This week, award-winning actor Sharon D Clarke took to the Tony Awards stage following a nomination for her performance in Caroline, Or Change.
On stage, she addressed the audience and said:

Theatre can be perceived as ‘elitist’ and inaccessible and so Miss Clarke’s comments resonated and made me feel extremely proud of the work we are doing in Shropshire to help challenge these views and break down barriers.

Last week was a particularly positive week for community use at The Holroyd. We welcomed over 1000 people into the building to take part in creative sessions or to use the space for their creative endeavours.

On Wednesday, Coleg Cambria pupils took part in one of our ‘Get on Board’ sessions, which consisted of an ‘acting through song’ masterclass with industry professional, Kate Howells. This was closely followed by 60 pupils from Weston Rhyn Primary school who attended our ‘Schools Creative Arts Programme’, where they enjoyed sessions in drama and singing, delivered by myself and Ellie Diack. Our performance academy, Face2Face was busy filming their latest project in the theatre on Friday evening, all before the space was booked by two different community groups over the weekend.

Saturday, The Holroyd played host to a traditional Indian ‘Arangetram’, this is where a dancer makes their debut performance after many years of training, accompanied by a live orchestra. I was blown away by the culture and tradition that this performance brought to the building. It was truly magical to see The Holroyd being used for such a special occasion.

After a quick change around, with thanks to our cleaners and maintenance team, on Sunday we welcomed two hundred and sixty gymnastic pupils who performed as part of ‘GymFest’. The performances were outstanding! It was a privilege to watch both performances, the passion and focus that each young person brought to the stage was commendable, as was the amount of glitter that they had applied. This was a first for The Holroyd, not the glitter, but a Gym Festival, the British School of Gymnastics were impressed with the building, and particularly the excellent seating.

It is weeks like this one that make me realise just how much this unique and wonderful space was needed in our community.

We have had several community groups utilise the space over the last year as part of our ‘Championing Community Groups’ programme; groups that qualify have used the facility at a considerably discounted charge or for free. This programme is ongoing and gaining great momentum; we hope to see ‘Only Boys Aloud’ and ‘DELTA Performing Arts Academy’ make use of it this summer.

As we look forward to our next season of events, we continue to think about how we can engage our community, bring people together, and ensure that the building remains a ‘space for everyone’. As Miss Clarke said; “Theatre brings people together. It is not an elitist pastime”.

– Michael Jenkins, Commercial Director