Bike Shed Theatre among UK's most welcoming theatres

Exeter’s Bike Shed Theatre has been shortlisted as one of the UK’s most welcoming theatres in a national competition.

More than 225 theatres were put forward for the award before being narrowed down to a shortlist of seven theatres by a public vote.

Jack Dean, General Manager of the Bike Shed Theatre, welcomed the news. He said: “We're thrilled to be shortlisted for this award. We like to think we make people feel as welcome as possible at our theatre.

“Whether it's the sofas, barista coffees or our lovely tall, handsome bar staff, whether they're seeing a show or just hanging out playing some scrabble over a Mai Tai, we think it's important that anyone can feel at home under our roof."

At 60 seats the Bike Shed is the smallest of the theatres on the shortlist going up against theatres with capacities of several hundred.

In order to ensure the voting is fair the public voting has been weighted against capacity to ensure size doesn’t skew the results.

Six other theatres have been shortlisted as well as the Bike Shed these are: Stamford Arts Centre, the Watermill in Newbury, the Mill at Sonning, Wilton’s Music Hall in London, the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick and the St James Theatre in London.

The national award organised by the My Theatre Matters! campaign run by the Theatrical Management Association, Equity and The Stage seeks to support theatres across the country under pressure from cuts in government funding.

The award will be announced at the UK theatre awards in London on the 20 October. 

For more information on the awards and the My Theatre Matters! Campaign visit : http://www.mytheatrematters.com/