North Kensington's Playground Theatre Launches Fundraising Drive

The eagerly awaited Playground Theatre has launched a fundraising initiative to help fit out the venue with state of the art equipment, ready for its opening in October this year. At the centre of the drive is an online campaign through the award winning community fundraising site Spacehive, which elicits support from individuals, local councils and funding bodies for projects that will enhance their local communities and benefit the lives of those who live within them. The Playground aims to raise £47,000 in funds, which will be used to put the finishing touches to the transformation of the former bus depot into a 150 seat public theatre and a jewel in the crown of the local area.

With the front of house, which includes a cafe/bar, which is already open, the venue is fast becoming a community hub in the area. The remaining funds to be raised will deliver a film screen and projector, a lighting rig, a sound system and a new floor. From here, The Playground Theatre will stage vibrant, international theatre, classical music concerts and cinema, in an exciting and entertaining programme aimed at engaging and involving the local community at the same time as attracting audiences from across London and beyond.

More information on the fundraising drive can be found at www.spacehive.com/playgroundtheatre.

With founder of The Playground Theatre, actor, producer and local resident Peter Tate and co-artistic director Anthony Biggs, former artistic director of Jermyn Street Theatre at the helm of The Playground Theatre, the celebrated actors Celia Imrie and Cherie Lunghi and the great ballerina Lyn Seymour are on board as its patrons

The opening season for The Playground Theatre will be announced in early September

Tate originally founded The Playground in 2001, a registered charity, as a space to allow artists the time and freedom to explore and play with their theatrical ideas without the pressure to force their work into a box too early. Since then it has played host to and supported some of most dynamic theatrical talent from the UK and around the world, both established and emerging, as well as film and television companies. Artists, who have worked there include Hideki Noda, currently the artistic director of Japan's National Theatre, director and playwright, Henryk Baranowski, winner of both Poland's and Russia's top award as director, Marcello Magni, co-founder of Complicite and John Caird. Others including Simon McBurney and Rufus Norris have used the space many times to create some of their finest work. When it opens as a theatre it will continue its function as a development and rehearsal studio during the day welcoming artists to create new work and consolidating its reputation for play and experimentation

Peter Tate says
" We are tremendously excited as we move closer to opening as a theatre and excited about engaging our local community in the creative journey we are undertaking. This fundraising drive will enable us to fit out the theatre in order to complete its transformation into what we believe will be a fantastic asset for the local community and for London as a whole. The Playground Theatre has been a long time in the making and with the completion of this final push we look forward to welcoming audiences into our magical and creative space in West London."