The Customs House confirms redundancy process as 27 jobs cut at South Shields theatre

Following a period of consultation that first started back in July, nine full-time and 18 part-time members of staff have been served with their notice from the charity and arts centre.

Eighteen staff have been retained in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic with the cuts deemed necessary to safeguard the theatre’s future.

Customs House Executive Director Ray Spencer said: “It is an incredibly difficult decision to have so many staff leave The Customs House.

“We have tried hard to trade but the current social distancing guidelines which reduce our opportunities to earn income, which represents 92% of our turnover, our lack of reserves, together with the constant threat of local lockdown and/or a second wave makes it impossible for the trust to support our current level of staff beyond the end of furlough.

“We sincerely wish our colleagues well in these incredibly difficult times.”

The venue in Mill Dam closed its doors on March 16 for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic before reopening last month with the cinema and restaurant functioning on reduced capacities.

The theatre’s first performance back was its Thank You Variety Show, which was free to NHS and Key Workers on August 28.

It has since seen reduced audiences return for Arbuthnot Goes Back to School and Jason Cook’s Comedy Club last week.

Theatre audiences are reduced from a capacity of 439 to between 102 to 172 depending on bubble sizes, Cinema from 140 to a maximum of 42 and the restaurant from 70 to a maximum of 42.

Mr Spencer added: “The whole sector continues to suffer. Our survey of 1,400 regular users clearly showed that until a vaccine is found audiences will be hesitant to return to cinema & ampitheatre in pre-Covid numbers and it will be a long road to recovery.”

A small number of events programmed throughout the rest of the year will go ahead, with the rest of the shows being transferred to 2021.

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Shields Gazette website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.