The Show Goes On! - Thanks To The Mary Hignett Bequest Fund

35 years ago, Edwin and Gaynor Richfield formed the Tanat Theatre Club who have gone on to perform a wide variety of shows at venues around and beyond the Tanat Valley. Needing a permanent base, the group bought the old Green School in Llanrhaeadr in 1985 with a grant from the Mid Wales Development Board and an interest free loan from Glyndwr Council. At first only a rehearsal area and storage place for props and costumes, the Green School was converted into a “Little Theatre” seating 70 people when Llanrhaeadr Village Hall, home of most of their productions, was rebuilt in 2012.

In addition to raising funds for various charities and local needs, the Club provides for its own running costs including the maintenance and ongoing development of their charming, but old, building. With funds already committed to replacing the guttering on the old school and with plans to build a disabled toilet, the Club's already stretched finances needed help when their 25 year old central heating boiler was condemned this month and a fast decision on their application to the Rotary Club of Oswestry's Mary Hignett Bequest Fund saved the day!

With the approval of an immediate grant to cover the cost of the new boiler and its installation, Oswestry Rotary Club's Mary Hignett Bequest Fund Committee's Secretary Graham Moss was pleased to be able to tell Gaynor of their successful application. "The show will go on!", he said, adding "A quick decision means that rehearsals for the Club's next production can now go ahead."

As she watched Jeremy Longhurst of Tanat Heating and Plumbing install the new boiler, Gaynor thanked the engineers for their fast response and commented "Thanks to Oswestry Rotary we can look forward to a warm and cosy rehearsal tonight!"