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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2020 19:35:07 GMT
Hi all, As you'll all be aware, the majority of theatre performances in the UK are suspended for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19. I thought we could make a thread to list any charitable theatre organisations that we could perhaps donate our refunded ticket money to, so that we are helping our industry in this dark time instead of taking away from it. Here's some to start: Mousetrap Theatre Projects - helping young people get into theatre - www.mousetrap.org.uk/donateCapital Theatres, Edinburgh - working to improve accessibility of theatre, particularly for those suffering with dementia. They are a genuinely lovely company and the changes they've made to their theatres to make them more accessible have been fantastic. In addition to this, they aim to offer audio described, signed and captioned performances for every production. - www.capitaltheatres.com/supportBirmingham Hippodrome - very similar to Capital Theatres in terms of improving accessibility. - www.birminghamhippodrome.com/giveandjoin/individual-giving/donationsBurlyBeaR Could we maybe pin this thread for now to see if people are up to the idea? I know we will all stick together through this. Anyone, feel free to drop me a PM if needed. x
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 16, 2020 19:48:40 GMT
BurlyBeaR Could we maybe pin this thread for now to see if people are up to the idea? I know we will all stick together through this. Anyone, feel free to drop me a PM if needed. x Of course aingidh
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Mar 16, 2020 19:50:14 GMT
For theatres who operate as charities one option is to ask them to treat the cost of your ticket as a donation rather than give you a refund.
Another idea - my local independent cinema sells gift vouchers and suggested that people that wanted to support them over the coming weeks could buy those to use when they reopen, so they have some income coming in, or alternatively could renew their membership early. Might be an option for theatres who have their own vouchers or membership schemes.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2020 19:50:35 GMT
BurlyBeaR Could we maybe pin this thread for now to see if people are up to the idea? I know we will all stick together through this. Anyone, feel free to drop me a PM if needed. x Of course aingidh Thank you.
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Post by talkingheads on Mar 16, 2020 19:54:02 GMT
For those of us who love live comedy, if you are able then do consider joining NextUp. Comics get a slice of the revenue and with hundreds of shows it really is like going to the Edinburgh Fringe without the hassle! nextupcomedy.com/
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2020 20:05:41 GMT
I forgot to mention this in my original post - Acting for Others, which provides financial and emotional support to theatre professionals in difficult times. Their main website is www.actingforothers.co.uk and their donations page is www.justgiving.com/ctcafo
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Post by xanady on Mar 16, 2020 20:20:51 GMT
This is a wonderful idea for a thread...well done aingidh...I was particularly taken by the work of Flute Theatre when it was highlighted at the recent WOS awards...Shakespeare for autistic children is what they do in a nutshell....an amazing company!
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Post by Marcus on Mar 16, 2020 20:44:39 GMT
Donated to Acting for Others. Feel it’s going to be very needed soon.
It’s great to see so many ways to help during this tough time!
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Post by NeilVHughes on Mar 16, 2020 20:51:42 GMT
Think we may have crashed the Just Giving site, set up a monthly donation to Acting for Others and waiting for confirmation.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2020 20:58:20 GMT
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Post by alece10 on Mar 16, 2020 21:19:21 GMT
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Post by lynette on Mar 16, 2020 23:45:12 GMT
GOOD IDEA. I’ve got tix booked but I won’t be using them now of course so have decided not to ask for any refunds and I will see what else I can do to support. Membership of the various theatre schemes. And support as above for people in the industry.
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Post by firefingers on Mar 16, 2020 23:57:10 GMT
Another good charity is Backup, focusing on the supporting the technical people when they have issues. www.backuptech.uk/
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 17, 2020 10:20:37 GMT
I've got multiple shows booked, I won't be asking for a refund but a credit note.
It's start at least. Also I won't be doing about it yet as I suspect box office staff will be inundated with passive aggressive callers
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Post by southstreet on Mar 17, 2020 10:42:36 GMT
I will make a call on a case by case basis. If it's a small, independent theatre or a charity gig, like Six Uncrowned and West End Eurovision, I just won't ask for a refund. If it's for a regular West End show, I will ask for the refund and donate the money to Acting for Others, just because in this way I know the money will go to people who need it to pay their bills right now.
Not that I want producers to get bust or anything, but in that case I don't know how much of that money would go to actually help people that need the help right now. If we find out in the next few days that producers are going to continue paying staff, then I'll happily not ask for a refund at all.
Either way, whatever money I invested in tickets is already out of my account, so it won't hurt me financially to use it to help people in the industry. But I am also aware that not everyone can afford to do that, many of my friends that have tickets booked also have their incomes impacted by the virus. So we shouldn't judge people who are asking for their refunds and keep the money, because they might need it to pay their bills.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Mar 17, 2020 12:12:50 GMT
Working for a ticketing agency - JUST BE KIND to customer service agents and box offices. It's not your fault. It's not ours. IT IS NO ONE'S but BE KIND.
