Work has just started on a £300,000 modernisation scheme at the Cotswold Playhouse - but volunteers still need to raise £65,000 to kit out the venue. This week, SNJ readers and local businesses are urged to help bridge the funding gap. Sue Bradley reports.

WORK is underway at the Cotswold Playhouse to create a performance space worthy of the 21st Century.

Volunteers who run the venue have already raised some £300,000 towards a project to refurbish the former chapel which has played a major role in Stroud's cultural life for 50 years.

Now they are appealing to businesses and SNJ readers to help raise the final £65,000 to fit out the venue so that full use can be made of its facilities.

Leading figures from across the arts world have lent their support to the appeal.

Best selling novelist Jilly Cooper described the theatre as 'extraordinary, while a host of actors whose early experiences in Stroud set the scene for professional careers have paid tribute to the venue.

"I have been blown away by the sheer professionalism of the shows that I have seen there," said Jilly, who lives in Bisley.

"They were of the standard of West End productions and made me so proud of Stroud.

"Stroud is jumping upwards and this is another sign of its progress."

Actor John Carlin, president of the Cotswold Players, said members had worked hard on the refurbishment.

"They have created this wonderful theatre in Stroud," said John, whose career has seen him in numerous television shows including George and Mildred, the Darling Buds of May and several Carry On films.

"Raising the final £65,000 will give them a tremendous sense of achievement."

In recent years the Playhouse has staged several sell-out performances, with productions such as its award-winning Peter Pan, Anything Goes, Noises Off and Toad of Toad Hall, along with works by Shakespeare, Ayckbourn and Pinter, attracting thousands of people through its doors.

But The Cotswold Players, which run the venue, believe the benefits of the refurbishment will extend far beyond its members.

The overall project involves various improvements to the main stage, dressing rooms, lounge and foyer areas and the installation of a dance studio with multi-media facilities, as well as a handsome new façade to front Parliament Street.

A kitchen area, new toilets and disabled facilities are also planned.

The improved facilities are set to attract further professional touring companies to Stroud, and provide a performance and exhibiting space for schools, community groups and other individuals.

The playhouse will be able to provide an additional venue for conferences, lectures and seminars.

And the refurbishment will bring more opportunities for members to develop their skills in stage craft and theatre management skills.

Melanie Palmer, spokesman for the Cotswold Players, said the work, due to be completed by January 2008, would increase the theatre's contribution to the arts in Stroud.

"It is probably the most flexible arts facility we have," she said.

"Everybody within the community will be welcome to visit, take part in activities or hire the theatre."

Financial backing for the refurbishment has already been received from the South West Regional Development Agency, through the Rural Renaissance and Gloucestershire First Partnership; the National Lottery through Arts Council England; the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and the Gloucestershire Environmental Trust and Ibstock Cory Environmental Trust, both through the Landfill Communities Fund. Stroud district and town councils have also supported the project.

The redevelopment of the Playhouse has, over the years, attracted the skills and time of scores of supporters whose voluntary efforts alone have been worth more than £125,000.

The players now hope to attract donations of cash, time or materials from the public and local businesses and to develop partnerships with other arts and community groups, which would enable it to make joint applications for grant funding.

The SNJ-backed Cotswold Playhouse Appeal needs your help.

If you can offer your skills, expertise, ideas or would like to make a donation or offer sponsorship please contact Melanie Palmer at publicity@cotswoldplayhouse.co.uk or Patrick Howell, the chairman, on 01453 890304. For more information, see www.cotswoldplayhouse.co.uk.

Donations can be made by sending a cheque payable to the Cotswold Players to the Cotswold Playhouse Appeal, the Stroud News and Journal, 6 Lansdown, Stroud, GL5 1BE.