King’s Ransom: Capital Theatres thanks public for ‘incredible show of support’

Capital Theatres, Scotland’s largest theatre charity, has thanked the public for its incredible support of the theatres through its Crowdfunder campaign, an urgent appeal for support launched last month.

The Crowdfunder closed at noon yesterday having raised £86,900 from 1670 people, more than doubling its original target of £35,000.

Capital Theatres, which operates Edinburgh’s much-loved King’s Theatre, Festival Theatre and The Studio had asked for donations to help ensure its three city centre theatres can re-open when it is safe to do so, and to ensure continued access to creativity and the arts for the most vulnerable communities during COVID-19. 

The money raised through this outpouring of love and affection for the organisation and its theatres will be put to great use protecting the core staff of the theatres, maintaining the heritage buildings and preparing for a March re-opening should government restrictions, public safety and science allow.

A series of rewards proved extremely popular with supporters, especially opportunities to get behind the scenes with the tech team at the theatres, enjoy a glass of fizz with Elaine C Smith or a chat about theatre voices with Ian Rankin over zoom, an illustrated limited edition poem about the King’s Theatre by King’s Ambassador Alexander McCall Smith, and the opportunity to appear in the next panto!

Fiona Gibson, CEO of Capital Theatres said: “All of us here at Capital Theatres are very humbled by the response from the public to our appeal. We know we still have a long way to go to reopen our doors, but an incredible show of support like this, with wonderful comments and memories shared, clearly demonstrates what our theatres mean to so many.

It gives us all the passion, energy and determination we need to ensure we survive this crisis through bringing back great shows to our stages when we can and to support our community throughout. A huge, huge thank you to everyone who made this possible with your incredibly generous donations. We can’t wait to welcome you back over our doors when it’s safe for us to do so.

A huge thank-you too to our King’s Ambassadors, our national companies Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet and to Birmingham Royal Ballet as well as our corporate partners for their in-kind support of the campaign, and to all of our stakeholders for their beautiful words of encouragement and support.”

Other members of the Capital Theatres staff team added their thanks as news of the scale of donations was shared.

“I was blown away watching all the rewards get snapped up and our total just soar and soar. It truly brought home a sense of belonging to, and our value in the community both at home and afar! I’m looking forward to seeing all of you soon. Thank you for your support!” commented Mark Pringle, Head Flyman

Cat Sheridan, Learning and Participation Coordinator, said: “I am so overwhelmed by the incredible support for Capital Theatres and our ‘Raise The Curtain’ programme, without which none of our digital engagement sessions, with our wonderful participants, would be possible. 

Every donation given means we can bring enjoyment and inspiration to everyone who participates in our digital activities, but particularly to people living with dementia, care experienced children and young people, Edinburgh’s Special Needs Schools, children in hospitals, and young trans activists in the LGBTQ+ community.

And Joanna Miller, Head of Marketing added: “We have been overwhelmed at the outpouring of love for the theatres from the 1670 donors and the generosity of our Friends, customers, Edinburgh’s arts community and the city’s residents. This money will help us to provide entertainment and inspiration during this current pandemic whilst our venues are closed. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Capital Theatres is currently actively campaigning to receive emergency Government funding at the same level as other publicly supported theatres, which would allow the theatres to continue to play a vital part in Edinburgh’s year-round thriving arts scene and support the local and national economy.  

petition calling on the Scottish Government to recognise the scale of emergency facing Capital Theatres on Change.org has secured 12,667 signatures to date and is still open for those looking to lend their voice to its campaign.

The money raised through the Crowdfunder is a fantastic support for Capital Theatres. Those who missed the Crowdfunder but would like to support the theatre charity’s work can still donate at www.capitaltheatres.com

#SaveOurTheatres and #AfterTheInterval

Just a few of the comments received on the Crowdfunder page:

Lynne said: “I love the panto very much and was always going to donate but the chance to BE IN the panto was too good to pass up! Wishing you all the best.”

Martin said: “A building, team and company I love. They have welcomed, supported, cajoled and helped me develop as an amateur stage manager.️”

Jennifer said: “Life is so poor without live arts and culture. I miss you very much and am desperately hoping you survive this ongoing lengthy crisis.”

Linda said: “Theatres give so much joy and pleasure and we really need to know they will survive this terrible pandemic. Here to support you in your time of need.”

Evelyn said: “No question our theatres are worth preserving, and the artists and technicians working in the theatre should be supported, not only because the theatre is their livelihood, but also because the arts are actually vital to our well-being (and make life so much more interesting!). I have missed the fun and buzz of live performances (not to mention the cancelled festivals!) and I look forward to the day the doors open again!”

Mairi said: “The Festival Theatre holds a special place in my heart; I’ve been coming here since it opened in 1994 and it is one of the things I have most missed over the last six months.”

June said: “We can’t let this happen – everything is a venue in the Festival, but if we are still to be internationally renowned as a city of culture we must have theatres of international standard, with their own Edinburgh heritage. (And there is no panto in the world like it!)”

Susan said: “My whole family has been coming to The Kings panto for nearly 30 years, never missed it once! Would be gutted if my kids couldnt carry on the tradition! Our best night of the year! Good luck! X️”

And as Jo succinctly said: “Long live the King’s!”

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davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer