Click the 'Donate' button above!

 

Thank you for your support. 

 

TheatreState is a not-for-profit organisation that relies on public funds and personal donations to deliver meaningful, inclusive projects and opportunities with artists, audiences and young people in Leeds and beyond.

 

In March 2020, a week before we were due to open Say Yes to Tess at Leeds Playhouse, Boris announced the closure of theatres across the UK. We had to abandon rehearsals, send our full cast and company home, and see all the hard graft of everyone involved go to waste, alongside the funds and resource we’d worked so hard to build. As a very small and very young company (we had just incorporated in the month beforehand), we agreed a fair payment approach for the freelance artists and professionals involved, and recovered as much as we could from travel, accommodation and production costs. 

 

Determined to look at this as a postponement rather than a cancellation, but knowing we would have to work incredibly hard to repeat a full rehearsal process and run of performances (and all the tireless work required to get a show to that point) on the limited budget remaining, we spent the several lockdowns ahead fundraising (again), volunteering, getting to know our local community, creating a podcast, and planning for Say Yes to Tess: Round II.

 

It’s been a tough ride and we’ve done a lot on a little, to put it lightly. The current process has been hit by the inevitable wave of Covid-related illness, isolation, childcare crises (did we mention we also brought a new tiny human into the world during Lockdown 1.0?) and yet more budget crunching. We are immeasurably grateful to all those who have stayed with us on the journey, had our backs and given their all to the company, and the show. 

 

By donating, you're helping us to continue creating projects and opportunities beyond Say Yes to Tess. It's a real life-line for the company we’ve worked so hard to build, in the most impossible of climates, and we’re extremely grateful to you.

 

Donate £5 or more and get an acknowledgement on our website

Donate £10 or more and get a shout out on social media

Donate £25 or more and receive a personalised thank you card with an image from the show

Donate £50 or more and get a free ticket to a TheatreState show of your choice

Donate £100 or more and we’ll name a Say Yes to Tess character after you

 

A HUGE thank you to our recent donors Darren Longhorn, Michael Woodhead, Martha Wilson & Lucy Rafton - we are beyond grateful for your support!