Yesterday we wrote a post highlighting all the shows that are coming up in September at ten of our local venues and it made us realise something…..we may not be the West End but we have some AMAZING venues serving the East Midlands (and part of the West Midlands) giving us such an eclectic mix of entertainment – from the wackiness of Rocky Horror to the intrigue of And Then There Were None; the grandeur of The Massed Bands of His Majesty’s Royal Marines to the gentleness of Tales from Acorn Wood as well as so much in between.

We have comedy, horror, family, musical, adult only, toddlers plus lots more and we are so lucky.

During the lockdown years so many wonderful venues were lost and we, as a nation, as so much poorer for that. Those that survived then got hit by what are probably staggering costs in the cost of living crisis that has hit us all….but they push through doing all they can for the local areas and communities – often against the odds. They keep on bringing us entertainment to enable us to escape the real world – just for a while – and to relax (or sit on the edges of our seats) and forget that the world that can be so scary or unhappy at times.

I am so grateful that we have these outlets and I am so happy that we can get to see such wonderful talent without having the (sometimes) stupidly high costs of travelling into the West End to catch a decent show – not even taking into consideration the anxiety that a tri pto the smoke can bring to someone like me.

Let’s keep supporting our regional venues because the world would be a much darker place if they ‘go dark’. Go see the shows, become a member or supporter of your local venue, join in with their community events and keep on enjoying the creative world of theatre.