Bolton Octagon’ supporters have put the theatre two-thirds of the way towards its £35,000 crowdfunding target in less than a month.
Over 200 people have contributed almost £26,000 – some of them £100 or more – towards the target, which will be doubled by the Oglesby Trust. The theatre hoped only to raise £15,000 by the end of June.
2020 was set to be the biggest year in the Octagon's history, thanks to the planned opening of its new theatre. The Covid-19 pandemic has instead led to a theatre shortfall for the year of around £500,000 – what theatre chief executive Roddy Gauld calls “our biggest ever challenge”.
Theatre and the arts contribute £5.4 billion a year to the UK economy, and the Octagon contributes £6 million to the local economy.
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