The Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham, which is run entirely by volunteers, has been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive and is the equivalent to an MBE. The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is a tremendous achievement and one that all of our volunteers both past and present can be immensely proud of.

The Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire will present The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to the Lace Market Theatre later this year. It will conclude a most remarkable year of celebrations, 2022 is the theatre’s centenary year and the fortieth anniversary of twinning with two theatres from Nottingham’s twin city Karlsruhe.

To celebrate the theatre’s centenary year, plans are already well in hand for a Gala Evening when the theatre will be staging a performance of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever before an invited audience. The gala evening will recognise the pioneers who formed the company back in 1922 and those volunteers who took a leap of faith in the mid 1970’s, buying a derelict building in Halifax Place which we are all now so very proud to call our home.

Earlier in 2022 volunteers played host to our German friends from Karlsruhe; Die Kaeuze Theatra and Jakobus Theatra. There was much joy and laughter as presents and anecdotes were exchanged to mark the fortieth anniversary. It is best summed up by quoting the Mayor of Karlsruhe in his letter to the Mayor of Nottingham ‘you and everyone participating in this exchange act as ambassadors for community and

cooperation, joy and friendship – and a peaceful world’.

It requires an enormous range of skills, from stage managers to sound engineers and graphic designers to ushers to run a theatre staging fourteen in-house productions each year. If you would like to get involved in any capacity visit the website www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk and see how you can take the first step. New volunteers are it’s lifeblood and the Lace Market Theatre would be delighted to hear from you.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is a great honour for all Lace Market Theatre volunteers and they look forward to carrying the torch for live theatre for many years to come.