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On behalf of the Trustees of Putney Arts Theatre I want to bring you up to date with some decisions that have been taken and actions agreed with respect to the theatre as we move through the last quarter of 2021 and into 2022.

As I mentioned in my video address in June of this year, when the theatre went dark during the pandemic we were able to draw on the government Furlough Scheme and business rates relief and further benefited from a tax rebate and several grants which collectively played a huge part in ensuring our continued existence. We also received a Cultural Recovery Fund grant from the Arts Council and the Shine On campaign made an additional and welcome contribution from our members and supporters.

Collectively, this funding enabled us to address certain urgent and essential tasks in relation to the fabric of the Putney Arts Theatre building and to support our reopening. This included necessary roofing repairs, urgent electrical works, support for G64's reopening with additional staffing, extensive pruning of the trees in the car park (which were posing a hazard) and subsequent debris removal, thereby improving the external light source into The Fife Room.

However, there are many clearly visible areas of our theatre that still require our urgent attention - and we simply do not have the funds to address those areas for the moment.

Moving forward, we wish to ensure that we are able to use the various ‘spaces’ in the building in the most effective way possible; moreover, that our public areas present an attractive and welcoming face for our visitors and members, thus improving everyone’s experience of the theatre.

Of the various potential projects that have been identified, we have prioritised those that most immediately can meet those objectives. As a result, we have taken the decision to refocus our fundraising efforts for the foreseeable future on funding and then implementing those projects – essentially to focus on project-based fundraising.

A new project based fundraising programme will now begin and we will be continuing to seek support from individuals, businesses, trusts and grants.

The first of the various projects we have identified for specific fundraising support is the Fife Room Bar. The current level of hygiene in the bar kitchen is unsatisfactory, internally the kitchen layout is far from optimal and is very tired looking, while the bar itself compromises the space in the Fife Room and how it can be used - particularly as an effective rehearsal space.

The extent to which we can refurbish and improve this area is dependent ultimately of course on the level of monies we can secure. We are looking to raise a minimum of £25k for this project which will cover overall reconstruction work and redecoration, plumbing. electrics, ventilation, cabinetry, flooring and appliances (e.g.:  glass washer, tall wine/soft drinks cooler, ice maker) and anything that we have not anticipated – as inevitably there will be something!

We appreciate that some of you may prefer to continue to make regular donations to the theatre and you will still be able to do so via the PAT website homepage. 

For those of you to whom donating towards a particular project is an attractive proposition, we hope that an improved/new bar is an appealing prospect! We have called this project ‘Raising the Bar’ and the facility to donate specifically to it is available below. 

The Trustees would like to thank you all for your ongoing support and we will continue to provide you with regular updates as we continue to rebuild our activities, and we hope to see many of you at the theatre for one of our forthcoming shows.

Ms Sarah Jillings – Chair of Trustees – Putney Arts Theatre