Brussels’ Warehouse Theatre: Play Your Part campaign reaches fundraising €100,000 goal

Community theatre campaign Play Your Part has reached its ambitious target of raising €100,000 to save the Warehouse Theatre from closure.

After 13 months of fundraising events, donations and a charity gala, the volunteer-run initiative now has the funds to carry out urgent repairs and refurbishment to the am-dram theatre in Schaerbeek.

In the first wave of improvements, new lighting and projectors (pictured below) are expected to be installed in the Rue Waelhem complex by the end of the year.

Another priority purchase is a safe for valuable tools following a burglaries over the years. WiFi is to be installed throughout the facilities and the bar area in the Studio Theatre receive an overdue upgrade.

Since 1994, the site has been occupied by the American Theatre Club, English Comedy Club and Irish Theatre Group. Providing an important role in the culture scene of the international community, they run eight to 10 shows a year.

Managing the facilities in Rue Waelhem is CAST, a volunteer organisation with representatives from each of the three English-language theatre groups.

When the financial burden of maintaining the building threatened the theatre’s future, it launched the fundraising campaign Play Your Part in October 2022. Its emotive tagline was ‘The show must go on’.

In an announcement by CAST, chair Roisin Dore thanked the theatre’s loyal community for its support: “We are so grateful to every single person that came to a show, attended one of our evenings, donated, helped out behind the bar, bid on a item at the Gala, or otherwise contributed to this fantastic result.”

Despite reaching its fundraising target with a total of €100,521.76, the theatre team will continue to stage some of the popular events that fuelled its success. These include its series of cabaret nights; a Christmas Countdown evening is scheduled on 15 December.