#SaveOurTheatres Crowdfunder Campaign Launches
#SaveOurTheatres Crowdfunder Campaign Launches to Support Local Theatres with backing from Theatres Trust Ambassador Jude Law
Above: Questors Theatre, Ealing, London. Photo: Ian Grundy
#SaveOurTheatres Crowdfunder Campaign Launches to Support Local Theatres with backing from Theatres Trust Ambassador Jude Law
Crowdfunder.co.uk has partnered with Theatres Trust to launch an exciting, nationwide crowdfunding campaign to help save theatres across the UK. Close to half a million pounds has already been raised by theatres using the platform during lockdown, from over 7,450 supporters. This sparked the creation of a nationwide campaign which launched on 8th September with 40 theatres fundraising pages live on day one and many more waiting in the wings.
From Festival and King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, down to the Babbacombe Theatre in Torquay, theatres across the United Kingdom, large and small, are uniting in this nationwide campaign to fight to #SaveOurTheatres. The campaign has also already garnered celebrity support from the acclaimed actor and Theatres Trust Ambassador, Jude Law.
![](http://www.sardinesmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/JL-Headshot-2016-approved-225x300.jpg)
Jude Law. Photo: Sandra Johnson
With your help we can #SaveOurTheatres.
Head to the campaign page at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-our-theatres to show your support.
In villages, towns and cities across the country, theatres are at the heart of their community. They are places to come together, to be inspired and be entertained. Theatres are where our best-loved actors learn their craft and thousands of others learn valuable skills. However, we could lose our theatres forever. Theatres saw their main source of income disappear in an instant when they closed in March in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Six months later, theatres still don’t know when they will be able to reopen fully. A decision won’t be made until November at the earliest – too late for most to put on their annual pantomime, which often provides the income to support the theatre for the rest of the year. This ongoing uncertainty puts theatres in a perilous situation. The government’s bailout is spread across all cultural organisations and won’t be enough to save all of the UK’s theatres.
Jude Law, actor and Theatres Trust Ambassador is backing the campaign: “Growing up I was fortunate to be taken to theatres regularly and this was where my love of acting first began. To this day nothing beats the magic of live performance and the connection between audience and performer. We are lucky to have so many amazing theatres, from historic playhouses like Theatre Royal Margate to groundbreaking community spaces like Greenwich to intimate pub theatres like Hampstead’s Pentameters.
“But coronavirus has simply devastated our theatre sector. Communities across the UK are in real danger of losing their theatres forever and we risk losing a precious part of national culture and heritage. Theatres are a vital community hub that bring joy to millions of people each year and we must try and save these theatres for generations to come.
“As a Theatres Trust Ambassador, I’m delighted to support the Save Our Theatres campaign, which is raising valuable funds to support theatres throughout the country. Please do give whatever you can to support this campaign.”
Rob Love, CEO Crowdfunder said: “Theatres and the arts industry have been hugely impacted over the last six months. We are proud to be partnering with the Theatres Trust to help raise vital funds for theatres across the Country, we have waived all of our fees so all money raised will go direct to the theatres. Although lockdown is lifting we are still a long way from business as usual. This has been an exceptionally hard time for everyone, and we must stick together and do what we can to support theatres as we come out of this period and move forward – the show must go on!”
Jon Morgan, Director at Theatres Trust stated: “Every day theatres are facing the tough decision to make staff redundant and to close their doors until next year. And there is a real risk that those closures could be permanent. Without urgent support, we could lose many of our nation’s amazing theatres. Please help us to make sure our theatres survive this crisis and will be there to be enjoyed by future generations.”
Rewards up for grabs: Crowdfunder is the UK’s number one rewards-based crowdfunding platform. The rewards feature of platform has been put to good use by the Theatres involved in the campaign, with exciting rewards on offer, ranging from backstage tours, on stage recording sessions and even #SaveOurTheatres name plaques mounted onto theatre seats.
To purchase a reward to support your local theatre, head to the campaign page https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-our-theatres and find the project page for your local theatre.
Theatres have been engaging local businesses to obtain their support, be it through match funding, donations, purchasing or even providing a reward, or simply sharing the page with their crowd via newsletters or social media. If you run a business, please consider how you can help.
If you would like to support the industry overall, Theatres Trust has also launched its own Crowdfunding page as part of the nationwide campaign. As the only national charity that supports all of the UK’s 1,100 theatres, Theatres Trust will use money raised in this campaign to fund its essential free advice service for theatres, support its ongoing campaigning work and to distribute grants to theatres who need the most help to reopen safely.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/theatrestrust
Rebecca Weaver, Programming and Marketing Manager at King George’s Hall, Blackburn commented: “King Georges Hall will be 100 years old next year and its imperative that we raise enough funds to preserve our beloved historic theatre so that it can be enjoyed by future generations for the next 100 years, and beyond. It was created as a public hall to bring communities together and we need to enable it to continue to do so. Without your help, King George’s Hall risks permanent closure because over 80% of our income comes from trading; ticket sales, bar sales and room hires, all of which has ceased due to the global pandemic.”
Danni Fearnley, Head of Development at Octagon Theatre, Bolton stated: “We are delighted with the results of using Crowdfunder as the platform for our recent fundraising appeal. It has been hugely beneficial for many different reasons. It has helped us generate invaluable and crucial support at this difficult time for the Octagon and the theatre industry. We’ve also reached new supporters that we can build on for the future and the team at Crowdfunder provided us with really valuable guidance on how to fundraise in new ways for the Octagon.”
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