Highlights Rural Touring Scheme
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme (Highlights Productions, registered charity 1100920) is a UK non-profit that programmes professional live music, theatre, dance and storytelling performances plus school workshops into approximately 50 volunteer-promoted rural village halls and community venues across Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersBrough, Kirkby Stephen, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Highlights Rural Touring Scheme does
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme, legally known as Highlights Productions (registered charity number 1100920 in England and Wales), is a non-profit rural arts touring organisation operating since 1989 across Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham in North and North East England. From a small headquarters in Brough, Kirkby Stephen, the charity runs a network of approximately 50 volunteer-promoted village halls and community venues that host seasonal programmes of professional live music, theatre, dance, and storytelling performances curated by local volunteer promoters. Programming is split into Spring and Autumn seasons and is coordinated by Artistic Director Kate Lynch, with Community Programmer Joel Phillimore leading the Participate school-workshop stream and Creative Highlights creative-practice workshops.
The core product surface comprises four integrated offerings: the Live Events touring programme (the central rural-touring circuit), the Participate Workshops Programme (affordable creative workshops for schools and community groups across 26+ artforms including dance, music, theatre, animation, puppetry, storytelling and circus skills), the Young Promoters scheme for 12–25 year olds, and Creative Highlights artist-led workshops. Digital channels are limited: the organisation runs a WordPress-based marketing and ticketing website at highlightsnorth.co.uk, email newsletters (weekly during season, monthly off-season), and social channels on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. There is no proprietary technology platform, mobile app, or API offering; ticket booking carries a per-ticket booking fee (e.g., £0.75).
Revenue is mixed and grant-anchored rather than commercial. Funding streams include multi-year Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation core funding (in place until March 2027), separate grants from Northumberland County Council and Westmorland & Furness Council, ticket sales (transaction-fee model), workshop fees, online gift voucher sales in £10–£50 denominations, and donations processed through the Zeffy platform, including a BigGive Arts for Impact campaign that raised £3,860 (£4,247 with Gift Aid) in March 2025. Customers consist of rural audience members buying tickets to village-hall events, schools booking workshops, freelance artists engaged for touring and workshop delivery, and a small institutional donor base. The charity was founded in 1989 (with the first event, 'Rapunzel' by Horse & Bamboo Theatre at Lazonby Village Hall, performed by touring with a horse-drawn wagon), became a lead partner on the national Rural Touring Dance Initiative in July 2022, and currently operates with a small team of approximately eight staff.
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Highlights Rural Touring Scheme
- Legal name
- Highlights Productions
- Website
- https://highlightsnorth.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Highlights Rural Touring Scheme (Highlights Productions, registered charity 1100920) is a UK non-profit that programmes professional live music, theatre, dance and storytelling performances plus school workshops into approximately 50 volunteer-promoted rural village halls and community venues across Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Arts Touring
- NAICS
- Performing Arts Companies (7111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Musical Groups and Artists (71113)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Performing Arts, Music & Theatre Group Tours (THAKAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Performing Arts & Music Lessons (Dance, Drumming, Instrument Lessons, Theater) (THAJAKAC), Kids & Family Learning Workshops (Family Crafts, Junior Maker Classes) (THAJAKAO), Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ), Arts & Crafts Workshops (Painting, Pottery, Ceramics, Sculpture) (THAJAKAA)
Keywords
Where Highlights Rural Touring Scheme is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brough, Kirkby Stephen
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Ticket sales: Revenue is generated through ticket sales for live performances of music, theatre, dance, and other arts events at rural village halls and community venues.
- Workshop fees: Affordable creative workshops are delivered to schools and community groups, generating fee income. The programme supports artists with income streams while providing arts access to rural areas.
- Gift vouchers: Gift vouchers sold online at £10, £20, £30, £40 and £50 price points, redeemable against online purchases of tickets and workshops.
- Donations: Donations are accepted via Zeffy platform. The BigGive Arts for Impact campaign raised £3,860 (or £4,247 with Gift Aid) for free secondary school workshops.
- Arts Council England National Portfolio funding: Regular core funding from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation, in place until March 2027.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Gift vouchers available in £10, £20, £30, £40, and £50 denominations |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme programmes professional live arts performances (music, theatre, dance) into village halls and community venues across Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham through a network of volunteer promoters. Alongside this touring programme, the Participate workshops programme delivers affordable creative workshops by professional artists into schools and community groups, covering artforms including dance, music, theatre, animation, puppetry, storytelling, circus skills, poetry and creative writing.
