Long-term supporter of Sheffield Theatres, Graham Royle and GRI Group have announced their support to help Sheffield Theatres continue and develop their ambitious community engagement plans in the city over the next year.
GRI Group, a global manufacturing organisation with its headquarters in Sheffield, has been a valued supporter of Sheffield Theatres since 2013, and this partnership has enabled the development of different strands of work including the re-design of the theatres’ wardrobe department and the expansion of the theatres’ new work and literary offer. Last year, GRI Group were the primary match-funder in Sheffield Theatres’ Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign, helping to raise over £60,000 in one week to support Sheffield Peoples’ Theatre and a brand new intergenerational dementia choir.
Since November, Sheffield Theatres has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Crucible and newly re-named Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse. To mark this milestone and demonstrate their commitment to supporting the future of Sheffield Theatres, GRI Group have made a generous donation of £140,000 to support Sheffield Theatres’ future work with communities as they look forward to the start of the next 50 years.
Graham Royle, Chairman and CEO of GRI Group said:
‘It is our pleasure to support Sheffield Theatres as they celebrate the Crucible’s 50th year and we feel privileged to play a part in an organisation that consistently delivers innovative and inspirational theatre in Sheffield. The community focused work delivered by the theatres has been proactive and engaging, and we are delighted to be involved in this important project that will make a difference for so many people in the city.’
During the last year, Sheffield Theatres delivered Together in the City, a project supported by funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation which enabled outreach work with 26 local creative projects. Community groups in and around Sheffield explored different art forms and celebrated creativity, culminating in a two-day community-led festival at the Crucible in April 2022, attended by 3,415 visitors. 60% of the community groups engaged in the project were new to Sheffield Theatres. This latest partnership with GRI Group will support Sheffield Theatres’ Learning and Participation team to continue the legacy from the original funding and develop new projects with communities across the city.
Dan Bates, Chief Executive of Sheffield Theatres said:
‘Over the last nine years, we have developed a really close partnership with Graham and GRI Group, we really value their support and celebrate everything that it has helped us to achieve.
Together in the City was an innovative and challenging project, but we were so proud of the difference it made for the people and community groups involved. Now, thanks to the incredible support of GRI Group this year, we’re able to develop our plans to further engage with our communities in and around Sheffield; building on the relationships and projects from Together in the City and identifying new opportunities to make connections, bring people together and celebrate the creativity in our city.’
In addition, the generous support of GRI Group has also enabled Sheffield Theatres to refresh and redesign the foyer space outside the Playhouse. This is an extension of re-development work of the new Crucible Kitchen and lower foyer, with the changes supporting Sheffield Theatres’ plans to rejuvenate their spaces. Visitors are able to enjoy the new spaces now, with Accidental Death of an Anarchist, the first production in the newly-named Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, running until Saturday 15 October.
