A beloved theatre company devastated by fire is seeking donations urgently

A well-known theatre company in Manchester, Time & Again Theatre Company, is in need of assistance following a fire.

Founded in 2017, the theatre company explores history in a unique, meaningful way, while highlighting women who pushed boundaries and practised political activism, revolutions, or behaving in a way that wasn’t deemed acceptable by society at that time.

For its portrayal of women in STEM fields, Clouds won the Oldham Coliseum Pick of the Manchester Fringe Award and an Undrowning scholarship in 2019.

It was discovered on Saturday 26th February 2022 that the storage unit containing Time & Again Theatre Company’s set, props, costume and equipment was on fire.

As well as losing all of their expensive technical equipment, they also lost a carefully curated collection of vintage and custom-built set pieces and props that they had accumulated since our founding in 2017.

The theatre company also lost several vintage costume pieces that were purchased from vintage shops, online, or from private collections. All of these pieces cannot be replaced and they are devastated because it will take a while for most of their inventory to be rebuilt from the ashes.

Catherine Cowdrey a representative of Time & Again Theatre Company said:

As most people are well aware, the theatre was one of the hardest-hit industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, all of our performances were cancelled, including our tours to rural communities across the UK that don’t have easy access to theatre. After working on an audio drama adaptation to sustain our output during the lockdown, we had just returned to live performance in August 2021 with the ’80s fuelled performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Carrs Park, Wilmslow.

We are due to be touring A Midsummer Night’s Dream once more across the North West this summer, as well as brand new shows Much Ado About Nothing and new writing piece Earwig. We now have nothing: no props, no set, no costumes, no sound and lighting equipment.

Company founder and director Laura Crow says ‘I think I’m in shock. This is 5 years’ worth of work and memories which we have spent countless hours designing, painting and making. I’m absolutely gutted. I’d like to confirm all of this year’s shows are going ahead, we’re not going anywhere, but we are going to need to remake, rebuy and refind everything. Like the characters in our 1940’s play Greyhounds we will be digging into our Wartime spirit and trying to keep calm and carry on, but any support would be hugely appreciated.