Your eyes aren't deceiving you - that is indeed a picture of a toilet (the accessible toilet in the Civic Theatre, to be precise). Not what you might expect to see in our blog, but the fact is it's not all glitz and glamour in the world of theatre. 

Theatres Trust announced today that Darlington Civic Theatre is one of eight theatres to each have been awarded £15,000 from the Spend a Penny campaign, financed by the philanthropic CEO of Albourne Partners, Simon Ruddick.

Tired of his wife’s complaints about the ladies’ loos in many theatres, this theatre-going entrepreneur decided last summer to do something, and offered the funding to Theatres Trust to make a start on the improvement of facilities for women primarily, but also gender neutral and unisex toilets.

Our capital project will now include four new unisex toilets in the upper circle thanks to this timely funding.