THE Grand Opera House, York, raised £3,890.93 for the York Teaching Hospital charity from bucket collections after performances of The Comedy About A Bank Robbery.

"The theatre has a great relationship with the fundraising department at the hospital and has over the years had many collections," said deputy general manager Clare O'Connor. "However, this is the best yet. The fun and laughter during this fabulously funny production put the audience in a very generous mood."

General manager Rachel Lane said: "I’ve enjoyed the altruistic irony of raising such a fantastic amount of money on a show about a bank robbery! Thank you to my compassionate team, the wonderful Mischief Theatre cast and company and, of course, our hugely generous audiences.

"The York Teaching Hospital charity undertakes such impactful work and I am proud of the contribution we are making altogether to support their life-changing initiatives. Bravo to everyone."

Clare added: "On behalf of all the patients and staff at the renal unit at York Hospital, we’d like to say a huge thank-you to everybody that donated to the collections and to the cast and company for supporting and announcing the collection.

"To raise a staggering £3,980.93 in just eight shows is tremendous – more than we ever envisaged any collection would reach – and shows not only how much everybody enjoyed the show, but also how kind-hearted our patrons were.

"This sum will make a real difference to what the unit can provide, and in turn this will make lives that little bit better for the time spent there. The renal unit is a cause close to our hearts and we love working with the York Teaching Hospital charity to support various units throughout the hospital. Thank you."

Sean Carey, the Irish actor who played petty thief Sam Monaghan in the Mischief Theatre production, announced the bucket collection at the close of each performance of the February 5 to 9 run.