The latest round of the Theatre Improvement Scheme in association with the Wolfson Foundation has awarded a total of £124,000 in grants to seven theatres.
This round of the scheme has funded small but impactful projects to reduce resource consumption and develop best practice in sustainability. These include replacing bathroom fixtures, fitting solar panels and battery storage, and updating lighting to energy-efficient LEDs.
The theatres receiving funding are:
An Lanntair, Stornoway
Cast, Doncaster
The Garage, Norwich
Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House
New Diorama Theatre, London
Old Fire Station, Oxford
Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle upon Tyne
Congratulations to all the recipients!
The next round of funding applications is now open (closing September 5th), so if your venue wants to improve its sustainability, find out more and apply here
Perhaps you, like me, dream of travelling back in time to see a particular show or star, and although some productions were filmed in some manner or other, most have been lost to the mists of time.
Here is just a fleeting chance to roam London’s West End in 1975, where we can stroll and admire the exteriors of some of London’s finest theatres, and see the shows that kept them going then.
You’ll catch glimpses of The Lyric, Globe and Apollo (all on Shaftesbury Avenue), the Adelphi and Vaudeville (on the Strand), and close by, the Strand, Duchess and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Enjoy this four-minute nostalgia trip, courtesy of British Pathe.
As September approaches, we look forward to the time when some of the UK’s hardest to see buildings throw open their doors to eager visitors for this once-a year opportunity. The two largest festivals, London Open House and Heritage Open Days, are running at the same time!
To give more opportunities to see, this year’s London Open House extends across two weekends and the week in between, from 8th to 21st September.
er, with a wide range of events that can be selected both in-person and online, which will certainly help broaden access to the many interesting events in the programme as well as allowing audiences to take part in more visits.
There are usually a handful of performance buildings included in the programme, and when the details are released on August 24th you can search on “Theatre” to locate them..
You can find full details when they are unveiled on 24th August at the Open House website which you can find by clicking here
Almost concurrently, Heritage Open Days runs from September 9th to 18th, which will allow two weekends’ worth of exploring for those able to get out and about.
England’s biggest festival of history and culture returns, with more than 800 free events.
Current highlights from a search on theatres brings up these in-person events
See the full programme here. Book early to secure your place, as these events do sell quickly!
EXTRA FOR THOSE IN SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND WALES
In Northern Ireland, European Heritage Open Days is on for a week digitally from Monday 5 to Sunday 11 September, with in-person events on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September. It includes 200+ sites and properties.
In Scotland, Doors Open Days runs throughout the whole month of September with hundreds of sites opening, as does Wales‘ Open Doors.
Remember to book ahead where you can and check to ensure details don’t change near the event.
The excellent talks given throughout the year by Gresham College’s invited speakers are always worth seeing. Occasionally, theatre and arts-related talks come up, and I am happy to recommend them to you.
Here is a recent talk given by Professor Simon Thurley about the early incarnations of theatre in London in an area we today call Theatreland.
In this, the second lecture in the series Buildings in the West End of London, Professor Thurley looks at the significance and impact of these three great institutions on the development of London.
The talk lasts 51 minutes and is free to view whenever you have time.
Watch the talk by clicking on the image below or open in a new window here
Thirteen more theatres have benefitted from a grants programme from The Theatres Trust.
Projects funded in this round of grants focus on improving theatres’ accessibility and sustainability as well as urgent repairs and maintenance works that are essential to ongoing viability.
The Trust said “We are delighted to support 13 more theatres through our Small Grants Programme”
The Programme is supported by money from The Linbury Trust, as well as donations from director Judy Craymer CBE and the Charles Michael Holloway Charitable Trust.
Helpfully, the Linbury Trust has committed to funding the scheme for a further three years, with funding totalling £300,000.
Venues with projects needing support like these are reminded that the next round of the Small Grants Programme with the Linbury Trust is now open for applications with a deadline of Tuesday 3 May.
For more information about which theatres were helped with which projects, click here
