There’s no place like home as young stars take to the stage

15 Aug 2023

It’s not long until curtains up for the Theatre Royal’s Summer production and West Suffolk’s Cabinet Member for Culture was delighted to see rehearsals in full swing. 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which opens this Friday (18) evening and runs until Saturday 2 September, features professional actors alongside young local talent taking to the stage.

Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds runs a summer school which gives young people the chance to work with seasoned professionals, directors, designers, technicians and stage managers and gain a unique insight into different career path including acting, composing, stage management and lighting design. The summer school is supported by funding from Bury St Edmunds Town Council. 

Theatre Royal is also backed with annual grant funding for core costs from West Suffolk Council. Earlier this year it renewed the annual grant of just over £60,000.

And on Friday last week, Cllr Ian Shipp, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture visited for a behind the scenes tour.

He said: “If you live in West Suffolk, you’ll already know there’s no place like home. Our fantastic mix of leisure and culture is what makes West Suffolk such a wonderful place to live and work and continues to attract visitors from far, far away.

“And Theatre Royal is a strong part of that, which is why I was so thrilled to have the chance to see behind the scenes. The summer school is a brilliant initiative, and the production looks superb, while low-income families are supported through the bursary places available.” 

Owen Calvert-Lyons, Artistic Director at Theatre Royal said: “We are making an incredible, uplifting, fun show this summer, the young people and adult participants are all working incredibly hard and having so much fun in the rehearsal room. This work is an integral part of our programme, it is one of our three in-house productions, and we are looking forward to sharing the show, and its brilliant cast, with our audiences.  Support from our core funders, including West Suffolk Council, is vital to ensure the ongoing stability of Theatre Royal and the continuation of the huge range of work that we do with young people and in the community.”
 
The Theatre is also supported with local authority funding from Suffolk County Council.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz runs from Friday 18 August to Saturday 2 September. Tickets are available from £10.80. To book visit the Theatre's website. 

People on Job Seekers Allowance may be eligible for free tickets and should contact suffolkfamilyfocus@suffolk.gov.uk. 

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