Park Theatre have announced that for the first time in their 3 and a half year history, there will be an accessible performance available on every show in their new Jan – Jun 2017, along with a range of accessible ticket prices for local people, children, groups and families to name but a few. Artistic Director Jez Bond gives us an insight into the ambition behind being a truly accessible theatre.

I am a grateful and privileged man to be running a theatre. The world is full of incredibly talented, driven and hardworking people chasing their dreams and I am fully aware that, unlike some believe, hard work is not the only ingredient in bringing your dreams to reality. Privilege can be another. And privilege starts with accessibility.

Mine came firstly through a loving home where it was a priority to spend money on theatre, driven largely by my father, a passionate theatre lover. Dad never went to University but he harboured a dream since his teenage years of becoming a playwright. He would take me to shows as often as he could, spending time to deconstruct and analyse them with me afterwards. Next it came through my teacher who gave me the keys to my school theatre at the age of 14 and put me in charge of running it throughout my time there. He gave me responsibility, he let me learn by doing.

Image: Jez Bond (left) and his father Jeremy Bond.

It is this accessibility that is fundamental for theatre and which is at the very core of Park Theatre’s vision. Many theatres aren’t accessible to most people, they start with a beautiful but often imposing building that seems to invite in only a few who are somehow in-the-know, leaving many outside, unable to contribute. When building Park Theatre we were clear that even in its architectural design it didn't alienate people but instead felt like a welcoming, accessible space. A building that opened its doors from early in the morning to late at night to be a hang-out, a meeting place, a safe space.

An equally important factor of accessibility is affordability. We believe that theatre should be for everyone. As a neighbourhood theatre it is vital that our tickets are priced affordably. Our average ticket is less than £20, in fact 25% of all tickets sold have been for £10 or less, largely through our Pay What You Can performances and our local resident discounts.

This all comes at a price, because as a live art form theatre on this scale is rarely able to break even. In fact Park Theatre on paper makes little commercial sense. If it wasn’t for us raising £250,000 per annum to break even, we wouldn’t survive. But that’s okay – and I’m glad to say that as each day goes by more and more people are realising this. Park Theatre is a charity and as such has a different set of responsibilities to a business. But there is so much more we do than make money – and it’s the value to society that is the key.

Someone asked me recently what I was most proud of with regards the theatre. I replied that there were so many strands to what we did but that, in some ways oddly, it is one of the non-theatre aspects that never failed to give me a buzz. That’s the moment when I walk into the cafe bar mid-morning or afternoon and see a hive of activity – people working on their laptops, having meetings, reading books, reading scripts, parents and babies arranging group meets, producers, actors, business men, the local policemen even stopping by for their coffee and a chat: a really busy community feel. Because I suppose, with my background as a director, I always knew that I could create the ‘art’ but it’s everything that surrounds it that’s truly heartening to see come alive.

People say how much Finsbury Park has changed over the years since we opened and we’re extremely proud of being part of that. But it’s important to us that this regeneration doesn’t lead to gentrification; where an area looses its original inhabitants and its soul. We value the people of Finsbury Park in all their shapes and sizes and we see it as our job to be a home for all of them by reaching out in some way. People might not see a show, but they might sit in the warmth of a welcoming cafe, they might not participate in one of our creative learning projects but they might engage through us doing a workshop for their school.

I can see that the next generation understands the importance of social welfare more than mine and hope that in years to come we start to see the real fruits of this shift in values. We’re here in the community to stay – and we have so much more we want to do.

@bondjezbond
parktheatre.co.uk