This update is correct at the time of publication on Wed 18 March 2020.
From Friday 20 March, 2020, all performances and evening events are now postponed or cancelled, but The Witham building remains open.
We are working hard to respond appropriately to the latest advice and information regarding the Coronavirus. As a result, we have, with heavy hearts, taken the decision to postpone or cancel events for audiences planned at The Witham for the remainder of March and then into the near future.
The current exceptions to this are the men’s mental health support group, ManHealth, on Wednesday evening, 6 – 8 pm, Turrets Youth Theatre on Wednesday, 4.30 – 7pm and Irish dancing on a Thursday, 4.30 – 5.30 pm. We also currently plan to run the tap dance workshop on Saturday 21 March, 10 – 12 noon.
We cannot predict how long this situation will last and so we are not currently planning to re-open for arts events on a specific date. We will keep you posted on developments and have hugely appreciated the messages of support you’ve sent through to our staff and volunteers.
We know many people rely on the Witham, not just for entertainment, but for social activity in our Café and Shop. Currently, both are open and you can still enjoy the Creative Age exhibition in the Gallery. Be reassured, we continue to operate increased cleaning measures.
As a registered charity, we are working hard to safeguard our funds. Unfortunately, the virus presents a real threat to the progress we have made towards financial stability in the last 18 months. We are enormously grateful to all our customers who have supported us in recent times. To help maintain our robustness, and to weather this particular storm, we are asking customers with tickets for cancelled shows to consider donating their ticket price to the Witham, or to accepting a credit note against future shows. We are making arrangements for refunds where requested, but ask for patience while we work through the practical arrangements.
We will continue to respond to all, and any, official guidance and will change our approach as needed to keep our staff, volunteers and customers safe.
We are reviewing Government and Public Health guidance on a day by day basis and will use our website and social media profile to update you, so please keep checking our posts.
We wish you all our very best wishes and thank you for your support in this troubling time.
Kind regards,
Susan and the whole team at The Witham