From a dilapidated 1970s paint store in an old chapel to a cornerstone of Nottingham’s independent theatre community, The Lace Market Theatre (LMT) has been staging shows for almost fifty years. Like many creative communities, the LMT has a constant churn in members and recently made an appeal for support from the local community. We spoke to long time volunteer and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Gareth Morris, on the ebb and flow of a creative community, the challenges a volunteer organisation can face, and what keeps a theatre alive.
Fourteen shows a season, year in, year out, for about 48 years. It’s an enormous volume of work for volunteers and a testament to the longevity of The Lace Market Theatre, but it's a bit like Trigger's broom from Only Fools and Horses. All the parts have been replaced over and over again, but they still call it the same broom. What keeps bringing new people joining the theatre and staying involved?
Most of our new members are here because they've just been cast in a show. So they're interested in acting. You get people moving to Nottingham that might have had experience of theatre elsewhere, and found the Lace Market Theatre as a good place to keep that hobby up. And we're doing fourteen shows a year. Every three to four weeks, there's another one coming on. I think if we did it less often, people would almost forget we're here.
The key is encouraging them to be part of the Lace Market family, making them feel that they want to stay on and do more things. Whether they'll rejoin next year, that's the key. Once you've got two or three seasons under your belt and you start doing more things, then I think people are more likely to stay.
We're just the current custodians. There's a certain responsibility that a lot of us feel to keep that going and leave it in an even better condition for the next generation to enjoy.
Various communities have been experiencing that post-COVID slump, and we’ve all faced that challenge of digging down and pushing ahead. What drives people to help something like the Lace Market Theatre survive, especially without being paid?
There’s a certain determination to keep going. We've talked about those members that have been at it for a long time. Those people who were coming in during lockdown and they were checking the dates of the beer bottles in our bar, clearing out our prop stores and stuff. It's the people with that sort of mind set who want to keep it going. It's just that determination.
You talk about the fact this building was purchased in the 70s. You know, we're just the current custodians. We've gone through all these other different guises, these previous generations of volunteers who have had these ideas and pushed them through. There's a certain responsibility that a lot of us feel to keep that going and leave it in an even better condition for the next generation to enjoy.
It's a credit to these volunteers. There's a lot of pride. Quite often, when we have had recruitment issues, people suggest we need more incentives. But the people that are already giving a lot feel that their contribution will be devalued if there's any sort of payment or incentive involved.
If someone wants to contribute, what do they need to do to get involved?
Ways to get involved this spring include our remaining auditions for the 2024/25 season for Ring Around the Moon on 11 March, and The Prince on 15 April. You can also come to our open day on 12 April to have a chat about what backstage or customer facing roles there are. All areas could use some help - box office, making props, set building, stage management, and no experience is necessary.
I would always recommend people come and see a show and after the show, if you like somebody's performance, go and tell them. Chat to people on the bar - they're very approachable people, and that's how I got involved. I'd made friends, as you do in these groups, with the head of sound at the time, Martin Curtis, who went on to [work at] the Playhouse. I asked him how you get involved in sound, because I thought it would be interesting to learn how a mixing desk works for the benefit of my band. And he said, “I've got a show coming up, I’m doing lighting. I need someone to do sound.” That was for A Clockwork Orange. He said, “Do you want to help out?” So I did, and he taught me the ropes. That's kind of how things work here. You show a bit of an interest, and people will help you to gain skills.
For what keeps a community like this going, you’ve mentioned determination, responsibility, and habit, but a word you mentioned that sticks with me, and that comes across in your tone, is ‘pride’. What does that mean for you to have pride in this theatre?
It is a level of ownership. I think some of our audience members understand some of that ownership as well. And there's a lot of attitude around here of ‘if something needs doing, we do it or find somebody who can’. All the lights are on because people have maintained the bulbs when they've gone. It's been organised by somebody because they love theatre and they love the Lace Market Theatre.
That's really interesting. So it's not just that a person gets this opportunity. It's that the Lace Market Theatre belongs to them. They own it a little bit. And that's part of the kind of magnetism that keeps people coming back, keeping a volunteer theatre alive.
Yeah. Seeing people come up into the bar afterwards and their friends and family are there to greet them. It does give you a really warm, satisfactory feeling in your heart. I know so many people here, if I want to come and see the theatre, I don't need to find a couple of friends to come with. I can just walk in the door and there'll be familiar faces. It’s like, ‘Oh, I'm going back to see my family at the Lace Market Theatre. I'm part of that family’. I love that.
The Lace Market Theatre has its next open day on Saturday 12 April from 2 - 4pm. More details about upcoming shows and how to join can be found via their website.
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