Grant awarded to theatre in Redditch

  • 2020-10-16
A theatre in Redditch has received a grant worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to ensure its survival amid the challenges of COVID-19.

The Palace Theatre is in Alcester Street and is owned by Rubicon Leisure. Like many other entertainment venues, it was forced to close its doors when the pandemic struck in early spring and there is no clear idea when it will be able to open again. Now it has been given a £173,000 grant to enable it to keep going until it is safe to host audiences once more.

The theatre is just one out of a total of 1,385 such venues and organisations throughout the country to be given emergency financial support via the Culture Recovery Fund set up by the government. This fund is paying out £1.57bn in grants to make sure theatres and other cultural institutions come through the crisis.

In normal times, theatres such as this would bring in revenue through sales of programmes provided by local brochure printing outlets, among other methods.

Speaking to the Redditch Advertiser, theatre employee Paul Hughes said:

“This massive support package will protect the theatre for future generations and will allow us to continue to provide a base for the performing arts in the town.”

He added that the theatre is looking to welcoming audiences back when the time is right.