Hope SHINEs at the Playhouse
£42,000 has been pledged in a three-year grant to encourage more young people to embrace the arts and pursue a qualification in the field.
Nottingham Playhouse has been awarded the grant through its SHINE community youth theatre programme from Nottinghamshire County Council’s Local Improvement Scheme, which will encourage young people in Bramcote, Chilwell, Mansfield and Netherfield to get more involved with the arts.
The money will also go towards a new youth theatre for children with learning disabilities that will be established in conjunction with local charity A Place to Call Our Own (APTCOO).
Carol Burkitt, CEO of APTCOO, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with SHINE! APTCOO young people will thoroughly enjoy the drama, learning and therapeutic value of taking part in a live theatre production; exploring and developing creative and performance skills together with building on their selfconfidence and social skills.”
Stephanie Sirr, chief executive of Nottingham Playhouse, added: “As a charity, we rely on the generous donations from our audience members and partners and we’re very grateful to Nottinghamshire County Council for this investment in young people and the arts. “We know how valuable SHINE has been to hundreds of youngsters since it was launched in 2015 in
helping them develop confidence and life skills as well as make new friends.”
The SHINE appeal offers free community youth theatre opportunities to children between the ages of eight and 16 from low-income families who may not otherwise be given the opportunity to take part in arts activities.
Councillor Gordon Wheeler, viceChairman of the communities and place committee at the county council, which manages the Local Improvement Scheme, said: “We are very pleased that we have been able to support such a worthwhile project.
“The Local Improvement Scheme provides targeted financial support for community organisations to deliver the Council’s priorities to make Nottinghamshire a great place to live, work, visit and relax and we were very impressed with SHINE’s objectives to help children grow and develop creatively.”
Councillor Dr John Doddy noted that it was “a very important project” for the young people of Nottinghamshire.
“SHINE will empower around 160 children and young people proving that Nottinghamshire is a great place to fulfil their ambitions through drama led intervention,” he said. “It will help them to increase their confidence, develop their employability skills, reach their potential and achieve a nationally recognised qualification.”