North London's Park Theatre announces fundraiser to help secure its future
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Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels
The Park Theatre in London is facing financial hardship due to the mass coronavirus closures across the UK and has decided to launch a new fundraising drive in a bid to secure its future once the lockdown is over. The news comes after a recent SOLT and UK Theatre survey found that about two out of three receiving venues across the country will require additional aid from the government in order to survive.
The Park Theatre needs your support now more than ever!
London's Park Theatre launches new fundraiser Park Life
The Off-West End venue's new fundraiser Park Life has been officially launched in order to guarantee the venue's survival during the mass theatre lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The theatre has managed to raise a total of £300,000 GBP in just 48 hours thanks to its key donors but now requires an additional £100,000 in order to ensure that the show will indeed go on once the government allows theatres to reopen.
Without donations, the Park Theatre may have to resort to operating exclusively as a receiving house without the ability to produce its own shows independently. The venue has already been forced to furlough most of its staff as part of the UK's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Jez Bond, Artistic Director of the Park Theatre, said: "I'm humbled by the outpouring of support from our donors. Many of them are local and many have engaged with the theatre since the early days – but some are from further afield and have a relatively new association: yet each has been acutely understanding of the problem we face and incredibly generous at a time when things are tough for everybody. There is still some way to go and we are grateful for your support however large or small."
This spring, as part of an ambitious 2019/2020 season, the venue was meant to run Corpse!, a 10th-anniversary production of Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park, Never Not Once, The Still Room, and A Place for We. Summer productions were meant to include Burkas and Bacon Butties and the highly anticipated Anglo-Japanese anime stage production, The Garden of Words, though it's unclear at this time whether these summer shows will go ahead or be postponed.
West End and UK theatres remain closed until 31 May and the government has yet to issue an update or new advice on avoiding mass gatherings.
Save the Park Theatre in London!
The future of London's Park Theatre is in your hands (and your wallets)! Here's what you can do to help:
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Donate to the Park Life fund here.
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Donate to the Park Theatre's annual fund here.
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You might also enjoy reading: "How can I support West End and UK theatres during the COVID-19 crisis?"