The Old Vic is appealing for cash from the public and businesses

By Paul Stevens BBC News

The song may declare: "There's no business like showbusiness."

But in Bristol, it would seem to be turning into a nobody-wants-to-go business.

The city's cash-strapped Old Vic, the country's oldest working theatre dating back to 1766, is closed for refurbishment, amid potentially damaging rumours it may not reopen.

The Tobacco Factory theatre, meanwhile, has been on the brink of collapse for some time, only surviving by the skin of its teeth with a �50,000 grant from the Arts Council last month.

Then, recently came the news that the Hippodrome was pulling a production of The Producers as a result of poor advance ticket sales.

So what is happening to the state of theatre in Bristol? Is it in terminal decline as more and more people choose to vote with their feet and tune in to watch the goings on at Albert Square or is this merely a momentary glitch?

'Summer pantomime'

When it comes to The Producers, theatre critic Robert Gore-Langton is in no doubt. He told BBC News the casting was a contributory factor in its demise.

"You have a show that's a huge hit in New York and was fantastic and again in London," he said.

"I think lots have already seen it and it had these wonderful stars and now it's presented with Russ Abbot and Joe Pasquale and it's beginning to look like a summer pantomime.

"It may also have something to do with ticket pricing. They've not scaled down the show for the tour and so there are these amazing stage sets which all adds to the overheads and they're charging the best part of �40 a ticket.

The board of the Old Vic took the closure decision almost overnight

"I really don't think producers give enough thought to ticket prices."

This is all a bit ironic, given that David Ian, the chairman of global theatre at Live Nation, which runs 58 UK theatres, including the Hippodrome, recently told the BBC's Bristol website he was confident his productions would find "an enthusiastic and large, audience in the city".

So, what of the Old Vic?

David Farr and Simon Reade were appointed as co-artistic directors amid much ballyhoo, some four years ago. They gave the theatre a massive boost in its national profile, before Farr left for the Lyric Hammersmith, but at what financial cost?

Recently the board took the decision to close for 15 months for a refurbishment programme which led to much speculation about the true state of the theatre's coffers.

Other theatres close for refitting but they tend to plan in advance and often take a touring company on the road to ensure at least some revenue flow.

'Brink of failure'

Rupert Rhymes, chair of the board, claimed the �1m the theatre received from The Linbury Trust, made the refurbishment suddenly viable, but surely the board should have cast an eye over the potential revenue that will be lost by the closure decision.

In a statement, the theatre said: "The decline of Bristol Old Vic's box office, following overspends on some productions brought our finances to the brink of failure, where trustees could not be confident that the planned programme for autumn/winter 07/08 would be affordable or successful at generating necessary sales."

These are parlous days for the Old Vic Theatre whose staff are already facing redundancy and whose finances are by their own admission at the "brink of failure".

And so to Bedminster where the city's Tobacco Factory is facing a cash crisis of its own and one has to say, this is a great shame.

The Tobacco Factory also wants the public to donate to its appeal

Far from being a marginal art-house theatre, the Tobacco Factory has offered a broad range of plays to appeal to most tastes over the past few years.

Last month a cash appeal was issued for businesses and individuals to come forward to help the struggling theatre company.

It received some comfort in the form of a �50,000 Arts Council grant in June but the finances are nevertheless pretty stretched and the desperate cash appeal goes on.

Helen Palmer, chair of the Tobacco Factory Arts Trust, said: "We have put out this appeal not only to ensure that we survive but also to be able to continue to offer the quality and diverse work for which we have become so well known."

Amanda Adams, press officer at the Old Vic is pragmatic about the future of regional theatre in Britain: "I think it is going to go through some serious changes in this country in the next year or so with all the cash demands for the Olympics and so on," she said.