FUNDRAISERS at a popular community theatre are celebrating hitting the halfway point of a vital appeal.

Raise the Roof was initially kickstarted by the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in Haxby Road in York with a goal of £95,000 in mind to fix its leaking roof.

The existing theatre roof went on when the theatre was built in 1935 and now is now in urgent need of repair.

Trustee and volunteer director Barbara Boyce said: “It’s been a long, hard 18 months but this week we are absolutely thrilled to report that we have passed £50,000 in fundraising for our Raise the Roof Appeal.

"We’re had amazing help and support from so many people, finding so many new and different ways to raise money for us. We are so very grateful to everyone who has helped us reach this milestone. Being able to repair the theatre roofs and make them watertight is essential and will safeguard the future of our building, ensuring we can continue being one of York’s most cherished theatre venues for years to come.”

The theatre has been a centre of entertainment in York for almost 90 years.

The appeal in itself was launched in 2020. After closing in March 2020 like other theatres in the country as part of the first lockdown, they found that the usual routes of fundraising were closed and so had to look for more innovative methods.

The fundraising campaign started with a recording of the song Up on The Roof by York-based artists during lockdown and put together by stage manager Ollie Nash and musical director Jessica Douglas.

More information can be found if you wish to get involved with the fundraising and help the theatre reach their goal quicker.

Many people have stepped up in trying to find ways to fundraise throughout the past 18 months.

Examples include hosting Yorkshire’s Got Talent online, dance classes on Zoom, campaigns such as ‘Save Our Theatre’ and ‘Buy a Tile’, buying tickets to the Grand Christmas Raffle and many more.

The theatre which is a grade two listed building had to seek Listed Building Consent in order to go ahead with their plans for a replacement roof.

Though this has now been granted, the theatre still needs help in reaching its target of £95,000.

Those interested in helping should email fundraising@jrtheatre.co.uk