Guarantee of a minimum financial commitment

Sue Andrews, Northern Broadsides general manager, explains how the complicated financial arrangements involved in touring a production to a number of venues work in practice. Some venues offer the company a financial guarantee of a minimum income from their visit; others offer a smaller guarantee plus a share of the box office. However successful the production may be, box office income alone wouldn't cover the costs of having 26 people 'on the road', and that is why the company needs its funding from the Arts Council.