Theatre group that had to cancel six productions because of Covid-19 is awarded ‘vital’ £74,800 grant

An Ely theatre company that had to cancel six of their productions because of the Covid-19 pandemic has received a “vital” grant of £74,800.

KD Theatre Productions has been awarded the money as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

It is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support.

Katherine Hickmott and Daniel Bell, who manage KD Theatre, grew up in the local area and shared the same passion for theatre, creating shows whilst at school.

They both then went to London to train professionally in musical theatre which helped them to turn their skills into starting their own professional theatre company.

KD tour shows all across the UK including their annual pantomime at The Maltings, Ely until recently, when the pandemic caused them to cancel six of their productions. Katherine and Daniel said: “We are relieved and thankful to Arts Council England, DCMS and HM Treasury to have received this vital recovery grant which will help us ‘weather the storm’.

“This grant will ensure we are able to continue creating theatre in our communities, inspire our next generation of theatre goers whilst continuing to retain employees and offer many more jobs to freelancers who haven’t worked for the past seven months.

“We’ve spent eight years building our audiences in Ely and we are delighted that we will be able to continue to entertain families for many more years to come!’

The grant will also allow KD to put safety procedures in place this Christmas at The Maltings, for their socially distanced pantomime production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ which runs from December 18 to January 3.

Tickets are available online or by calling 01353 725026.