Dearne Playhouse

Situated in the heart of the Dearne Valley, The Dearne Playhouse is a legacy of the Miners Welfare Association. The theatre in Goldthorpe aims to provide socially inclusive access to high quality creative and artistic experiences for local residents.

The playhouse is a well loved community asset which local people are proud of. With a focus on inclusivity, the theatre gives free tickets to families and young people so they can access performing arts they may not get to enjoy
otherwise.

The community theatre, facing the growing cost of utilities and as a part of it’s efforts to reduce it’s carbon footprint, is switching to LED bulbs to reduce their running costs and re-invest the saved money into community activities.

Thanks to funding of £4,386.00 from the Park Spring Wind Farm Community Benefits Fund, the playhouse has been able to begin replacing the traditional lighting with energy efficient LED bulbs.

The Dearne Playhouse has on average 118,000 people passing through their doors each year, to attend shows and to take part in community activities.

The new lighting is already making a huge difference and we are already seeing a saving in our energy bills.

Because of the savings we are now able to run a monthly social club for OAPs in the area. We provide the food and they pick the film and the activities they want to do, which is often a sing along.

Last month we had around 75 people attend and we are expecting over 100 this time. Our theatre has a capacity of 400 but because of mobility issues of those attending, we are worried that we may have to start turning people away because we don’t have enough space to hold them all safely. When we can, we would like to hold the club more often, as it’s so popular. That depends on covering the food costs.

Thanks to the savings from the new lighting, we have been able to redecorate the theatre for the first time in 14 years. It has been looking shabby and we are already getting more interest to rent the theatre because it looks so much better. Which should help us to keep growing and gaining new income

Julie Medlam, Manager

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Funding from the Parks Spring Windfarm Community Fund can help nurture your local project to help you achieve your goals.