Six more theatres across London awarded small grants

Six more small London theatres receive up to £5,000 each from the Theatres Trust London Small Theatres Grants Scheme.

The funded projects will improve accessibility for theatre users and address the environmental sustainability of the buildings.

Local Croydon community arts space, Stanley Halls will make significant access improvements to its main theatre toilets, including making them flat-floored and installing grip-rails.  

Barnes’ Old Sorting Office Arts Centre will automate the main entrance doors and access ramp for its audiences.

The East End’s Toynbee Studios, an Art Deco theatre, will install new infra-red heating – an environmentally friendly way to create better conditions for hiring companies.

A former wood store, Pleasance Islington will address significant heat loss and make the building warmer for staff and audiences by installing more effective roof insulation - this will improve its environmental efficiency.

Addressing access and environment, automatic swing doors will be installed within the foyer of Camden People’s Theatre. This will not only improve access for artists and audiences with mobility issues, the doors will also create a draught lobby to reduce heat loss from the entrance.

Hackney Wick’s Yard Theatre, built from recycled materials, will install a new dipped wheelchair-accessible bar, with a storage system for the venue’s eco-friendly cup scheme designed-in.

The six awards were allocated before theatres were temporarily closed in response to the coronavirus. The current closure does not remove the need for maintenance or make visiting the theatre a better experience that audiences can enjoy when they are able to return.

The awards are possible thanks to essential support from the Mackintosh Foundation and Soho Estates.

In response to the coronavirus crisis, we have repurposed our small grants schemes to support theatres to cover the additional costs of reopening after several months’ closure.

Find out more about our grants schemes.

Cover: Stanley Halls.