Always on
This project successfully funded on 14th October 2024, you can still support them with a donation.
Let the Show Go On!
King's Lynn, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Crowdfunder is secure
Your payment details are protected
Aim
We’re raising funds to increase the capacity of our Studio Theatre Space to 100+ Seats!
Protecting Westacre Theatre and the work it supports all year round:
Westacre has grown considerably from its beginnings as an outdoor Shakespeare company performing in a garden.
Today, over 12,000 people visit us each year, attending more than 90 live theatre performances as well as youth workshops, school outreach, creative programmes and our arts bursary scheme. Demand for what we do continues to grow.
But our building has its limits.
Our 83-seat Studio Theatre means that even sell-out performances can barely cover the cost of putting on a production. Our backstage and teaching facilities are also increasingly stretched, while limited wheelchair-accessible seating and areas of the building that can only be reached by stairs restrict who can fully participate.
Our ageing lighting infrastructure is now a particular concern. It has been repeatedly patched and repaired over the years and is reaching the end of its useful life. Without a major rewire, we face the very real risk of performances being postponed or cancelled.
Our plans
We have developed a shovel-ready capital project to transform the Studio Theatre and create a more accessible, sustainable and financially resilient Westacre.
The plans will:
Expand the Studio Theatre by 50sqm, increasing audience capacity from 83 to 118 seats and increasing wheelchair-accessible seating to 10 places, while creating independent backstage access.
Create a new 26sqm ground-floor green room, providing step-free facilities for performers, young people and participants who cannot use our existing stair-only backstage areas.
Create a 30sqm ground-floor teaching and examination space, giving us the capacity to expand our education work and explore Drama A Level provision following the cancellation of local courses.
Rewire and upgrade our lighting infrastructure, replacing failing equipment with energy-efficient LED technology, reducing maintenance costs and making our productions more sustainable.
Why it matters
This isn't simply about adding seats.
It is about making sure Westacre can continue to do more of what it already does so well - producing ambitious theatre, welcoming touring companies, nurturing young talent, providing creative opportunities and bringing people together - without being held back by the limitations of our building.
A larger, more accessible Studio Theatre would allow more people to experience our work while improving the financial viability of our productions without having to raise our prices beyond what allows us to stay accessible. Better teaching facilities would allow us to expand our work with young people. Step-free backstage and green-room facilities would open up participation to people currently excluded by the building itself.
And replacing our failing infrastructure would give Westacre a more secure and sustainable foundation for the future.
Help us make it happen
Westacre has always grown because people have believed in it.
From the volunteers who built the early outdoor productions, to the audiences who continue to fill our seats, the supporters who have helped us raise vital funds and the funders who have invested in our future - this theatre has always been a collective effort.
Now we need to take the next step. Our capital plans are ready. What we need now is the support to turn them into reality.
You can help Westacre grow.
and here... is a very important public announcement from our patron Stephen Fry.
Thank you so much.
From all the Team at Westacre Theatre x
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made