Aylesbury’s Waterside Theatre pledges support for Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research as it marks 10th anniversary

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre is to support Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research (SMSR) in a partnership to mark the charity’s 10th anniversary year.

The announcement comes hot off the heels of raising over £16,000 from collections throughout the 2022 pantomime run of Aladdin for Florence Nightingale Hospice and Emmett’s Genies.

The venue’s support of the charity will aptly start on the opening night of Roddy Doyle’s best-selling novel, The Commitments on January 30, with post-show collections running throughout the week.

The Waterside has previously supported SMSR initiatives including its Wheels at Work programme with theatre director Sophie Denney excited about continuing to raise awareness and funds for the charity during its milestone year:

Said Sophie: "As a community venue I know I echo the sentiments of the entire theatre team when I say we are always keen and privileged to be in a position where we can raise awareness of local charities, helping to secure vital funds and educate about their good work.

“The collections this month are a starting point, we are also looking at extending our offering to SMSR with a longevity idea that will run over the course of the year and we look forward to sharing this soon.”

Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research (SMSR) is an independent, national charity seeking to promote quality of life in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) through research. Their vision is to enable people with spinal cord injury to have life after paralysis without the setbacks of debilitating health complications.

"We're delighted to be chosen as Aylesbury Waterside Theatre's first charity of 2023 to mark our milestone 10th Anniversary year," said Kate Favell, SMSR Corporate & Community Fundraiser.

"It's very exciting to be linking up with the theatre once again for The Commitments show. We hope theatre-goers will get behind our special year, and our ongoing commitment to funding vital research towards improving the lives of spinal cord injury patients and their often-debilitating health complications."

Collections will take place after all performances of The Commitments from Monday, January 30 – Saturday, February 4.