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Posted: Thursday 29 September, 2011
A £50,000 appeal to expand a city centre theatre is closing in on its target.
Donations and pledges have come in swiftly after the Next Stage Theatre Company acquired the rundown two-storey former bakery building at the back of its Mission Theatre in Corn Street.
It now has a 25-year lease on the building where it wants to create light and spacious dressing rooms and a rehearsal space for both its adult and youth companies.
The group has launched the Space-Mission fundraising campaign, which aims to bring in the money by the end of the year.
Entrepreneur Andrew Brownsword has offered to match every penny raised, meaning the group need only raise £25,000.
And it is within £10,000 of that sum, thanks to the generosity of supporters, youth members, visiting performers and audience members.
Donors have included the Medlock Charitable Trust, the Roper Family Charitable Trust and the Joyce Fletcher Charitable Foundation.
Last week, the group played host to Mayor of Bath Councillor Bryan Chalker, who, as B&NES Council heritage champion, praised Next Stage's work to restore the dilapidated 200-year-old building.
Theatre director Ann Garner said: "It was lovely to welcome the mayor to the Mission Theatre and to see his obvious fascination and delight in our project.
"The response to Space-Mission has been overwhelming. With the generous offer of matched funding from the Brownsword Charitable Foundation, it is looking likely that we will reach our target much sooner than we had anticipated and hence will be in a position to start work as soon as possible."
The group has also had offers of fundraising events, concerts and performances from groups and artists who have enjoyed using the space and is in the process of finalising three events.
For more information on how to help, go to www.missiontheatre.co.uk/fundraising.html, call 01225 428600 or email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
- Bath Chronicle, 29 September 2011