others around the country? 


The date - if you work, go to college, university, or are busy doing whatever you do during the day, the only time you can attend an event or gig is during the weekend or on week nights. Week nights are immediately limited due to the temperature, and people aren't likely to travel from outside of Scarborough when having to be at work on the next day. Leaving the only real slot on a weekends, when you can do it during the day for a decent temperature and put bums on seats with the maximum potential. That leaves about 20 Saturday's from May-September, still plenty of time, but not the maximum potential. 

FULL HOUSE...Gala Night sells out at Scarborough OAT.

All that said, and in my opinion a sum of £3.5 million that could have been better spent, when they've put on a good act, suited to the public of Scarborough such as Elton John or the 80's concert, it's sold out. 6,500 seats, at a hefty price, SOLD OUT. Which proves that if the right act is booked, they can make the profits envisaged when the expenditure was outlaid at the beginning of this project, despite the short comings of the above. So the fact Apollo have blamed the public of Scarborough is laughable. Apollo have well and truely bodged the job, at the cost of the council tax payer, by not getting their acts together (see what I've done there!) and getting the marketing in the Welcome to Yorkshire calendar. 


It will come as no surprise to me, if the council and Apollo rush, panic and book very average acts for this summer, or just do nothing at all, continuing to blame one another, and everyone but themselves. The facts are we have the arena, so they should get on with booking something credible to the town, who have proved that they can fill the place for the right act.