Waking Exploits Theatre Producer Michael Salmon Jailed For Fraud

The Cardiff-based Waking Exploits Theatre Company entered the Wales theatre scene in 2011 with a well-received production of Caryl Churchill's SERIOUS MONEY. Five years later, serious money issues are the cause for the company's demise.

As reported by The Stage, the company's producer, Michael Salmon, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud. He's also been fined £8,000 in compensation for scams totaling nearly £65,000.

The conviction comes after admitting to several fraudulent claims for grant aid between May of 2015 and February of 2016.

Salmon stated that he had been funding several projects simultaneously and had used money from unconnected productions to help sustain others.

Defense barrister Jonathan Lewis argued that his client's motivation was not greed, but that this was a case of "very poor financial mismanagement by Mr. Salmon with an arching degree of dishonesty."

The theatre company's website makes no mention of the circumstances behind the company's closing, stating, "We take our final curtain now, knowing that the industry is stronger than it was when we started."

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The video promotes Waking Exploits' 2011 production of Caryl Churchill's SERIOUS MONEY.