Theatre Royal invites audiences to ‘pay it forward’ when hit show Come From Away visits Nottingham

Theatre Royal invites audiences to ‘pay it forward’ when hit show Come From Away visits Nottingham

Theatregoers are being invited to donate warm winter underwear to local homelessness charity, Emmanuel House, when hit show Come From Away visits the city venue from 1 to 5 October.

Multi-award-winning musical Come From Away shares the incredible real-life story of the 7,000 air passengers who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland community that invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives.

Since watching this heart-warming production for the first time in December 2019, blogger Theatrical Lydia – Lydia Greatrix –has been inspired by the show’s ethos of community spirit, and by Pay It Forward 9/11, a charity set up to honour those who lost their lives by doing good deeds for strangers. Lydia is now following the UK tour, ‘paying it forward’ by sharing acts of kindness and generosity in each city she visits. Her campaign is in memory of her friend Laura Townsend, who saw the show over 150 times around the world, championing its message and spreading kindness wherever she went.

Now it is Nottingham’s turn to share an act of kindness during the show’s visit, to offer support to people experiencing homelessness on the city’s streets this coming winter.

The Theatre Royal and Theatrical Lydia are asking audience members who come and see the show from Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 October to bring along an item of warm winter underwear to donate to Nottingham’s Emmanuel House, an independent local charity supporting people who are homeless, rough sleeping, in crisis, or at risk of homelessness in Nottingham.

Emmanuel House would welcome any of the following items to support its winter campaign:

Men’s boxer briefs (new only, medium, and large)
Socks (new only, adult sizes)
Women’s underwear (new only, sizes 8-12/small-medium)

Collection bins will be situated in the Theatre Royal’s main entrance foyer for clothing donations. For audience members who would prefer to make a cash donation, Emmanuel House will be holding collections at the venue throughout the run of the show in Nottingham, too.

Rosie Needham-Smith, Marketing and Fundraising Manager at Emmanuel House, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Lydia, the Come From Away team and the theatre for supporting Emmanuel House with such a creative campaign. We’ll give the underwear to people who attend our weekday morning drop-in sessions at our support centre in Hockley. This service helps meet people’s basic human needs as we provide food, shelter, warmth, showers, and clean, dry clothing. Our team of support workers are also on hand to give specialist advice on housing, benefits, and mental and physical health.”

Lydia Greatrix of Theatrical Lydia said: “I’m so excited to be teaming up with the Theatre Royal and Emmanuel House for the Nottingham leg of my tour of paying kindness forward. I hope the people of Nottingham will open their hearts to support this vital local cause and help those in need.”

Interim Venue Director for the Theatre Royal, Dan Baxter, said: “Nottingham is such a warm and welcoming city, I’m delighted that we have this opportunity to show how much our citizens care about their community. This is a wonderful opportunity for our audiences and staff to get involved in a practical way, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our city, and reflecting the ethos of this inspirational show.”

Emmanuel House

www.emmanuelhouse.org.uk

Theatrical Lydia

https://www.instagram.com/theatricallydia

https://www.tiktok.com/@theatricallydia

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/theatricallydia

Come From Away

Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 October 2024

Theatre Royal Nottingham

www.trch.co.uk Box Office 0115 989 5555

Website www.ComeFromAwayLondon.co.uk | www.trch.co.uk

Social Media @ComeFromAwayUK | @RoyalNottingham