CURVE AWARDED NATIONAL LOTTERY FUNDING TO SHARE THE STORY OF LEICESTER FOR TENTH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Leicester’s Curve theatre has been awarded a National Lottery grant of £70,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to celebrate the city’s cultural history.

Taking place during Curve’s tenth birthday this year, the project, Fashioning a City, will engage people from ten identified neighbourhoods in Leicester in an ambitious programme of heritage research and exploration. Thanks to National Lottery players, over 300 participants of all ages and abilities will be involved in the process, sharing lesser-known stories from the city in a series of local community performances and online exhibitions.

Speaking about the project, Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said:

“We are incredibly grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for supporting what we know will be a remarkable project for the communities of Leicester.

“Fashioning a City is inspired by the unique cultural heritage of our city, its beautiful diversity and contribution to the clothing and footwear industries. This funding will allow us to work directly with neighbourhoods and communities that do not currently engage with Curve, inspiring them to collaborate with a wide range of professional heritage and theatre practitioners to share their stories.”

Opened in 2008, Curve is one of the UK’s leading producing theatres. Last year, it received critical acclaim for its productions of Scrooge the Musical, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Sunset Boulevard, Pink Sari Revolution and its community production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which saw over 70 local actors perform on its main stage.

Jonathan Platt, Head of HLF East Midlands, said:

“We’re delighted to support Curve theatre to celebrate its tenth anniversary and explore the lesser-known stories of Leicester’s rich history. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, this project will engage new audiences in learning and spreading the word about their city’s heritage.”

As part of its tenth birthday celebrations, Curve will hold a series of special events including Curve Live!, a free public concert featuring performances from special guest stars and friends of Curve, its most ambitious Community and Curve Young Company musical yet, Joseph Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof and its Christmas production of Irving Berlin’s festive classic, White Christmas.

More details on Curve’s Fashioning a City project will be revealed later this month.