Just Some Theatre in Bolton receives more than £24,000 from Arts Council England

Just Some Theatre has been given £24,247 to support it through the coronavirus pandemic, which is having an devastating impact on the arts and culture scene. The society is one of 406 organisations within Greater Manchester to be awarded a slice of £2.6 million.

(Picture: Tom Barker)

Peter Stone, from Just Some Theatre, said: "Receiving this grant means everything to our organisation. We started Just Some Theatre back in 2012 and have received grants for multiple projects since then and to be given that trust and faith from Arts Council England means a lot. Without the grant our best-case scenario would have been a complete pause of all our planned projects and great uncertainty about restarting them. With this grant, we can keep the ball rolling with our delayed projects, and also continue to engage with creatives in the meantime.

"The grant is already helping us enormously, and we're using it to create more online based employment opportunities within the struggling arts industry."

The society produces professional theatre shows, educational workshops and champions new writing.

(Picture: Tom Barker)

Lockdown meant it had to cancel two productions ­— 'The Four Horsemen' written by the society's Jake Urry, an apocalypse themed satire, that had to be cancelled mid-tour and 'The Killer Question' written by Dave Payne. The murder mystery comedy in which the audiences decides which actor plays which character has been re-scheduled for autumn 2021.

The grant will support the theatre over the next six months to reschedule cancelled tours, plan new productions and develop the organisation to reach a wider audience.

And it will support the society to create content during this time for artists and audiences, and help those in the industry develop scripts for when theatres reopen through its Forward Dialogue initiative, which will provide more than 40 paid positions.

Peter said: "We're also working on a range of other digital content that we hope will educate and engage the next generation of theatre creatives ­— recent graduates ­— that have had their first steps into the industry interrupted by covid-19.

"Our goal through Just Some Theatre is to take great new theatre writing to audiences all over the UK. Our current developmental work will ensure we engage more with rural audiences whilst maintaining our relationship with our pre-existing urban touring venues."

Just Some Theatre in Bolton is one of 406 organisations within Greater Manchester to benefit from the Arts Council England Covid-19 emergency funding.

​Catherine Mitchell, Director, North, Arts Council England, said: “Greater Manchester’s arts and culture offer is a key element of the city region’s identity. It is home to many individual and organisations who help to shape the cultural landscape across the North West and beyond and I’m pleased that we have been able to support many of them through our Emergency Response Fund. In this unprecedented time for the arts and culture sector I hope that our funding will enable them to tackle the immediate challenges that they face during this pandemic.

"We have also been able to support many first time applicants to the Arts Council from across the North West through this programme, many of whom are from underrepresented groups. And I’d like to thank National Lottery players as this programme has only been made possible through investment from the National Lottery and Government.”