Bike Shed Theatre crowned as the UK's most welcoming theatre

Exeter's very own Bike Shed Theatre has been revealed as the first ever winner of the My Theatre Matters! UK's Most Welcoming Theatre Award. In Association with Classic FM, the award was presented at the annual UK Theatre Awards at London’s historic Guildhall on Sunday 20 October 2013.

Nestled at the end of an alley in the heart of Exeter, you'll find the Bike Shed Theatre. With a 60 seat subterranean auditorium and adjacent vintage cocktail tavern, the venue has performances nearly every night of the year. Championing new work and innovation, the theatre has gained national acclaim for its shows, winning a Peter Brook Empty Space award in 2011. Messages of congratulations have been flooding in. Exeter City Councillor Simon Bowkett tweeted "Massive congratulations to David Lockwood and Bike Shed Theatre on winning the Most Welcoming Theatre. Well deserved. :-)" and City Centre Manager said on Twitter: ".@BikeShedTheatre Many congratulations... A thoroughly deserved award..."

The Bike Shed was chosen following a public vote between 12 and 30 September on the Classic FM website.

Also celebrating following the awards ceremony is Brenda Walliss from Princess Theatre in Torquay, who has been hailed as the Theatre Employee/Manager of the Year, beating both the Greenwich Theatre and Festival and King's Theatre in Edinburgh.

And a special commendation should go to the Theatre Royal Plymouth, who were pipped to the post in the category Promotion of Diversity.

If you want to know more about the My Theatre Matters! campaign, follow @theatre_matters for all the latest updates.

The Bike Shed Theatre is currently trying to raise funds for its Christmas performance. It's called Eliza and The Wild Swans and you can find out more about it here. It will feature the fantastic Wardrobe Ensemble and will see us transforming the theatre and bar into a wintery wonderland. There'll be mulled wine at the bar, Christmas trees and festive cheer all around.

Unfortunately, making a new play doesn't come cheap, and as a tiny team with no regular public subsidy, the Bike Shed Theatre is asking you to dig into your pockets and give whatever you can spare to help make this Christmas production truly special. For everyone.

Please click here to donate.

And if you have yet to discover the delights of the Bike Shed Theatre, now's a good time to put that right.

Click here to find out what's on over the coming months at the UK's Most Welcoming Theatre.