Product overview
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme is an arts charity operating as a single integrated programme rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering consists of a Rural Touring Programme that programmes live arts events into village halls across Cumbria, Northumberland, and County Durham, complemented by the Participate Workshops Programme that brings affordable creative workshops into schools and communities. Supporting programmes include the Young Promoters youth scheme and Creative Highlights artist-led workshops. The scheme is funded by Arts Council England and local councils, and connects professional artists with rural audiences through a network of volunteer promoters.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Live Events Touring Programme
Quantifiable outcome
- Approximately 50 village hall venues served across three counties
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Highlights Rural Touring Scheme
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI)coreNational project supporting dance artists and rural promoters to make dance performances happen in rural spaces. Since July 2022, Highlights has been a lead partner alongside The Place, NRTF, Take Art and Sonia Sabri Company. Highlights Artistic Director Kate Lynch appears as a host in the Rural Moves podcast series documenting RTDI's decade of work.
- National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF)coreNRTF is a national network of rural touring schemes and members including artists, venues, promoters, producers and festivals. Highlights participates in this network for resource sharing, joint promotion, and strategic planning.
- Northern Consortium of Rural Touring SchemesminorHighlights is a partner in the Northern Consortium, cooperating in fundraising, resource sharing, joint promotion, and strategic planning for rural touring across the North of England. Other schemes include Arts Out West, Arts Alive, Blaize, Cheshire Rural Touring Arts, Rural Arts On Tour and Spot On Lancashire.
- Northern School of Contemporary DanceminorPartnership for the KnottedHawk Dance Company tour, which included both dance theatre performances and workshops in schools, facilitated through NSCD's connection to RTDI.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Take Art: Rural touring scheme in Somerset operating a near-identical model of volunteer-promoted village hall performances and is a fellow lead partner in the Rural Touring Dance Initiative alongside Highlights.
- Arts Out West: Northern Consortium partner delivering live performing arts into rural community venues, sharing the same touring-and-workshop model and volunteer promoter approach as Highlights.
- Spot On Lancashire: Lancashire's rural touring scheme and fellow member of the Northern Consortium of Rural Touring Schemes, delivering professional live arts into rural venues using a volunteer promoter network.
- Arts Alive: Rural touring scheme and Northern Consortium partner operating in rural venues with professional performances and creative workshops, comparable in mission and operating model.
- Blaize (rural touring): Northern Consortium member delivering rural arts programming across village and community venues in the North of England on a comparable touring and workshop basis.
- Rural Arts On Tour: Northern Consortium rural touring partner delivering live music, theatre and dance into rural North Yorkshire venues via community promoters on a comparable operational model.
- Cheshire Rural Touring Arts: Cheshire-focused rural touring scheme and Northern Consortium member using a volunteer-promoter model to deliver professional performances and workshops into village halls.
Broad incumbents
- National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF): National umbrella body for rural touring schemes including Highlights; sets standards, shares resources and runs joint national initiatives across all member schemes.
Emerging players
- The Place: London-based dance organisation and RTDI lead partner alongside Highlights. Comparable in that it co-develops rural dance touring strategy, though its primary footprint is urban and venue-based.
- Sonia Sabri Company: Dance company and RTDI lead partner with Highlights, focused on developing and touring dance works into rural and community venues with associated workshop and engagement programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme social profiles
Digital presenceHighlights Rural Touring Scheme compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Highlights Rural Touring Scheme
What does Highlights Rural Touring Scheme do?
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme programmes professional live arts performances (music, theatre, dance) into village halls and community venues across Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham through a network of volunteer promoters. Alongside this touring programme, the Participate workshops programme delivers affordable creative workshops by professional artists into schools and community groups, covering artforms including dance, music, theatre, animation, puppetry, storytelling, circus skills, poetry and creative writing.
Is Highlights Rural Touring Scheme a public or private company?
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Highlights Rural Touring Scheme founded?
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme was founded in 1989. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Highlights Rural Touring Scheme based?
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme is headquartered in Brough, Kirkby Stephen, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Highlights Rural Touring Scheme make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Ticket sales are the primary driver. The others are workshop fees, gift vouchers, donations and arts Council England National Portfolio funding.
Who are Highlights Rural Touring Scheme's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Take Art, Arts Out West, Spot On Lancashire, Arts Alive, Blaize (rural touring), Rural Arts On Tour and Cheshire Rural Touring Arts. National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF) is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are The Place and Sonia Sabri Company.
Does Highlights Rural Touring Scheme have an API?
No public API is recorded for Highlights Rural Touring Scheme.
What industry is Highlights Rural Touring Scheme in?
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme's product category is Community Arts Touring. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAGAH, Performing Arts, Music & Theatre Group Tours, with a secondary code of THAJAKAC, Performing Arts & Music Lessons (Dance, Drumming, Instrument Lessons, Theater). Its NAICS code is 7111 and its SIC code is 7900.