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Name Your Seat at The Arts

IanMcKellen
Our Campaign Ambassador Sir Ian McKellen is proud to be championing this appeal.

Two stages. One bold vision. Support Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust’s once-in-a-generation redevelopment by making a donation to our seat campaign, and find your place among legends.

From Ian McKellen to Emma Thompson, Olivia Colman to Stephen Fry, generations of trailblazing performers, writers and directors have found their calling at The Arts Theatre. Now, we are creating space for the next.

Our audiences have laughed, cried and discovered a lifelong love of theatre here. With your help, we can share this gift with thousands more.

You are invited to be part of the most dramatic transformation in our history.

Together, we are embarking on the next stage of our major redevelopment, building a 200-seat studio theatre high in our rooftops. It will be a home for daring new drama and local voices, and a space where aspiring theatre-makers can find their feet and then flourish.

By donating £400, £1,000 or £1,500, you can name a seat in our beautifully refurbished auditorium and help us shape the future of theatre in Cambridge.

Whether celebrating your own love of the arts, or honouring someone special, your gift will help us build a vibrant hub where talent is nurtured, community welcomed, and every generation can find their spotlight.

Your gift will be doubled.

With thanks to the transformational support of Lord David and Dame Susie Sainsbury, through the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, your donations will be match funded — doubling the value of your contribution and allowing your gift to go even further.

Redevelopment_Studio1

Name your seat in our refurbished auditorium.

To donate, or for more information:

Register your interest

For full terms and conditions, please see below.

Thank you for your support.

Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered charity, no. 1069912

Sir Ian McKellen stands on The Arts Theatre stage prior to building works commencing (photography by Michael Johnson)

"Visit our restored theatre to wonder and then settle down for a show in the newly designed and comfortable seats. Better still, consider placing your name or that of a loved one on the back of one of them: a witness to your generosity and concern for the arts."

Sir Ian McKellen, proud Ambassador of The Arts Theatre's redevelopment campaign

Terms and Conditions
  1. The ‘Name Your Seat’ appeal is raising funds to support the second phase of Cambridge Arts Theatre’s capital redevelopment. If there are surplus donations after the project concludes, or plans for the project change, your donation will be used to maintain and conserve the theatre. Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust Limited is a registered charity, no. 1069912.
  2. Your gift will be acknowledged with an inscribed seat plaque in a specified section of the auditorium depending on your donation.
  3. Donations to the ‘Name Your Seat’ appeal are otherwise freely given with no benefits of value offered in return.
  4. Seat plaque acknowledgements will be in place for a minimum of ten years.
  5. Giving to this appeal does not include admission to performances or events, nor does it guarantee allocation of your dedicated seat for any performance.
  6. Dedicated seats will remain the property of the Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust.
  7. Seat plaques will be placed on the back of your selected or allocated seat and will be visible to the row behind it.
  8. The seating may be reconfigured for certain productions. This could result in your named seat being temporarily relocated or removed.
  9. If your dedication is intended as a gift for someone else, your donation will not be eligible for Gift Aid. This does not apply to ‘in memoriam’ dedications.
  10. By donating to this appeal, we will sign you up to receive email updates from The Arts Theatre Cambridge about upcoming productions, theatre news, and the redevelopment, unless you ask us not to.