National Lottery funds Christmas show at Barnsley Civic Theatre

Barnsley Civic Theatre is marking its National Lottery funded arts delivery this Christmas with a specially-commissioned family show.

The production of ‘The Night Before Christmas’ is funded by the National Lottery and marks its 25th birthday - more than £40 billion has been given to good causes in the areas of arts, sport, heritage and community across the UK since the first draw took place in 1994.

The show is produced by the national charity, Full House Theatre, whose mission is to give the opportunity for every child to hold treasured memories of theatre.

Harriet Hardie, Creative Director at Full House Theatre, said: “The Lottery funding ensures we expand the reach of our work and make sure that people who might not normally get the opportunity to take part in or engage in the arts, get access to really high quality performance work - particularly outside of London and the big cities.”

Harriet added: “It’s about raising opportunity and aspiration amongst young people, which is hugely important for health and wellbeing and social mobility. With The Civic, we want to broaden horizons of children and young people who may not get the opportunity to go to the theatre or who can’t afford to take two days to go to the West End to see a show.”

The Civic has brought ground-breaking productions to Barnsley leveraging lottery funding for local artists, who have put the town on the national arts agenda.

Ian Morley, Head of Programming and Artist Development at The Civic, said: “One big success story is the award-winning choreographer Gary Clarke – who was one of our key core commissions. He’s from Grimethorpe, a real area of deprivation, and he’s now regarded as one of the UK’s leading independent dance artists.”

Since The Civic launched its Artistic Residency Programme five years ago, it has supported more than 33 companies and hundreds of artists to develop new works seen by tens of thousands in Barnsley and on tour across the UK.

Tickets now on sale for ‘The Night Before Christmas’ which runs between Friday December 13 and Tuesday December 24.

Contact the box office on 01226 327 000, or book online at barnsleycivic.co.uk