The Rose Theatre is part of a national initiative launched by Theatres Trust to prevent the closure of hundreds of UK theatres.

We want to invest in our future and ensure that we are able to re-open safely for the members of The Nonentities Society and our audiences. Recent announcements have made us optimistic for some kind of re-opening by early summer- but we have to be ready and time is running out.  We need to prepare to welcome back our youth theatre, our visiting companies and our local communities. To do that we need your help - please support our campaign.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Our theatre is struggling financially - during lockdown it has cost us about £1000 per month to stand still. 2020 began with a flood in the foyer and 2021 started with a leaky roof into our Green Room -always something!  We exist purely on the income from our ticket sales and are not supported by any Arts Council  grants. Other than a modest covid support grant (which didn't last long!) we need to generate our own income. Our paid staff, sadly, have been made redundant and the Youth Theatre staff have worked on a voluntary basis this year to ensure its continuation. The running of the theatre will, for now, be reliant on the membership who kindly volunteer their time.

It is testament to the loyalty of our audiences that we have received few requests for ticket refunds for shows scheduled for the March - July dates 2020 - but the reality is, we don't know when these shows can be staged safely. In a regular season our shows can cost anything up to £2,000 per show  to stage. We have to generate income to afford this. We are in the process of creating a safe auditorium but, regardless of the promise that we will 'come out of lockdown' we anticipate that our seating capacity will have to be reduced - so, the figures just don't add up....

Your donations will be used to ensure that :

*We can pay the bills and enable The Nonentities Society  to stage great plays. It will enable the Rose to open later this year to live theatre, music and comedy

* We can make repairs to the fabric of the building, maintain the grounds and swell the Save The Roof funds

*We can continue to support KRYPT (Kidderminster Rose Young People's Theatre)

About The Rose

The Nonentities Society has been performing on the amateur stage in Kidderminster since it was founded in 1937 by Kenneth Rose. Housed in the Playhouse Theatre until 1968, the current theatre in Broadwaters has been our home since 1981.  We are fortunate that we do own the building and we have a fantastic membership of actors, back-stage crew and Front of House volunteer staff supported by a hardworking committee and Board of  Trustees . We stage approximately eight plays per year - six in the main auditorium which seats 181 and two in the more intimate setting of the 60 seater studio. Here's a reminder of what we've done:

'Vicar of Dibley' - a sell-out in the Main House last season                                       (also looking a bit like our Committee meetings!)

'Dangerous Obsession' was voted Best Play of the Season by critics from Behind the Arras review page - a five star performance   *****

Fine costumes, sets and props have to be paid for. 'The Importance of Being Earnest' saw sumptuous costumes-and that piano!

Our set builders are always inventive and turned 'The Railway Children' set neatly into 'Christmas Entertainment'. Keith, Mike and the gang would really appreciate  your support!

'The Playhouse Creatures' made an impact in the Studio

Our Youth Theatre, KRYPT,  goes from strength to strength and, in normal circumstances,  the groups would meet every Saturday , put on five shows per year AND offer a Summer School! The first group trip to the West End should have happened last year - postponed of course :( They have  kept going during lockdown thanks to Zoom and Youtube  but they want to meet again and be creative and have fun as a group once more. We welcome other young people - local primary schools make use of our facilities - Comberton and Bewdley Primary Schools are regular visitors.

 Scenes from KRYPT's 'Once Upon a Panto' and 'Peter Pan'  

We welcome many visiting companies both amateur and professional. Kidderminster Operatic and Dramatic Society (KODS) together with their youth section are regular visitors as are Carpet Trades and  Worcester Gilbert and Sullivan. We've hosted  Talon, the Wymsical Theatre group and Bewdley Band. Tribute Acts are a great favourites - from Bee Gees Fever to I Don't Believe it's Not Buddy. Comedy nights from Fizzog and the infamous Black Country Nights out have the theatre in stitches.  There's serious theatre too from companies like Rumpus and Blue Orange.......the list is endless.

KODS perform 'OUR HOUSE' - the last show before Covid struck - March 2020! This local society have been regular visitors to The Rose for many years - they too need the security of a place to perform.

If you want to continue to have this top-quality entertainment on your doorstep please consider donating. We want to be able to fill our theatre with music and laughter again.

We are loyally supported by various groups - The Friends of Broadwaters, KEMP, U3A, Rotary, the Soroptimists and local WI groups to name but a few. The Nonentities provide The Severn Valley Railway with actors to scare on their Hallow'een specials and we are linked with the Kidderminster Heritage Opportunities Group and the Town Hall. 

Who could forget our parade of Suffragettes to greet Mrs Pankhurst ?

Making use of links with The SVR - a  photo shoot for the Railway Children

We want to continue our links with all these groups. If you've supported us before or been part of any of the projects - can you help the Rose to keep afloat? 

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 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and we still don’t know for certain when they will be able to reopen fully - fingers crossed for early Summer.

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. There is a real risk that Theatre 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 support our theatre by making a donation or even creating a fundraising page and getting creative with your own fundraising ideas. However you support us, we really appreciate it. Your support can go even further if you also share our page with your friends and family on social media or via e -mail