The Thameside is available for you!
The Thameside is a fully equipped professional theatre and it's available to hire by the hour, day or week.
Thurrock based non profitable organisations, state or academy schools and members of Thurrock Arts Council can request hire dates at the Thameside Theatre up to 18 months in advance. Organisations from outside Thurrock and Commercial organisations can request dates up to 1 year in advance.
Phone the theatre on 01375 413981 or email thameside.theatre@thurrock.gov.uk to discuss availability with the theatre manager. As well as available dates we can consider if your event clashes with any others.
If we can agree dates a "pencilling" is put in the booking bible. We will try to honour these dates and times but reserve our right to move them to maximize theatre usage. We won't change your date without discussing it with you because we value our custom so it's important that you keep us up to date with your contact details.
If you know your exact timings we can give you a quote for your theatre hire but at pencilling stage we only need an indication of what hours you think you will need.
You can check prices on the attached Scale of Charges.
There are three tariffs in operation depending on whether you are Thurrock based or a commercial organisation. The main hire period in the theatre is 5pm to 10pm or 6pm to 11pm which is hired as a block. Any hours before these times are charged at an hourly rate. Any time after these hours is charged at a penalty rate so please don't overrun. When you calculate your costs don't forget the performance surcharge for every live show where you will need tickets and staff to be ushers and sell sweets and drinks.
In June/July and October/November we send out booking forms for the following 6-8 months. You will be asked to fill it in and return it with 25% deposit. At the same time you will be asked to fill in a ticket order form and, depending on the timings, you may be offered the opportunity to advertise in our Event Brochure.
Please read the Thameside Theatre conditions of hire regarding deposits and cancellations.
Please note that we hire the theatre to individuals not organisations, and if you fill in the booking form you must sign it and be the responsible person with whom all further correspondence will take place.
The hire fee includes sets of tickets for each performance. You will need to decide if you will sell them yourself or if you want the theatre box office to sell them, or any combination. We just want you to sell out so we do what we can to achieve sales. Return the Thameside Theatre Ticket Order form to us with the booking form or at a later date when you know your exact requirements.
Please read the Thameside ticketing terms and conditions.
Approximately 2 months before your hire date, you will receive a bill from Thurrock Council for the balance of the hire - This must be paid to Thurrock Council at the Civic Offices or any of the paypoint venues around Thurrock at least a week before your hire date. Please make sure you do pay in advance as the terms and conditions state that we cannot let you in unless you have paid.
Before your event you will need to contact our technical staff to discuss your needs. You can contact the Senior Technician on 01375 413983 or email thameside.theatre@thurrock.gov.uk.
Please not that the Thameside Theatre does not promote events that occur as theatre hires. The theatre has its own promotions schedule which will always take precedence for poster and advertising space. If you hire the theatre you need to market and promote the event yourself. Thurrock Council Thameside Theatre cannot take any responsibility if your sales do not live up to your expectations. We will be pleased to provide contact details for local media outlets.
When you arrive for your event, the theatre will be clean, warm, staffed and ready for you.
As the hirer please make yourself known to the technical staff and the Front of House Manager so that they can refer to you if any issues arise. The technical and Front of House staff are there to make your event go smoothly and they will do whatever they can to make the show a success. If you ask for extra time or facilities, the staff should be able to give you any additional prices on the spot. Please try to avoid overruns, they add a lot to your hire bill and complicate peoples travel arrangements. If you foresee that a show is going to overrun please advise the staff. Rehearsal overruns are not permitted.
If you have any problems or issues with your hire please contact us as soon as possible so that we can attempt to put it right.
We hope your event goes well and you sell lots of tickets.
The day after your event, the Box office team can provide a box office report detailing what ticket sales we have made for you and their value. This is then put on a form and commission and any other costs you have incurred are taken off the total. Thurrock Council then sends you a cheque or BACS payment to you. This process usually takes about 7 days but you should allow 10 working days before you ring us.
We hope you have a successful event at the Thameside Theatre and that will want to book again soon.
When you hire the theatre you need to have an insurance policy to cover you if there is an accident or damage at the theatre. You can get this from any insurance broker but specialist theatrical insurers exist and one is Performers based at Wrightsure Services Ltd in West Thurrock (Tel 01708 866533). Non commercial users can also elect to use the council's policy by paying an extra 9% of the hire fee.
Hirers insurance (PDF 23.9kB) - please see how to access PDF files..
