Who We Are and What We Fund

Beckenham Theatre Trust – A History and a Legacy

Beckenham Theatre Centre had its beginnings in the Children’s Theatre started in 1948 at Beckenham Library by Hanna Schweitzer and Kath and Sidney Minchin. Then in 1960 they decided with a further group of volunteers to take over the old Victorian building at 46 Bromley Road and with incredible enthusiasm and dedication turned the building into a theatre with a 50-seat auditorium and full working stage with a fly system, wing space and dressing rooms. The Theatre began to put on adult productions as well as children and youth theatre shows. The theatre produced a wide repertoire of plays and musicals for the next 70 years.

By 2020 the theatre desperately needed investment to deal with much needed renovations and as part of the work done before attempts to fundraise, an asbestos survey revealed brown asbestos in several locations in the building. The falling membership and high costs of this work, before the already highlighted building work needed to be done, meant that it was considered irresponsible to continue with the costs. The sad decision was taken to close the theatre.

However in order to form a legacy for the 76 years of work, love and enthusiasm that had gone into creating Beckenham Theatre Centre, the Trustees and the membership voted to create a Trust Fund.

This would enable the receipts from the sale of the freehold to be invested and to be used to fund community arts projects for groups who might find funding difficult through local authorities or major funders. Therefore the Trust will continue to support local community arts projects similar in many ways to the original intention of the Beckenham Theatre pioneers, to make the arts accessible to everyone.

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
William Shakespeare
“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.”
Salvador Dali
“Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art”
Margot Fonteyn