Wolverhampton Grand Theatre recently announced a new year-long project that will need the support of the public, staff past and present and from many of the performers who have graced the stage.

The project, called 125 Memories will begin on the Grand Theatre’s 124^th anniversary and aims to share 125 memories of the theatre in time for its 125^th anniversary on 10 December 2019.

The Grand Theatre has a rich history of memorable moments; in 1909 Winston Churchill addressed the Budget League from the theatre’s stage and 100 years ago Prime Minister David Lloyd George delivered a speech to declare an election at the Grand Theatre on November 24, 1918. It is one of the most celebrated in British political history and cited in almost every anthology of great quotations. Perhaps you recall a darker time in the Grand’s history where it closed its doors in 1981, saved and reopened in 1982 by a group of supporters which now forms today’s Friends Of The Grand. There was the time during the 1980s that the pantomime starred real lions to make the jungle scene in Robinson Crusoe as ‘realistic as possible’! More recently, the theatre returned to producing its own shows in-house, involving the local community in professional shows – a new direction for the theatre as it extends audience participation and outreach programmes.

People are encouraged to email their memories, stories and photographs to 125@grandtheatre.co.uk or by writing to 125 Memories Campaign, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1DE, giving their consent for the content to be used as part of the campaign.

The memories will be shared throughout the anniversary year across the Grand Theatre’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. Some memories may also be exhibited at the theatre.