Winchester’s Theatre Royal to close if £225k fundraiser isn’t met

Iconic Winchester Theatre, the Theatre Royal, is at risk of closing down after over 100 years of service if it can’t raise £25,000 by the end of the month.

The initiative, called “The Survival Fundraising Appeal”, has so far raised £200,000 in donations both direct donations to the theatre and on their Crowdfunder appeal (https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/playtothecrowd). Recently, the charity received donations as large as £5,000 from local businesses, and the initiative has received further donations from other charities such as Winchester Rotary and Winchester Musicals and Operatic Society.

Deryck Newland, the Chief Executive of Play to the crowd, urges people to donate to the cause, stating that “now is the time – we’ve still got to raise £25,000 by the end of
the month in order for the charity to survive beyond the Covid crisis.”

As well as running the online fundraiser, the theatre has also reopened the door of its Café Bar Tuesday to Saturday 10am– 3pm in a bid to raise the remaining £25,000. The charity has also made an application to the government in hopes to raise extra funds. However, the charity won’t find out until it’s too late.