James Graham and Jack Thorne share Theatre Royal Plymouth stories for campaign

Playwrights James Graham and Jack Thorne have shared their stories about the Theatre Royal Plymouth as part of a campaign to the government to demonstrate the positive impact of the venue on people’s lives.

The campaign follows news that more than 100 jobs at the theatre are at risk after the venue was forced to begin redundancy consultations due to the impact of Covid-19.

Playwright Laura Horton, who also works in theatre PR, has compiled a list of 70 stories from theatre professionals and members of the local community about their experiences of the Theatre Royal Plymouth.

Horton has sent these to secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden, along with a letter expressing "deep concerns" about the future of the theatre industry.

In the letter, Horton states: "The case has already been made for the financial viability of the industry but it’s about more than the money a theatre can make.

"It’s impossible to quantify its most valuable asset – the improvement it makes to mental health, mutual understanding, education and community spirit. We can’t put a financial value on people’s experiences – the intangible and emotional value of them cannot be bought.

"This is why I have been collecting people’s stories as proof of how the theatre has positively impacted people’s lives."

Horton added: "Without the TRP I wouldn’t have discovered my love of theatre and found the confidence to forge my own career. I know I’m not alone.

"The south west would be culturally isolated without TRP. These stories will continue to surge in, and what I have sent you today is only the beginning. I urge you to provide proper financial support and guidance for our theatre industry so they continue to prosper."

Graham said he had "too many positive stories" about the Theatre Royal Plymouth and praised the importance of the venue in the local community and for showcasing new writing.

Recalling the opening of his play Monster Raving Loony, he said: "I’ll never forget that night going back to the nearest hotel after opening, knowing the nation’s critics had been booked on to the same floor as me, and as I settled into bed, the surreal thought that all along the corridor people were typing their judgements only inches away - not the case in the capital.

"But more importantly, they were writing about Theatre Royal Plymouth, and it’s unique place in the cultural world, which was huge for new writing and has to be, must be, again."

Thorne wrote of working on The Solid Life of Sugar Water at Theatre Royal Plymouth in partnership with Graeae.

He said: "[I] learned so much from our run and we were later able to transfer it to the National Theatre, the first time in it’s 50-year history a disabled company had been inside."

Theatre critic Lyn Gardner also praised the theatre and said: ”It’s potential loss is genuinely heartbreaking, not just for theatre but for its community which doesn’t just mean the people of Plymouth but the many thousands in rural areas for whom the Theatre Royal was their only place to access culture."