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By The Theatre of Small Convenience
Please help us bring the Theatre of Small Convenience on Edith Walk, Great Malvern back to life. After this much-loved venue suffered a fire in 2021 it now needs some love to be able to reopen.

We aim to bring the Theatre of Small Convenience (ToSC) back to its former glory, through sensitive restoration and improvement. We'll build on its reputation and take it on to a new ambitious chapter. We will restore and adapt the building to enable us to host the most diverse and flexible programme possible in the limited space. With the support of your funding we aim to open in 2025 with events that will benefit everyone, not only the people living in Malvern and the surrounding area but visitors and people curious to see and experience arts in this unique venue. We will create an attraction that will have local, regional, and national notoriety making a valuable addition to the tourism offer as the smallest theatre in the world (Guinness Book of World Records 2002). We will continue the legacy created by Dennis Neale who established this little treasure in the heart of Malvern and is known to people all over the world.
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
Everyone will benefit from ToSC reopening: we know this because we have talked to the community and connected with people via social media. ToSC will be a valued venue that offers a unique experience for people of all ages living in Malvern and beyond. ToSC will provide a small friendly space for everyone, welcoming diversity and individuality for those who may find larger venues difficult. There is potential to make links with local groups and co-produce exhibitions, shows, and projects to widen social inclusion and community cohesion. We will seek to collaborate with the local museum and civic societies as well as other arts providers such as Malvern Cube and Feast Festival. Reviews on Trip Advisor show that the Theatre was a popular visitor attraction with an impressive national and international reputation. ToSC features in "Twenty Theatres You Should See Before You Die" by Amber Massie-Blomfield (2018). Reopening ToSC also builds on the cultural notoriety of Malvern itself.
Steps to get it done:
Malvern District Council have agreed the transfer of the Theatre to our Community Interest Company (CIC) to enable us to restore the theatre back to it's former glory. We have done this in consultation with Dennis Neale, ToSC's founder and want to keep the original vision at the heart of everything we do. We are a new organisation and have been working in the background to get to this point. We anticipate all the paperwork will be complete by the end of the year ready for us to start work in the New Year, when we will take out public liability insurance and all the necessary licenses and paperwork to move the project forward.
Gallery
Journey
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Whoop, 190 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Only TWO days to go before our Spacehive campaign closes. Huge thanks to you all. We feel like we've achieved so much already! The new roof is being finished today. Four rotten joists have been replaced and installation put in to keep the building warmer. The power will go on tomorrow all being well. Drainage and damp proofing start at the end of the week! We have an amazing fundraiser happening at the Cube on the 28th of February, please come along if you can, they are three great bands, really talented musicians and wonderful generous people, never appeared in Malvern before and unlikely too again as they are London and Stroud based. The epic The Original Ruby Throat, Earl Temple Foundation and the The Flaneurs are coming to Malvern Cube. Tickets are available online https://bit.ly/ToSCbenefit £10+booking fee. £12 on the door cash or card. We have a new You Tube channel in readiness of some on line viewing https://www.youtube.com/@TheatreofSmallConvenience And..... Don't forget our mailing list join here for updates post crowdfunder closing, we would love to stay in contact.... http://eepurl.com/i4VEUI Finally a huge thanks to those making last minute donations, for some reason Spacehive no longer lets us see who you are to say a personal thankyou. I think we've worn it out. So a very BIG thank you to everyone who has donated - it has been a very heart warming experience. We look forward to welcoming you all to the theatre.
Whoop, 180 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Happy New Year! We are so pleased to be able to start the New Year with the keys in our hands and conversations with tradesmen underway. Our first job is to get the roof off and assess the damage to the joists which we think we may have to replace after years of water penetration. We know this is a big undertaking for our tiny team but we know we have many enthusiastic folk on stand by ready to help which is a great help. We've so many ideas and plans up our sleeves, and have really enjoyed being part of the Malvern Creatives Connect Window Trail, we couldn't have done it without Dik Downey, who kindly loaned Fatima Tibbs to trapeze in our window and Jo DeBurgh who worked with Loz Samuels to create the Tigers Cage which appeared on the roof for the Light Switch on weekend and made the amazing tiger that appeared in the window of the theatre. The Theatre already feels like it is a catalyst for creativity, bringing people together to make things happen. Our crowd funder has been a great boost and we are full of gratitude to everyone who has donated. It will come to an end at the end of the month, so if you know anyone who meant to donate or you could share the information and help us boost our funds to complete the building work we would be very grateful. Please consider joining our mailing list. We won't send you endless emails, but we'll give you occasional updates, we won't be able to communicate with you when the Space Hive campaign closes. You can sign up here http://eepurl.com/i4VEUI Don't forget you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram, just search Theatre of Small Convenience and you'll find us. We hope to welcome you to the Theatre in 2025! Thanks again for your support The tiny ToSC Team
Hello from the ToSC Team, We wanted to give you a quick update, we are amazed at what we've achieved for the Theatre in such a small space of time, and all with your help. Thank you so much! For over a year, behind the scenes, we've been writing proposals and business plans, having meetings and wondering if we'd ever get to this point. This week we've signed the first documents that will transfer the ownership of the theatre from the District Council to our Community Interest Company. We only have a few more steps until the process is complete. As soon as we have done this we can start work on the theatre, replacing the roof, having the rewiring done and making the building water tight, ready to embark on redecorating. Of course before this can all happen, we have to get insurance in place and the power reinstated. We had a great time creating our first installation, a collaboration between Loz Samuels and Jo DeBurgh, with our resident trapeze artist Fatima Tibbs on loan from the amazingly talented Dik Downey. With many hands to lift the cage onto the roof! The tigers cage has left town, but Fatima is still in the window of the theatre negotiating with Tosca the tiger. You will be able to see them over the festive season but she'll be gone as soon as Tosca turns his back in the new year. There is still plenty of time to see the display created from ephemera created by Dennis Neale, the originator and creative genius behind the theatre, you'll find it in the window of the old Iapetus gallery on Bellevue Terrace. Huge thanks to Anna Brook for allowing us to use the space. We are so grateful to the 173 generous, community spirited people that have donated £17200 towards the cost of restoration. As donations have slowed now we have passed the target, we are considering closing the Spacehive campaign in the New Year. This will mean we can start work as early as possible. So, if you know anyone who you think might donate please get them to do it as soon as they can before we close and draw down the funding to start work. If you have skills you can offer, or you'd like to perform in the theatre when it is open, please email us at [email protected] We are eternally grateful for all your support. We can't wait to open the doors and invite you in. If you'd like information about the future activities of the theatre, please sign up to our mailing list just copy this link http://eepurl.com/i4VEUI into your browser and fill out the very short form. We won't fill your mailbox up with rubbish, we promise. Have an amazing festive season and we'll be in touch in the New Year. Loz, Dibah and Jan - The ToSC team xx
Whoop, 170 people have pledged since fundraising began!
Brilliant news, thanks everyone!
How will the money be spent?Target (inc. fees) £17,015
Costs Breakdown
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Overfunding
This project is enabled for overfunding. If the project hits its funding goal before the end of the campaign period, any extra funds raised will be spent (in order of priority) on:
Target (inc. fees) £17,015
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