Blyth's Phoenix Theatre has received a £10,000 grant for its development plans. The grant comes from The Sir James Knott Trust and will enable the venue to move forward with its plans to make essential improvements to its versatile studio space.
The theatre, which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary year, has ambitious ideas for the studio space which was once a prominent part of the former Beaconsfield Street Methodist Church.
The venue annually attracts around 15,000 patrons who enjoy a mix of community, amateur and professional touring productions and is supported by an army of volunteers that enables them to operate a full and varied programme.
The Theatre applied to The Sir James Knott Trust to help with plans to develop the studio into a multi-purpose space which can be used for daytime community use as well as a small scale performance area. The aim is to provide a dedicated location for people to create and show new performance pieces from local writers, directors and performers.
This will also enable the venue to host additional community led events such as exhibitions, fairs, meetings and activity-led health and wellbeing classes.