Winchester theatre reaching out to the elderly (From Romsey Advertiser)
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Winchester theatre reaching out to the elderly
7:00am Friday 30th March 2012 in Winchester
By Andrew Napier
Mark Courtice: appointed last year
Winchester'S main theatre is reaching out to the elderly as part of its community work.
The Theatre Royal has been talking to Age UK about setting up a touring 'concert party' to give performances to lunch clubs across the district.
Theatre chief executive Mark Courtice said the performers would be members of lunch clubs performing at other clubs.
Mr Courtice told the Winchester Town Forum that the idea was part of his ambition to make the theatre reach out to all sectors of society.
"We don't just see ourselves as a place that puts on 200 performances a year. We do an enormous amount of work in the community," he said. "In any one week we have 200 young people taking part in theatre."
This year there will be links with Winchester Fashion Week, Winnall Rock School, Wessex Dance Academy amongst others and the adjacent Discovery Centre to better use Tower Street, the space between the two buildings.
The 400-seat venue on Jewry Street already has strong commercial links. Denplan, the city's largest private employer holds training sessions and company meetings at the theatre.
Mr Courtice said: "We don't exist on our own, we exist as part of the warp and weft (of Winchester)."
