Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Lights Up For NHS

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is set to open from Monday 8 - Friday 12 June for a very special audience.

Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing the theatre to stay closed to theatre goers the theatre will play host to over 40 NHS staff from Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital who are using the building to conduct training.

The Grand's large auditorium provides enough space to socially distance the NHS professionals, with the stage being the perfect platform to lead a training session.

Grand Theatre CEO and Artistic Director Adrian Jackson, made contact and offered the building at no cost to New Cross CEO David Loughton.

Adrian said, "Everyone has been playing their part to support the NHS and offering The Grand in some way was absolutely the right thing to do. I am delighted that David took us up on our offer. Our staff are volunteering for the NHS to assist them during the week and are looking forward to doing their bit.

We are waiting for government guidelines on when and how we can re-open for theatre-goers but until then we are looking into how we can use the building for other income streams. Socially distanced training, meetings and conferences is an avenue we are investigating."

David Loughton CBE, chief executive of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said, "We have been overwhelmed with the generous offers of support from the community during the pandemic. This includes the kind offer from the Grand Theatre which has meant our staff can be trained to our high standards, but also meant we can maintain social distancing and protect them. I would like to thank Adrian and his team for the help, it is so gratefully received."

All the appropriate safety measures and risk assessments have been put in place, ready for Monday.