Mercury Theatre launches applications for Lights Up!

June 2016

The Mercury Theatre is now inviting applications for 2016, following the success of its first ever Lights Up! festival this year.

Taking place over two weeks in the summer, the initiative wasdesigned to give local amateur societies, community organisations, choirs, youth theatres, dance schools, colleges and music ensembles a chance to take over the Mercury. Groups can hire the fully equipped and professionally staffed theatre to help them reach a wider audience with their events, performances and concerts.

The Lights Up! 2016 packages include the use of the main theatre or the brand new studio theatre, lighting and sound systems and access to professional theatre technicians. In addition to this, the theatre will also offer support and guidance to groups throughout the process to help them plan and execute their event.

The main theatre can be hired for around £1,500 per day, and the studio can be hired for £400per day.

Artistic Director of the Mercury Theatre, Daniel Buckroyd, said:

“I believe very strongly that, as well as reaching out to as large and diverse an audience as possible with its performance programme, one of the key roles of a regional theatre is to provide opportunities for the communities it serves to unleash their own creativity.”

“Lights Up! is one of the ways we’re encouraging people to be more ambitious when it comes to staging community and artistic events – whether that’s by their hands on the technical resources we have at our disposal and pushing the boundaries of what they’re trying to achieve, or simply using the facilities and profile of the Mercury to help them reach a wider audience.”

“We were so pleased with how our pilot Lights Up! festival went in 2015 that we’ve now expanded the programme for Summer 2016 to include our beautifully equipped new studio; perfect for smaller projects.”

Lights Up! will take place in June 2016 at the Mercury Theatre Colchester.

Groups looking for a home for their event should complete the Lights Up! application form available from  www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/lights-up/lights-up-2016/ and submit it no later than 6pm on 16 November 2015.