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Post by zahidf on Mar 17, 2020 14:36:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2020 19:46:13 GMT
I don’t have any shows booked until Beautiful in May but it’s likely it will be cancelled. It’s at an ATG venue so I think I will donate to Acting for Others if it is called off.
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Post by itsemily on Mar 17, 2020 20:02:02 GMT
I don’t have any shows booked until Beautiful in May but it’s likely it will be cancelled. It’s at an ATG venue so I think I will donate to Acting for Others if it is called off. I was meant to be seeing it next week and that was my exact plan too!
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Post by CG on the loose on Mar 17, 2020 23:33:41 GMT
The Menier gave me a choice of a refund or membership for a year. I took the membership. Southwark Playhouse, I'm going to ask them to refund, then use the cash to buy a "pay as you go" book. Commercial West End and the National, just going to take refunds. Similar... will take membership from the Curve (at least, I think they're offering it!) when they contact me, will exchange City of Angels for later in the run and live in hope, and take refunds from the rest of the commercial West End to donate to Acting for Others.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Mar 18, 2020 9:03:07 GMT
Presumably in some cases, its better for the theatre if you take a refund and then make a donation of the refund value so they can claim gift-aid? Worth asking them I guess.
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Post by stevejohnson678 on Mar 18, 2020 11:08:30 GMT
Anyone with an Amazon account, if you go to smile.amazon.co.uk you can shop with Amazon as normal but get to nominate a charity, such as Acting for Others, and they will receive a donation worth 0.5% of every purchase you make.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 18, 2020 11:31:37 GMT
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Post by stevejohnson678 on Mar 18, 2020 12:27:10 GMT
Didn't Boris say in his press conference yesterday that the advice to close was sufficient for insurance claims and this had been communicated to/agreed with insurance companies?
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Post by talkingheads on Mar 18, 2020 13:32:38 GMT
Don't know if there are any other Showstopper The Improvised Musical fans here but they have set up a donations page to be shared amongst the cast. A lovely idea
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Post by Forrest on Mar 18, 2020 20:02:08 GMT
I will make a call on a case by case basis. If it's a small, independent theatre or a charity gig, like Six Uncrowned and West End Eurovision, I just won't ask for a refund. If it's for a regular West End show, I will ask for the refund and donate the money to Acting for Others, just because in this way I know the money will go to people who need it to pay their bills right now. I kind of came to say 'thank you' for this post. My inbox has been bombarded with e-mails asking me if I want a refund, credit or to donate money to theatres, and I found myself completely paralysed and unable to make that decision. Your logic helped. I ended up leaving the money to the Royal Court for some next occasion down the line (I though it was lovely of them to offer that option! Yes, Arthur Darvill, we can postpone that date!), the NT decided for me by issuing me with vouchers, and I donated what for me is a huge amount of money (I work kind of part-time, and I am always kind of broke - and I splurged on tickets much more than I usually would because I was supposed to take a friend to celebrate something) to The Coronet, where I've never even been before last Saturday, because I couldn't get myself to say: 'I really really loved your play, done by one of my favourite creatives, which I was supposed to be seeing again this Friday, can I have my money back now?'. So I told them the play was enchanting and wished them all the best of luck. As you say - that money is long gone anyway. I know the amounts I spend aren't really gonna make a difference to any theatre, but maybe if more people employ the same logic it might add up. Thank you for being a (distant) voice of reason on the day I really needed one. :)
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Post by justfran on Mar 18, 2020 20:07:21 GMT
Joe McElderry is currently doing a live stream concert from his home town venue The Customs House in South Shields, with donations raised going towards The Customs House and Acting For Others. What a good egg!
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Mar 19, 2020 13:38:06 GMT
Presumably in some cases, its better for the theatre if you take a refund and then make a donation of the refund value so they can claim gift-aid? Worth asking them I guess. Just spoke to Southwark Playhouse to sort out tickets for cancelled shows there - they confirmed it's better for them financially (assuming you are a UK taxpayer) if they refund and then you donate, as they can then claim Gift Aid and get 25% more money.
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Post by talkingheads on Mar 19, 2020 16:52:15 GMT
Presumably in some cases, its better for the theatre if you take a refund and then make a donation of the refund value so they can claim gift-aid? Worth asking them I guess. Get a credit note or voucher, that way the theatre doesn't lose out on the money.
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Post by teatowel on Mar 19, 2020 17:00:36 GMT
Presumably in some cases, its better for the theatre if you take a refund and then make a donation of the refund value so they can claim gift-aid? Worth asking them I guess. This is what I did: when the box office rang, I was asked if I would like a credit note or to donate the price of the tickets. I said a donation and then asked them if they could claim gift aid on top of it as I was a taxpayer, which they set up the agreement on the spot as they had my details already. An extra 25% to the theatre!
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