London’s Park Theatre has been awarded £35,000 in emergency funding from Arts Council England to help the popular venue survive the lockdown and social distancing measures necessitated by the Covid-19 crisis.
The support from ACE coincides with news that the Park Theatre’s public Go Fund Me campaign, Park Life, has already reached 50% of its target of £100,000.
Announced last month by artistic director Jez Bond, the setting up of the Park Life fund followed on from Bond’s own fundraising efforts which raised £300,000 from key donors in 48 hours.
Paying tribute to the theatre’s supporters, Bond said: “The response from the public at this time of crisis has been phenomenal and an incredible affirmation of the work we’ve done since opening seven years ago to establish our place in the local community. There has been a genuine outpouring of love and determination to help us survive that has considerably softened the blow of having to close for the foreseeable future.”
The ACE grant will help fund staff salaries and help prepare for the time when the Park can once again welcome paying audiences back into their theatres.
Thanking ACE for the funding and adding his voice to the calls for more Government support for the industry, Bond went on to say: “We feel grateful and fortunate to have been one of the organisations chosen to receive ACE funding at this time of crisis, but in reality it is still only a fraction of the investment needed from the government to ensure that the arts in this country survive the current pandemic.
“There needs to be more government support to prevent permanent closures and we hope this will be forthcoming. In the meantime, we owe it to our 900+ donors who have supported us during lockdown, to the staff who have worked so tirelessly to build Park Theatre’s reputation over the last seven years, and to those who helped us build our theatre in Finsbury Park to survive this.”
The Park Life campaign will remain open for donations for as long as the theatre remains closed.
Angela Thomas
www.gofundme.com/f/park-theatre
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