Celebrities Support The Court Theatre

For Immediate Release

Celebrities Support The Court Theatre

From Hobbits to hip-hop stars, a range of international celebrities have come to aid The Court Theatre’s fundraising drive.

To assist in replacing numerous assets lost when the Christchurch theatre company was forced to leave its Arts Centre venue following the 22 February 2011 earthquake, a range of items have been donated for an online auction on Trademe that will be running from 24 – 30 May.

Beyoncé, Stephen Fry, Orlando Bloom and Court Theatre Fundraising Patron Dame Maggie Smith, as well as locals Hayley Westenra, Sir Peter Jackson and Mark Hadlow, have offered items to the fundraising appeal – from signed posters, prints and scripts to CDs, jewellery and DVDs.

Court Theatre Chief Executive Philip Aldridge says “the ongoing support from the artistic community has been overwhelming – we continue to get phone calls, emails and messages asking ‘how can I help?’. We hope this auction will help The Court’s continued recovery alongside the city.”
Last year The Court constructed a $4.6million theatre inside an old grain store in Addington, following an intense fundraising campaign and 112-day build. Although the company opened the new space and resumed performances to great public acclaim, insurance negotiations are yet to resolve replacing items essential to the theatre’s continued survival. As Aldridge puts it: “we have built a theatre – now we need to kit it out.”

A link to the various items and Trademe auctions can be found on The Court Theatre’s website, www.courttheatre.org.nz, from 9am Thursday 24 May.
All auctions run from 9am Thursday 24 May until 8pm 30 May NZ time.

ENDS

© Scoop Media