Your favourite theatre needs you this month as voting opens for the My Theatre Matters! Most Welcoming Theatre Award 2015 in association with Smooth Radio.
An incredible 256 venues across the country, including more than 65 theatres in the capital, have signed up to be in with a chance of taking home the annual award at the UK Theatre Awards.
While this is the third year that the public-voted prize has been running, 2015 will mark a slight departure from previous years, with 12 winners from across the UK set to be announced on 1 October before an overall champion is crowned on the day of the ceremony.
This year’s prestigious awards ceremony will take place on 18 October at London’s historic Guildhall, where nominees and special guests will gather to discover the winners of 2015’s coveted accolades.
The award is open to any venue offering legal and fair terms to all performers and stage management, and provides an opportunity for members of the theatregoing public to support their local theatres.
Last year’s My Theatre Matters! Most Welcoming Theatre Award, which was won by the Wales Millennium Centre, saw 220 venues take part, with more than 49,000 people casting their all-important votes.
Talking about the award, UK Theatre’s Chief Executive Julian Bird said: “It has been fantastic to see the tremendous level of public support for regional theatre since the launch of My Theatre Matters! in 2013. Theatres play important roles at the heart of our local communities and this vote provides a platform for the public to get more involved in the UK Theatre Awards and shout about how much they value the work of their local venue.”
To see a full list of participating venues and, of course, to cast your vote, visit the My Theatre Matters! website. Voting closes on 25 September.
Further details about the UK Theatre Awards ceremony, including details of the compère and special guests, will be announced shortly.