Darwen Library Theatre is part of a national initiative launched by Theatres Trust to prevent the permanent closure of hundreds of UK theatres.

2020 marks 20 years since our conversion to Darwen Library Theatre thanks to National Lottery Millennium Funding.  We were attracting more and more high-profile names to our lovely little venue and you were supporting us all the way. Then Covid-19 hit and with no warning, we closed our doors, never even considering that they would remain shut six months later.  Our entire industry is fighting to survive so your support in anyway would mean the world to us.  You can donate, purchase one of our rewards, tell all your friends about us and the campaign or you can even set up your own fundraising page to support us. Whatever you can give to help us reach our goal could make all the difference to us.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Darwen Library Theatre risks permanent closure because over 90% of our income comes from putting on events; ticket sales, bar sales and room hires.  With the doors closed, we are not able to generate enough income to cover our overheads, despite reduced costs whilst we are not open as normal.  Social distancing creates financial gaps as well as physical ones. With no date of when social distancing restrictions will be lifted, we have had to take the difficult decision to postpone previously announced events leaving us in a continuing fight for survival.   We typically need at least 75% of seats sold for a show to be financially viable. Social distancing will reduce our capacity to 30%, dramatically reducing our ability to earn the income needed to keep on going.

Your kind donations will be used to help cover the following immediate costs:

·       Artist fees - so many talented people have seen their livelihoods decimated by this pandemic.  We want to pay them fairly to do their jobs when we may not be able to welcome enough of you into our rooms to do that

·       Maintenance work – we’ve been using the time to refresh parts of the building that had grown tired but there’s more to do

About Darwen Library Theatre

Darwen Library Theatre is a venue at the heart of its local community. Hosting a quality and diverse programme of theatre, film, comedy, literature and music, its intimate setting enables audiences to embrace the arts up close and personal, and sometimes the artists too! We have a small staff team that are supported by the most amazing group of volunteers who bring the building to life before artists take to the stage. We've got so much more to do but we can't do it without your help.

About Save Our Theatres

In villages, towns and cities across the country, theatres are at the heart of their community. Places to come together, to be inspired and be entertained. Theatres are where our best-loved actors learn their craft and thousands of others learn valuable skills. 

But we risk losing this forever.

Theatres saw their main source of income disappear in an instant when they closed in March in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Six months later, we still don’t know when they will be able to reopen fully. A decision won’t be made until November at the earliest – too late for most to put on their annual pantomime, which often provides the income to support the theatre for the rest of the year.

This ongoing uncertainty puts theatres in a perilous situation. The government’s bailout is spread across all cultural organisations and certainly won’t be enough to save all of the UK’s theatres.

Every day theatres are facing the tough decision to make staff redundant and to close their doors until next year. And there is a real risk that those closures could be permanent. 

Without urgent support, we could lose our nation’s amazing theatres. Please help us to make sure our theatres survive this crisis and will be there to be enjoyed by future generations.

#SaveOurTheatres 

Please donate, share this page widely and do what you can to help us to make sure our theatre survive this crisis.