Monmouth's Savoy Theatre needs £30k for upgrade (From Free Press Series)

Monmouth's Savoy Theatre needs £30k for upgrade as Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson becomes patron

3:50pm Thursday 7th March 2013 in News

TIME is running out for the Monmouth Savoy Theatre Trust to raise £30,000 for its cinema.

The urgency comes as Children’s Laureate and bestselling author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson was named as the theatre's new patron.

Unless the cash is raised it is feared part of the venue may be forced to have a different use and could be turned into an arts centre, according to director Chris Ryde.

The Trust, which looks after the Grade II-listed Savoy Theatre and cinema in Church Street, has brought big names to Monmouth in the past two years, including comedians Michael McIntyre and Julian Clary.

The cinema desperately needs to replace its 35mm projector with a digital one.

Mr Ryde said: “The films available on 35mm will probably disappear by summer so if we are not in a position to show digital films we won’t be able to show any, that’s the urgency of it. It’s a lot of money to find for a very small place operating on little profit margins, but it’s compulsory.”

So far just a portion of the money has been collected, and applications for grants to places like the Arts Council, Monmouthshire Building Society and town councils will soon be flying out.

Mr Ryde, who became the theatre’s director last August, said the cost of running digital equipment is minuscule compared to their current old-fashioned setup.

This week the Savoy, which became the town’s first cinema in 1910, announced Children’s Laureate and bestselling author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, as its new patron.

She said: “To help the Savoy achieve its fundraising target for digital equipment I am returning there on April 14 to perform The Gruffalo and Other Stories.”

For more details about the campaign, email monmouthsavoy@hotmail.com