Shanklin Theatre

How Theatres Trust helped a local community save its theatre

The Isle of Wight’s Victorian Shanklin Theatre boasts the island’s only fly tower and is run by a local community trust with an army of volunteers. Passionate locals turned around its fortunes, from a theatre under threat of demolition to the thriving venue it is today, but Theatres Trust was there to provide guidance and direction when they needed it.

In 2008 Shanklin Theatre was owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Council, it was in poor repair with no annual subsidy and threatened with redevelopment. The potential loss of the theatre was a catalyst for local people to come together to set up the group Friends of Shanklin Theatre, who we have worked with throughout its campaign to save, restore, and successfully reopen the theatre.

We offered advice and guidance to the group on the most appropriate governance and operating models and acted as initial mediator between the campaign group and the Isle of Wight Council. We met with the council to ensure it fully understood the social and economic benefits the theatre would bring, proposing an attractive alternative to demolition by way of a community asset transfer of the building to the local group.

Slowly but surely the wheels were in motion to secure Shanklin’s future. The Friends group set up as Shanklin Theatre and Community Trust Ltd, a charitable trust ready to take on the management of the theatre, which it did in 2010.

We continued to support the organisation with advice, this time on valuation and in further freehold negotiations with the Isle of Wight Council, which was successfully transferred in March 2013.

Since taking over the building Shanklin Theatre and Community Trust has implemented a programme of capital work to make it waterproof, safe and fit for purpose, despite receiving no ongoing funding from the local authority. In 2015 we were pleased to support the theatre with £5,000 for vital fly tower stabilisation work, securing its long-term future.

Shanklin Theatre is a fantastic example of how Theatres Trust supports communities to save their theatres and gives them the skills they need to take on running a successful theatre building.

But the story hasn’t ended there and our association with Shanklin continues as the venue evolves to keep up with modern audience needs. More recently, we’ve awarded a £5,000 grant to create more ladies’ loos in the foyer and we’ve supported the organisation’s ambitions to convert an old library nearby into a flexible studio and rehearsal space.  

This case study was produced as part of our Fifty@50 campaign to mark our 50th anniversary in 2026.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Shanklin Theatre