THE NEW year sees the launch of a new and improved Corporate Membership scheme at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
The venue already has 18 Corporate Members, with five new companies recently coming on board: Caxtons, St Edmund's School, Jobs In Kent, Port Of Dover and MHA MacIntryre Hudson.
Businesses with 26-plus staff benefit from attractive branding opportunities as well as discounts for all their staff and invitations to exciting theatre events (this costs £950 a year). A new level of the scheme is aimed at companies with up to 25 staff. They will get the same benefits as larger companies, but at a rate of £450.
As members, businesses are also able to support Marlowe-lead community initiatives, such as giving schoolchildren the chance to visit the theatre for the first time.
Corporate Members Holiday Extras, based in Newingreen, near Hythe, paid for the whole of Palmarsh School in Hythe to watch The Marlowe Theatre pantomime, Aladdin. Head teacher Sara Wakefield is pictured with children from each year, and cast members.
She said: "When we found out we had the funding, it felt like Christmas had come early: it was such a special gift. We are a tiny school of 109 children and therefore paying for tickets, let alone the coaches, is not an option.
"For some of our children it was the first pantomime they had seen and certainly the first time that had been in a theatre."
Matthew Pack, Holiday Extra's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We were delighted to be given the opportunity to offer local children the chance to enjoy the pantomime, along with ice creams and travel to and from the theatre.
"Trips out, including visits to the theatre, offer children a vital educational opportunity and I know that everyone had a wonderful time."
Videos