By: Holly Wigmore, Membership Officer
April 2025
Joan Lucas, 94, is not only a huge theatre fan and Theatre Royal Plymouth Member. Over the past six years she has also regularly donated money to enable local children, often from areas of multiple deprivation with perceived barriers to accessing the arts, to experience the magic of theatre for the very first time.
Joan was four years old when she was first taken to the theatre, but in October 2018, she set up ‘The Joan Lucas Fund’, within which she’s donated over £12,000.
The idea for this fund came from when she went to grammar school in Birmingham. There was a fund at the Birmingham Repertory that allowed her to go to the theatre for nine pence on a Thursday afternoon, which inspired her to start a similar initiative. Upon setting up the fund, Joan expressed that: “I have no family to leave my money to. I’m trying to do things with my money and find it really rewarding that I can do it. Hopefully, children who would never be taken to the theatre can come and see a wonderful children’s show here.”
And this is exactly what her funding has supported, allowing at least two schools a year to see shows at TRP, supporting approximately 1,150 young people from the South West to enjoy productions such as Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, and The House With Chicken Legs.
Most recently, her funding supported one final trip for over 70 pupils from Drake and Morice Town Primary schools to see The Little Red Hen, which wouldn’t have been possible without her valued support. Since seeing the production, the children who attended the performance have worked the story into their curriculum, sharing their favourite moments of the story during a session of our Tiny Tales community project – as well as creating a lovely thank you card for Joan.
“We’re so thankful for all Joan has done for TRP and the children of Plymouth over the years. It’s been a pleasure to get to know Joan a little bit in my time here, and to hear about her love of the theatre. I’ve also been around when a few of the school groups have come along, and it’s been a joy to see their excitement!
“So many children have been able to visit the theatre and see a show – in many cases their first experience of the theatre – due to Joan’s generosity. I hope that many of these children have had their love of the arts well and truly ignited. Thank you Joan, you’re welcome back any time!” – James Wheatley, Membership Manager
In previous years, Joan also funded bursary places for our Young Company, so that young people could access regular workshops at the theatre, designed to build key skills and encourage young minds to explore the world of performance and live theatre making.
From all the team at Theatre Royal Plymouth, we’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to Joan Lucas for the substantial support she’s given to local young people during her years of funding both bursaries and theatre trips.
Many of the children supported by her funding otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to visit the theatre, opening their minds to the world of live theatre.
To find out more about Joan’s funding, you can read her TRP story from 2021 here.
To find out more about how you can support TRP as a registered charity, see more here.