A MANAGING board is being set up to steer a city's theatre out of financial trouble.

Durham City Council is carrying out an all-encompassing review of how the Gala Theatre is run in a bid to cut losses which have run up to £446,000 in the past seven months.

The city's Labour MP, Gerry Steinberg, has expressed concerns at the future of the £14m flagship theatre, which opened less than two years ago.

But the city council's Liberal Democrat leadership has pledged to turn around the Gala's fortunes.

Council leader Sue Pitts told the council cabinet that the situation was "slowly improving" and pledged to take "radical steps" to address the issues at the theatre.

Speaking yesterday, Coun Pitts said the review would take in the entire running of the complex.

"We have a wonderful theatre complex and we want to provide a whole range of exciting theatrical opportunities," she said.

"We are looking to put in new management structures.

"We'll try to get next year's budget at manageable levels, and then we'll work towards gradually reducing the subsidy on a year-to-year basis."

Coun Pitts said the theatre operation would be "properly meshed" into the running of the city council, making better use of the existing skills of the authority's workforce.

The managing board will be made up of herself and another leading councillor, up to four senior officers, including the council's chief executive, plus, "at least two outside people".

Coun Pitts said: "They would need to have relevant experience in the theatre and a shared passion to make it work."

The council planned to look at examples of "good practice" in the running of similar sized complexes, including Darlington's Civic Theatre.

How the theatres

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