Following a Crowdfunder appeal that closed on Tuesday 6th October, Scotland’s largest theatre charity, Capital Theatres, has thanked the public for its support. The appeal raised £86,900, more than doubling the original target of £35,000
The campaign was to help ensure its three city centre theatres can re-open when it is safe to do so, and to ensure continued access to creativity and the arts for the most vulnerable communities during COVID-19.
The money raised will be put to use protecting the core staff of the theatres, maintaining the heritage buildings and preparing for a March re-opening should government restrictions and public safety allow.
A series of rewards proved popular with supporters, especially opportunities to get behind the scenes with the tech team at the theatres, enjoy a glass of fizz with Elaine C Smith or a chat about theatre voices with Ian Rankin over zoom, an illustrated limited edition poem about the King’s Theatre by King’s Ambassador Alexander McCall Smith, and the opportunity to appear in the next panto!
Fiona Gibson, CEO of Capital Theatre’s said “All of us here at Capital Theatres are very humbled by the response from the public to our appeal. We know we still have a long way to go to reopen our doors, but an incredible show of support like this, with wonderful comments and memories shared, clearly demonstrates what our theatres mean to so many. It gives us all the passion, energy and determination we need to ensure we survive this crisis through bringing back great shows to our stages when we can and to support our community throughout. A huge, huge thank you to everyone who made this possible with your incredibly generous donations. We can’t wait to welcome you back over our doors when it’s safe for us to do so…”
Capital Theatres is currently actively campaigning to receive emergency Government funding at the same level as other publicly supported theatres, which would allow the theatres to continue to play a vital part in Edinburgh’s year-round thriving arts scene and support the local and national economy.
A petition calling on the Scottish Government to recognise the scale of emergency facing Capital Theatres on Change.org has secured well over 12,500 signatures to date and is still open for those looking to lend their voice to its campaign.
The money raised through the Crowdfunder is a fantastic support for Capital Theatres. Anyone who missed the Crowdfunder but would like to support the theatre charity’s work can still donate at the Capital Theatres website.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 