NEWS: Exciting news from Bolton's Octagon Theatre.

Latest news and updates from the Octagon... We are thrilled to share some great news, this week, thanks to the amazing Oglesby Charitable Trust, we are launching a match funding campaign through Crowdfunder to help the Octagon during the Covid-19 crisis. Now in the 11th week of the UK lockdown the challenges of the pandemic on the theatre industry have become even more clear. We are continuing to find ways to ignite creativity from afar and are doing everything we can to ensure the world class theatre we have all been waiting for will be back and open to audiences when it is safe to do so - but we need your help. The Oglesby Charitable Trust will be matching donations for a period of time, meaning any support you are able to give will have double the impact to your theatre. We are aiming to raise at least £15,000 by the end of June to support the future of Octagon. Please consider donating if you can. Watch the below video from Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham and Chief Executive Roddy Gauld as well as a message of support for the Octagon from Sir Ian McKellen! Find out more and donate today here We will be back! The world class theatre we have been waiting for over the last 2 years of construction is nearly complete and will be the fantastic cultural resource Bolton deserves.  Take a look at some of these images to give you peek at the building in progress, and a taste of what to expect when we can finally open our doors and let you in to experience the magic of live theatre once again.  Book with confidence We know booking at this time for future events may be concerning for you and we want to reassure you that you can book with confidence at the Octagon. We have made our exchange policy more generous than ever before with fees removed and options to exchange between shows. Not sure about which show or date to book? Why not purchase a gift voucher so you can help support the Octagon now and look forward to the magic of live theatre when you feel ready to do so. #OctagonOnline Whilst we cannot be together there are lots of ways for you to get involved with the Octagon at home. We are also striving to find new ways to support our community in anyway we can, from some of our staff volunteering to sew scrubs for the NHS to making our temporary spaces available for Bolton charities such as Age UK. Here are a few of the projects we are running at the moment for you to get involved with or find out about more of our activities here. Let's Get Quizzical - Streamed Live Fri 12 June at 8pm Get your thinking caps on and be prepared to test your general knowledge in a fun-filled evening of quizzing. As we can't be together in person we will be streaming the quiz live on our Facebook page and is part of a series of online events we will be hosting to help raise awareness of our crowdfunder campaign. Find out more about the event and register your interest on our Facebook page. Arts Award - Online Want something fun and creative to do with your children? We have put together a new booklet so you can discover more about the arts from inside your own home and gain a nationally recognised qualification. Suitable for ages 7-11 the Discover Arts Award is now available online for just £5 and includes support with live zoom sessions - the next intro session is Mon 15 June at 1pm. Find out more. ReAct Theatre Club A new online club for over 50s in Bolton.  Due to the pandemic we have moved our ReAct project online. Designed to ignite creativity in the over 50s in Bolton we have launched a new theatre club and facebook group, and are looking for more people to get involved to help us create meaningful and valuable activities for older people in Bolton.        Find out more. We hope you are keeping safe and well and we look forward to being together again in the not too distant future.