Imagine Theatre Ltd receives lifeline grant from Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund

Imagine Theatre Ltd has been awarded £245,000 as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future, the Culture Secretary has announced today.

Imagine Theatre Ltd is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support. £257 million of investment has been announced today as part of the very first round of the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.

Coventry based, Imagine Theatre is one of the leading pantomime production companies in the UK, delivering 15 festive productions every year and providing employment for around 400+ actors, creatives, technicians and freelancers. Pantomime is the backbone of the theatre industry bringing income of over £90m each year with over 3m attendees. Although this funding does not make it possible for their 2020/21 pantomime season to be delivered as usual, it does provide a lifeline for Imagine Theatre to retain its head office staff and premises, employ freelancers and to continue preparation for the planned tours for later in 2021. Most critically, it keeps the company afloat to sustain its place in the ecosystem of the theatre world so it can restart and ensure that next year’s pantomime season is possible.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery. 

“These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country. This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.”

Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:

“Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages. This life-changing funding will save thousands of cultural spaces loved by local communities and international audiences. Further funding is still to be announced and we are working hard to support our sector during these challenging times.”

Sarah Boden, joint owner and Business Director of Imagine theatre said:

“The foundation of this grant is to enable us to keep our workforce together at our head office in Coventry.  These pantomime specialists are critical to the success of our organisation and we are able to provide on-going employment amongst our head office team.  In addition, we are able to provide much needed work to freelancers based in the region as we move into spring 2021.”

Steve Boden, joint owner and Managing Director added:

“We are incredibly relieved to receive news that our bid to the Cultural Recovery Fund has been successful.  We are now able to continue our mission to create some of the best pantomimes and children’s shows in the UK for 2021 and provide much needed employment across the region. Additionally, we can continue to create opportunities for young people to perform and watch live theatre and bring much needed income to the venues we work with.”

ENDS

ACE Boilerplate for notes to editors:

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of several bodies administering the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and unprecedented support package of £1.57 for the culture and heritage sector. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19