Louth Playgoers awarded £50,000 to ensure a sustainable future

The organisation has been situated at Louth Riverhead Theatre for the last 18 years, and had been at their former home in Newmarket for many years before.

The Society has been in existence since 1932 and has provided the people of Louth and surrounding areas with amateur dramatics ever since.

Theatre Manager, Tracey Mackenzie said: “This grant will help the theatre to remain a vital part of the community and help to support productions, where the Theatre team have tried to think outside the box and adapt our usual performances to abide by government guidelines. Our current capacity for any socially distanced show is 66 seats out of the 209 usually available in the Main Auditorium, and this means we are operating at a capacity of 31.5 per cent.

“This is not a financially viable way for the theatre to run in the long term, but by operating at this capacity we are providing some much needed entertainment for the local community, and keeping the theatre open until such a time as we can welcome full audiences back to enjoy a more normal programme of events.”

A usual season for the Louth Playgoers consists of several plays, a pantomime, a musical, and in later years they have also incorporated plays from local scriptwriters, a summer musicals concert, and youth theatre productions, which run alongside a professional programme of shows supported by the Arts Council.

The theatre has had great success over the summer with virtual script-writing workshops, a virtual performance, and a two-day outdoor festival.

They are hoping to have a successful Christmas Outdoor Fair on Sunday November 22, with plans afoot for a socially-distanced pantomime in January too.

Following the announcement, local MP Victoria Atkins said: “I am delighted by the news that the Louth Playgoers Society have received this funding.

“They run an excellent range of events and performances at Louth Riverhead Theatre, as well as the Youth Theatre and Riverhead Producers programmes.

“The team made up almost entirely of volunteers do vital work and this funding will help continue to run performances and further their promotion of the arts in the community.”