Time's Running Out To Visit The Old-Style Polka

Local children's theatre closing soon for redevelopment

It will soon be your last chance to visit Wimbledon’s Polka theatre for more than a year, as doors will temporarily close to the public until summer 2020 after the final performances of The Wind in the Willows and In the Winter Wood on February 17.

The builders will then take over to develop new state-of-the-art facilities and the UK’s first purpose-built early years theatre. The work should ensure 40-year-old Polka’s long term sustainability, both artistically and financially.

Before Christmas, Polka was awarded a £1.2m investment from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund. This commitment along with funding from Arts Council England and the London Borough of Merton has provided the finance needed for the project to start in March.

But the charity is not over the finishing line yet, as it needs to raise the last £1 million of its £7.5m project. An artist's impression of the plan is below.


Polka Theatre in Wimbledon

There are many ways to support Polka reach its funding target:

Bring your family and friends to see and In the Winter Wood

Sponsor part of the new building or become a Future Polka Family or Founder. There is also a donate linkat polkatheatre.com where people can give what they can.

Fans can also still experience Polka magic while the building is closed. Thanks to funding from a range of supporters including Heritage Lottery Fund, the Polka40 project will be run across Merton during the temporary closure.

Polka40 includes a whole range of projects happening throughout 2019:

* An exhibition of Polka’s history, premiering at Morden Hall Park and then touring across local libraries

* A project working with 14 schools and 4 SEN schools to create their own performances inspired by our touring performance

* A partnership project with Merton Music Foundation to create inter-generational community choirs.

Further activities will be announced later in 2019.

Polka is looking for volunteers to get involved in all these projects, particularly the Heritage project – if you’re interested get in touch via polkatheatre.com/jobs/.


January 31, 2019