NK Theatre Arts secures Culture Recovery Fund grant

Stockport performing arts charity, NK Theatre Arts, have been announced among 2,700 recipients of the second round of grants delivered by the Culture Recovery Fund.

The organisation received a grant of £39,948 from the government’s £1.57 billion fund that will support reopening and recovery for the group after a stop on live performances came into effect in March last year due to the pandemic.

NK manage The Forum Theatre in Romiley, which is visited by well over 40,000 people, the vast majority of them from Stockport, each year who continue to support Community Theatre. The money will be used to cover some of the core costs as the company plans to reopen The Forum Theatre this June as part of the Government’s Roadmap out of lockdown. With members of the NK youth theatre set to return for face-to-face, socially distanced workshops this month, the company are aiming for a Comedy Night and a Murder Mystery night as they begin to welcome patrons back to the theatre.

More than £300 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country including NK Theatre Arts in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden MP has announced.

Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

The second round of awards will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.

Pete Curran, who is Secretary of the Trustee Board from NK Theatre Arts said:

We are extremely grateful for the receipt of this funding which helps us steer through these difficult times which are effecting theatres up and down the country. This second grant will specifically help us in the spring as we start to gear up for the reopening of The Forum Theatre, not just for NK events but also to the dozens of other Stockport organisations who are desperate to return to the stage once again.

“We remain optimistic that we can safely open The Forum Theatre initially in a socially distanced way in June, before the coming summer and into the autumn, when we are sure live theatre will be thriving in Stockport once again.”