Norwich Theatre donating 50p from every 'Private Peaceful' ticket sold to Ukraine
They've been raising money for the war-torn country since early March through bucket collections at shows
Norwich Theatre has already raised tens of thousands of pounds for Ukraine and next month they're going to be donating 50p from every new ticket sold for 'Private Peaceful'.
They've been raising money for the war-torn country since early March through bucket collections at shows and now they're looking to nearly double what they already have.
All this money has been collected to support the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
They're a registered charity which raises funds for food, water, medicine, protection and trauma care for people fleeing the war.
Every pound donated to them is matched by the Government up to the value of £20m.
"I really hope that we might be able to get to 50 thousand by the end of that week"
Stephen Crocker is the Theatre's Chief Executive, he told us how this all came about and why they're changing tact in a month or so: "This was one of the first very practical things that we thought we could do, and we hoped that our audiences would share in our commitment to want to help, and they clearly have. We're going to keep going for a bit longer because for me there's this practical help, but also what theatre does, at it's very best, is provide a space to reflect on events.
"By mid-June we will have been collecting for about three months, so we'll end our bucket collections on that show.
"It felt like a moment to do both things, to provide practical help and thought or contemplation. I really hope that we might be able to get to 50 thousand by the end of that week. I think that would be a lovely, lovely figure."
"We thought it was a gesture that was affordable and appropriate on our part"
Mr Crocker says that donating a small fraction of their profits was a no-brainer: "We thought it was a gesture that was affordable and appropriate on our part.
"I think that communities, organisations, families and even individuals are being asked to do extraordinary things to support the crisis in Ukraine. I have friends who've given homes to guests from Ukraine."
He also went on to tell us that their charity work isn't going to be wound down anytime soon: "This is our focus through until the end of 'Private Peaceful' which runs at Norwich Theatre Royal from the 16th to 18th of June and then later in the year I have a few other ideas about the celebration of Ukrainian culture in particular which we've be able to talk about in the next few months.
"Again, that broader side of things where theatre can really come into it's own".