However, despite the slight fall in numbers - which have been attributed to the credit crunch - Arts and Theatres Trust Fife (AttFife) has been praised for its progress since it was set up in March 2007.

The 2008/09 annual review was presented to councillors at last Tuesday's housing committee, revealing an overall strong performance for AttFife's first full year of trading.

Some of the successful initiatives of 2008/09 included a sell-out performance of Adam Smith Theatre's 2008 pantomime and hugely popular gigs from the Proclaimers and Billy Ocean at Carnegie Hall.

Frank Chinn, chief executive of AttFife, said: "We are delighted that the community has continued to support the family of venues that we programme by coming out time after time to enjoy the very varied programme of arts and entertainment we provide.

"Simply, without them we could not report such positive ticket sales in what has been a challenging year for everyone. We hope that this will continue in the New Year.

"However, we are all aware that financial pressures are still acute for many local people and local businesses so our continued focus for 2010/11 will be a combination of programming excellence and controlling costs so that we can continue to develop our policy of being an arts-led audience focused organisation."

Councillor Brian Goodall, chairman of the housing committee, is pleased that despite the challenging economic climate, audience figures in Fife have held up.

He added that improving sport, leisure and cultural opportunities is one of the Council's main priorities and AttFife is contributing to this with its broad ranging programme.

He said: "They have been successful in establishing key partnerships with both local and national creative bodies which are already making a difference in helping to increase participation opportunities, particularly for young people."

AttFife and the National Theatre of Scotland are about to embark on an ambitious programme to build creative communities across Fife.

This is one of the events supported by the Council as part of Celebrating Fife 2010, in which up to 800 workshops and performances will take place, involving Fifers of all ages.

A number of other events and projects are planned for 2010.
These include working with Puppet Animation Scotland and Fife Young Carers Project, as well as the £2m extension and refurbishment of the Lochgelly Centre.

Dorothy Browse, service manager for libraries and museums, said: "As the nature of people's leisure and cultural activities change, AttFife will continue to face challenges to ensure that its services meet customer expectations."