Save Our Theatre!

Save Our Theatre!

Who we are

Established in 1985, Collage Arts is a community arts organisation dedicated to offering platforms to underrepresented voices and communities. Based in the heart of Haringey, we offer inclusive drama, singing and writing classes for all age groups, whilst also providing vital outreach work with schools, pupil referral units and support groups advocating for the rights of migrants and refugees. It is our fundamental belief that the arts are a vital means of connection and expression, with an intrinsic value of human creativity in connection to self and each other, needed now more than ever.

What do we do

Community Theatre

We believe that the arts should be made accessible to all, and so as well as our outreach projects, Collage Voices offers a rich programme of drama, singing and writing classes every Saturday for over 150 young people ranging from 7-30 years old, for only £2.50 a class with full bursaries available.

All our tutors are drawn from the professional industry and work within our in-house theatre and suite of recording studios. Over the last two years we have supported over 30 young artists to secure places at leading drama schools such as RADA, Guildhall, Lamda, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Rose Bruford, Alra, East 15, and many more. We are supported in delivering this work by our wonderful patrons, Danny Sapani, Martina Laird and Phoebe Waller - Bridge just to name a few! As part of our commitment to accessibility, we also support emerging artists by offering them creative spaces and expertise. We regularly offer our community theatre space to new artists, actors, writers and directors to develop exciting new projects, rehearse and showcase new work.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what we do, and we want to do so much more! Our work is far from done, and we need to continue to open doors, and break down barriers.

Outreach

Collage Arts not only exists as a vital support for emerging artists to produce new work, but also as a space dedicated to promoting inclusivity, support and advocacy through the arts. We work with many schools and pupil referral units across Haringey, providing workshops and classes in the arts with a focus on social mobility and inclusion, with over 3,000 young people engaged every year. Our weekday programmes are a set of wide ranging initiatives connecting the community to creativity, and upskilling and offering new opportunities as well as pathways to further training and employment. We work closely with Haringey Welcome to provide a supportive space for migrants and refugees in the borough, in the form of weekly groups held at our community theatre. In addition, we host a weekly support group for elders of the Caribbean diaspora to enjoy a safe, warm and creative space. These are only a few examples of our outreach work, with plans to launch many more exciting projects.

Why we need your help

With rising costs and the ever-increasing need from our communities, we are at risk of losing the very space in which we deliver our projects and programmes - our community theatre. A safe and creative home to thousands across each year, we have fought to protect this space in the face of cuts to arts funding, and escalating energy costs. However, without additional funding, it will no longer be viable to keep our community theatre open.

We are aiming to raise £20,000 to address the current shortfall across our programmes and to raise the profile of the work that we do to ensure future underpinning funding.

What you can do to help

We need your help now more than ever, as we continue to fight to keep our work alive and running. Here’s what you can do to help:

Donate

If you can, please donate to our crowdfunding page to help us hit our goal of £20,000. Every little helps!

Share

We know that times are tough for many at the moment, and so even a share of our fundraising page would mean the world to us.

Attend our Fundraiser

We will be holding a fundraising event in December with headlining actors, current students and alumni. This will be a night dedicated to championing and showcasing the incredible talent that has been supported from our young people’s programmes. As well as supporting us by purchasing a ticket, all in attendance will have the opportunity to donate on the night.