Partners

We aspire to be Radically Hospitable. We aim to put extraordinary effort and emphasis on making people feel welcome. We seek to remove barriers that prevent people from participating in the shared experience of arts, heritage and culture.

We are proud and committed to rural community touring and to enhancing the engagement and infrastructure of culture in the East of England.

We have a passion for supporting children, young people and our intergenerational audience to achieve their creative potential and ensure access to high-quality cultural experiences is available in the places we live or where we go to school.

We offer creative writing programmes in schools and community groups to build confidence, wellbeing and employability. We are committed to ensuring everyone, from all backgrounds, can participate in the joy and power of theatre. We believe that partnership and collaboration makes better theatre, as wel las more lasting, positive social change.

HighTide holds the climate crisis in its name; a daily reminder of our responsibility to act now – with imagination and creativity. We see climate and social justice as inextricably linked and believe that theatre can help rehearse a better future for us all. HighTide’s work is made possible by public investment in the arts from Arts Council England.

We present a wide variety of arts and cultural opportunities for local communities including major touring productions, high profile live music acts, big-name stand-up comedy, dance, superb theatre and new writing.  We pride ourselves on an in-depth understanding of the locations in which we operate.

Working in areas of lower cultural engagement across the UK. We are responsive to local priorities, deliver innovation and work in partnership to empower our communities. Our innovative Talent and Participation programmes are embedded in all that we do. 

We deliver a breadth of creative activities and ways in which our communities can engage whether that be as an audience member, participant, decision maker or through developing talent.

Through our Mercury Productions and Mercury Originals we produce world-class theatre, reinventing familiar stories and conjuring up bold, new ones. Our talent development programme seeks out fresh voices and stories that encourage people to see through the eyes of others.  The Mercury’s participation programmes connect communities and celebrate creative potential by providing people with everyday opportunities to be artistic and innovative.

A producing and receiving house with 530 seats in the theatre and a capacity of 96 in the studio, the newly (2021) refurbished Mercury is accessible throughout and boasts a thriving café-bar, dance studio, rehearsal space, participation space and impressive backstage workshop. Following the major renovation in 2021, Mercury was awarded a BREEAM Very Good certificate, placing it in the top 25% of public buildings in the UK for environmental standards. In 2021 the Mercury was profiled by Theatre Trust as a model of good practice in the UK.

The Mercury was established in 1937, is registered Charity Number 232387 and receives regular investment from:

Audiences are guaranteed a warm welcome from a three-year winner of UK Theatre’s Most Welcoming Theatre (2016 – 2018) and London Theatre of the Year 2020 (The Stage Awards), the first Outer London theatre to receive this prestigious award.

Under the care of the National Trust, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds operates from its Grade I listed building which underwent a £5.3million restoration in 2005 to return it to its original 1819 layout and design.

Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds became an NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) in 2023 supported by Arts Council England and a registered charity (charity number 242977).

Theatre Royal is owned by the Greene King brewery, leased by the Brewery to the National Trust which in turn leases the theatre to Bury St Edmunds Theatre Management Ltd to run it as a working theatre.

As a multi-award-winning theatre, we are immensely proud to have recently won the 2024 EADT Suffolk Business of the Year award and the EADT Positive Impact in the Community award.

We are delighted to have been selected by Julie’s Bicycle and Pilio to be part of their Transforming Energy: Capital Readiness programme. We are proud of the progress we have made with reducing our carbon footprint and embedding environmental responsibility across our operations and creative output. We are determined to make our theatre building as energy efficient as possible by its 50th anniversary in 2029.

We produce our own shows and co-produce with UK and international theatres and companies. Our productions include world premieres and landmark revivals of musicals and plays, such as Noises Off, Footloose, Bindweed, Kinky Boots, The Season (which recently transferred to the West End as Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)), The Time Machine (nominated for an Olivier Award), Feel Me, Boy on the Roof, and our iconic and award-winning Rock ‘n’ Roll pantomime. We also present a diverse programme of productions by acclaimed national touring companies and support emerging theatre companies and independent artists.

The New Wolsey Theatre is partially funded by Arts Council England and Ipswich Borough Council. We are also supported by local corporate partners, trusts and foundations, and private members. As a not-for-profit charity, we rely on their investment and are deeply grateful for their unwavering support, which enables us to fulfil our mission.