THERE’S been an astonishing response to Malvern Theatres fundraising campaign to help the major Worcestershire theatrical venue cope with big losses incurred throughout the current Corona-virus epidemic.

The Festival and Forum Theatres, along with the cinema, have been in lockdown since mid-March and still awaiting news from the Government of a possible reopening of the country’s theatres.

However, Malvern Theatres says it is delighted to announce that its Covid public appeal has now reached an astonishing £100,000 thanks to its audiences and supporters.

In recognition of this feat, a formal ‘thank you’ page will soon be launched on the theatre's website to publicly acknowledge every individual who has contributed to the appeal, be it through a donation, a monthly direct debit or through the gift of refunded tickets.

Chief executive, Nic Lloyd, said: "This amount has exceeded all of our expectations and we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.
 "Your generosity has bought us valuable time and will ensure that we reach the autumn before losing our reserves. With no end to the crisis in sight for theatres however, we cannot relax our efforts and our next target is to secure the theatre through to the New Year.

"We aim to raise a further £100,000 between now and Christmas. Every step that we take now will make a huge difference to our reserves, offering a lifeline to our future sustainability."

There are a number of ways people can support the theatre without making a donation, including supporting them on social media, setting the theatre as your designated Amazon Smile charity, hosting your own fundraiser, or purchasing a membership or gift voucher for future use.

To donate to the fund, please visit malvern-theatres.co.uk/support-us