Lincoln Theatre Royal

Last Saturday morning I received the Spring 2009 brochure from Lincoln Theatre Royal. It had more significance this time around as at the end of last year it was thought the theatre would close in March 2009. This was brought about by the new ruling party of the City Council taking the decision to withdraw the grant aid previously given. With the brochure was an open letter from Chris Moreno, Managing Director. I reproduce the letter below as his words will explain the current situation better than mine.

Dear Theatre Goer,

Firstly I would like to thank each and every one of you for all the support you have given the Theatre Royal over the last thirty years. It is actually thirty four years since I took over The Royal and I think over the years we have had some truly great productions and a lot of fun as well.
Late last year the new ruling party of the City Council decided that they would no longer wish to grant aid the theatre. This came as a terrible blow. We had over 7000 residents of Lincoln and the Lincoln catchment area, on their own volition, sign a petition to keep the theatre open. Sadly the Council decided not to alter their position..
Since then I have spent the last three months finding ways to keep this gem of a Theatre open. Having spent thirty four years of my working life doing this I was not about to let it close.
I am still working on ideas and speaking to industry [not a good time] and other organisations in Lincoln to help achieve this. Without doubt the life of the Royal will be [and is] changing, but I think, correction, I know that we will survive and the Royal will stay open.
I hope you will find something to enjoy in our spring season and that we can rely on your continued support and together we can keep this beautiful building open for many years to come.
So to quote a well known showbiz saying "Watch this space, you ain't seen nothing yet."

Chris Moreno
Managing Director

I do hope, along with many other people, that Chris Moreno is successful in his efforts to keep the Theatre Royal open. As he says, it is a beautiful little theatre, and should it close I think Lincoln would lose a very valuable asset.