Theater Erfurt with three million loss: spending freeze
Erfurt's theater has run up a deficit of around three million euros so far this year. The city has therefore imposed a spending freeze of one million euros for the theater in the coming year, as Erfurt's head of cultural affairs Tobias Knoblich confirmed on Thursday when asked. MDR Thüringen had previously reported on this.
The reasons for the financial imbalance include this year's Domstufen-Festspiele, which tore a hole of around one million euros. The production of "Faust's Damnation" had not brought in the audience numbers hoped for. According to the theater, attendance at the Domstufen was only 65 percent.
A general decline in audiences following the coronavirus pandemic was also noticeable, according to the city. Higher tariffs for employees and increased costs also contributed to the deficit. The theater explained that it is working hard to reduce costs.
According to the city, it is providing an additional 770,000 euros for the theater this year. From 2025, higher subsidies from the state and city have been agreed in the new theater contract, said Knoblich. It is hoped that the theater will then be able to break even again with restrictive management.
The theater is run by the city itself. As a result of the deficit and the spending freeze, all expenditure not already contractually committed is now under scrutiny. The Erfurt theater under the management of artistic director Guy Montavon is currently also facing accusations of alleged sexual assault and abuse of power.
The theater's financial struggles have led to a review of all non-contractually committed expenditures due to the spending freeze imposed by the city. The theater's financial difficulties can be partly attributed to the high employee tariffs and increased costs associated with its operations.
Source: www.dpa.com
