STUDENTS from Worcester University are campaigning to raise money for The Swan Theatre.

Loco Show Co. and Spotlight Theatre Company at the University of Worcester have become involved with a fundraising campaign called Students Saving Our Theatres in a bid to support theatres facing administration as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Part of the money donated from the fundraiser will be donated to The Swan Theatre.

Chair of Loco Show Co,, Lucy Grace, said: “We are extremely worried about the state of the arts industry at present, and its fate after lockdown. We are determined not to see countless theatres shut down due a lack of support and funding during these testing times.

“We have noticed that there is a real lack of government support for the arts and entertainment industry, so have taken it upon ourselves to do something about it.

“This is where Students Saving Our Theatres began. Our aim is to partner with university drama societies from across the country to raise money for theatre's we love - so far, we have been successful in partnering with 20 societies and universities.

“We have been astounded at the support so far, with so many societies involved we really believe this campaign can make a positive impact.”

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Collectively the groups aim to raise £10,000 which we will then be divided equally between the participating societies, who will hand it over to their chosen theatre.

The campaign is five weeks of fundraising challenges which last one week each.

Examples includes: Learning a language in a week, upcycling an outfit in a week and helping out in the local community.

To donate, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/students-saving-our-theatres-1

Ben Humphrey said: "Like all venues in the UK the Swan Theatre and Huntingdon Hall has been hard hit by the current situation.

“Reopening when it is safe to do so for our audience, staff, volunteers and creative teams is our top priority and we hope to be able to do that as soon as possible.

“Without clear guidance from the government it is difficult to say when that will be, but we are optimistic that when we do reopen we will be able to get live performance back up and running in a relatively short space of time.

“I'd like to thank the students of the University of Worcester for their invaluable support during this difficult time."

"It means a huge amount to us all that they have taken the time to raise funds for their local theatre. I can't wait to welcome them back once we're open again."