The Questors is a community theatre located in Ealing, London. For the ninety years of our history we have played a significant role in the development of theatre in the UK, by enabling people to participate in a high standard of theatre, and to learn new skills. We champion new writing, we run professional level courses in acting and we provide a very large number of young people with the chance to perform on our stages. We do not receive any government or Arts Council grants.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We have been closed to live performances since March due to Covid-19, and our normal income has ground a halt. The future remains very uncertain, and we need your help as we strive to re-open and to continue our charitable activities. We were in the middle of presenting our 90th anniversary season when the pandemic struck and, in common with all other theatres, had to suspend our activities.
In all our 90 years as an independent theatre we’ve never faced any challenge like the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s devastated both livelihoods and live theatre. Indeed, the arts in all forms are under threat.
You can support us by making a donation and pledging on a reward to help cover the costs of the shutdown. Your donations will be used to help get us back up and running again, and avoid diverting funds that were donated for other purposes. If you are able to donate then it will help us continue our work without making painful cuts that will affect our ability to serve the community for years to come.
About The Questors Theatre
The Questors is the largest amateur theatre in the country, and we house two theatre spaces: the 350-seat Judi Dench Playhouse and the 100-seat Stanislavsky Studio. We also have three large rehearsal rooms, a large well-equipped scenery workshop, a very extensive costume collection and a friendly, award-winning bar. These resources help us to produce 18 or more full-scale productions a year, plus numerous fringe events.
Youth Theatre and Panto
Our Youth Theatre, one of the largest in the country, has around 500 young people aged 5-18 attending weekly classes and performing in youth productions and our stunning and highly-successful, family-focussed Christmas pantos. Over the years we’ve inspired thousands of young people to participate in theatre and continue to do so as adults.
Training and Courses
We run a two-year intensive part-time training course in acting. Our facilities allow students to study and learn in the context of a living, working theatre rather than a college. Students sparkle when they meet and learn from our actors, many of whom are graduates of the course. They also have the opportunity to perform their own productions with full technical back-up in our two theatre spaces. We believe that this unique approach is one of our greatest assets and must be preserved.
#Saveourtheatres
As long as our theatre remains closed and all our activities frozen then our future is uncertain. We need your help to reach our goal of £75,000. Social distancing will reduce our seating capacity to just 25%, dramatically reducing our ability to earn the income we need to keep us going. Without this money to support our costs we may be forced to make painful decisions about teaching staff, student admissions and the production values that help to make The Questors the live theatre experience our community deserves.
Every pound you pledge will make a difference. We really need your help and support right now. To show our gratitude we have some exciting rewards in appreciation of your generosity. Please take a look at the pledge column for details.
We will be back. But if you are able to help then it will make a big difference to how and when we can continue our work. Thank you.
A Message from our President, Dame Judi Dench
"I am privileged to have known The Questors Theatre for many years and have been their President since 1985. Now 90 years old, The Questors is at the forefront of the world of theatre, championing new playwrights, running an internationally recognised Student Acting Course, and a thriving Youth Theatre.
Please support this campaign if you can. The future of The Questors, along with most other theatres in the country, is in danger. You can help save it. A world without theatre is unthinkable but at the moment this is a very real possibility. With your support The Questors will re-open its doors and be there to create incredible experiences for all our audiences for many years to come. Thank you!"
A Message from our Vice-President, Oliver Ford Davies
"The Questors Theatre is one of the most celebrated amateur theatres in the UK. Located in the heart of Ealing, West London they have been at the forefront of theatre for 90 years. Unlike many professional theatres, The Questors are able to prepare for performances with Covid-19 restrictions. Nevertheless, this will cost a good deal of money at a time when they have had no income for 6 months. It is vital they succeed; they are a major contributor to the artistic life of West London, and they have a remarkable track record in developing talent across all areas of theatre – we need that now and for the future. Please support this Crowdfunding appeal for one of West London’s premier theatres, so beloved of its local community. We need The Questors back in production!"
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.