ALTERNATIVE THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED

Registered charity 270080 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE BUSH THEATRE

Developing, promoting and producing the best new theatre writing. Providing professional development, education and training both for those within the industry and those learning about the industry. Increasing audience access to New Writing both in London and further afield. Encouraging cultural diversity.

Causes: Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£2.7m

Latest spending

£2.8m

Registered

1975

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £339,215 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in total funds decreasing to £3,558,950. The trustees note that the general reserve balance of £274,149 was below the minimum policy target of £340,000, though they have incorporated actions to increase reserves in the upcoming budget. Despite the deficit, the trustees and auditors confirm the accounts are prepared on a going concern basis with no material uncertainties identified.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: Greater than £60,000 — below the median for charities its size (£70k)

“One employee received remuneration of greater than £60,000 during the year (2024: none).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Employees paid over £60,000: 1

“One employee received remuneration of greater than £60,000 during the year (2024: none).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £274k; policy: three months of unrestricted expenditure)

“The general reserve balance of £274,149 as at the year end was below the minimum level of £340,000.” — page 11

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Donations from Anthony Marraccino, a Trustee.

“Anthony Marraccino was a Trustee of the Charity during the year. He made donations of £9,500 in the year” — page 37

“Catherine Score was a Trustee of the Charity during the year. She made donations of £15,000 in the year” — page 37

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Donations from Catherine Score, a Trustee.

“Anthony Marraccino was a Trustee of the Charity during the year. He made donations of £9,500 in the year” — page 37

“Catherine Score was a Trustee of the Charity during the year. She made donations of £15,000 in the year” — page 37

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Grants from London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, where Trustee Mercy Umeh sits on the Council.

“Anthony Marraccino was a Trustee of the Charity during the year. He made donations of £9,500 in the year” — page 37

“Catherine Score was a Trustee of the Charity during the year. She made donations of £15,000 in the year” — page 37

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Saffery LLP. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Employees paid over £60,000: 0 (FY2024) → 1 (FY2025).
Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "above" (FY2024) to "below" (FY2025).

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Krishnendu Majumdar — Chair of Trustees (source)
Taio Lawson — Co-CEO (source)

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

Backstage Trust — “Trusts and Foundations Backstage Trust” (source page)

Property (HM Land Registry)

2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram · linkedin

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2026)

Total income

£2.7m

Total spending

£2.8m

Cost of raising funds

£87k

Reserves (reported)

£379k

Employees

53

Reported reserves equal ~1.6 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (39% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 3.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

ANTHONY MARRACCINO · trustee of 2 other charities
Catherine Score
James Daniel MARSHALL · trustee of 1 other charity
Keerthi Rajiv Kollimada · trustee of 1 other charity
Kim Evans · trustee of 1 other charity
Krishnendu Kumar MAJUMDAR
Kwame Rwakabale Owusu
Rajiv Nathwani
STEPHEN MARC PIDCOCK · trustee of 1 other charity
Stala Antoniades
Susanne Angela Wachner
Taio Renee-Lawson · trustee of 1 other charity

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Throughout London

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2026	£2.7m	£2.8m
31/03/2025	£2.3m	£2.6m
31/03/2024	£2.5m	£2.6m
31/03/2023	£2.1m	£2.5m
31/03/2022	£1.8m	£2.3m

Common questions

Is ALTERNATIVE THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £339,215 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in total funds decreasing to £3,558,950. The trustees note that the general reserve balance of £274,149 was below the minimum policy target of £340,000, though they have incorporated actions to increase reserves in the upcoming budget. Despite the deficit, the trustees and auditors confirm the accounts are prepared on a going concern basis with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Saffery LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of ALTERNATIVE THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the Greater than £60,000 band, and 1 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds ALTERNATIVE THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED?

Funders whose own accounts filings name ALTERNATIVE THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED as a grant recipient include JOHN LYON'S CHARITY, BACKSTAGE TRUST, JERWOOD FOUNDATION, HAMMERSMITH UNITED CHARITIES, THE MARTIN BOWLEY CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
JOHN LYON'S CHARITY	FY2025	£150k	the Youth Programme, focusing on the arts engagement, schools and employability
BACKSTAGE TRUST	FY2024	£100k	Core funding
JERWOOD FOUNDATION	FY2024	£30k	Staged by Jerwood
HAMMERSMITH UNITED CHARITIES	FY2022	£15k	Towards the cost of a community engagement programme.
THE MARTIN BOWLEY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£6k
THE MARTIN BOWLEY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£6k
THE MARTIN BOWLEY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£6k
THE HAROLD HYAM WINGATE FOUNDATION	FY2022	£5k
THE IDLEWILD TRUST	FY2024	£5k
HAMMERSMITH UNITED CHARITIES	FY2023	£5k	To fund towards the schools project programme for young people.
THE MARTIN BOWLEY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£4k
THE GOLSONCOTT FOUNDATION	FY2025	£1k
HAMMERSMITH UNITED CHARITIES	FY2024	£500	Dance workshops for young people with disabilities.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The Mercers' Company	24/04/2018	£10k	Grant to Bush Theatre - Alternative Theatre Company
City Bridge Foundation	23/09/2015	£55k	Grant to Bush Theatre
City Bridge Foundation	29/01/2015	£4k	Grant to Bush Theatre

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
MARIA BJORNSON MEMORIAL FUND	2	£50k
THE THEATRES TRUST CHARITABLE FUND	2	£21k
THE FENTON ARTS TRUST	2	£13k
THE CHILDHOOD TRUST	2	£10k
THE JOHN THAW FOUNDATION	2	£5k
PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION	1	£144k
THE FOYLE FOUNDATION	1	£100k
THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£100k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with SOHO THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED.

SOHO THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED income £6.8m
THEATRE DE COMPLICITE EDUCATION LIMITED income £1.1m
PIONEER THEATRES LIMITED income £4.3m
ARDENT THEATRE COMPANY income £142k
THE NEW THEATRE ROYAL-TRUSTEES (PORTSMOUTH) LIMITED income £1.4m
THE NEW WOLSEY THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED income £3.4m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
ALTERNATIVE THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED	£2.7m	Greater than £60,000	1	below	—	no doubt
SOHO THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED FY2025	£6.8m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
THEATRE DE COMPLICITE EDUCATION LIMITED FY2025	£1.1m	£70,001 - £80,000	1	above	—	no doubt
PIONEER THEATRES LIMITED FY2025	£4.3m	—	—	unclear	27.0%	no doubt
ARDENT THEATRE COMPANY FY2025	£142k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE NEW THEATRE ROYAL-TRUSTEES (PORTSMOUTH) LIMITED FY2025	£1.4m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.