Durham Musical Theatre Company “The Prince of Egypt”
Durham Musical Theatre Company is a not-for-profit, amateur musical theatre company servicing County Durham, in the northeast of England. This is a socially deprived area and we are very conscious of social inclusivity. We want as many people as possible to have access to live theatre. To that end, we try to keep out ticket prices a slow as possible. We know that for many people we are their only contact with live performing arts, as they simply cannot afford the ticket prices of the touring professional shows. We are the oldest amateur arts organisation in Durham City and we perform in the Gala Theatre.
We have received many awards for our productions, for both the overall production and for individual performances. Our latest production “The Producers”, which we staged in April has just received 3 nominations for awards to be decided in October. Our shows cost us c. £70,000 for a run of 7 performances. All our hire charges have increased significantly over the past year or so and we sustained a loss on our last show. Our revenue comes mainly from ticket sales. We don’t want to have to increase our ticket prices so much that potential customers find them too expensive.
We hire the theatre, a professional production team and orchestra. We also have to hire the scenery and some costumes.
If we could get sponsorship for any of these items, or just a general donation, it would help us enormously.
We also rent storage properties for our costumes and props, which also have increased substantially in price of late. If we could get sponsorship for that item too, it would help greatly.
We were established in 1908 and have survived for 117 years. I fear that if we cannot get some form of financial help, our demise will not be far off.
Target Audience
The show we have obtained the licence for is “The Prince of Egypt”, based on the Dreamworks animated feature film. It tells the story of Moses from the biblical book of Exodus and finishes after the Israelites have crossed the Red Sea. The score is stunning and will appeal to audiences of all ages. It is regarded as a family entertainment.
Key Dates and Timings
Our next production is being staged from 12-16 May 2026. However, rehearsals for this show will begin in September 2025.
Specific Opportunity Details
We have a membership of close to 100 ranging in age from 16-80+. We want as many people as possible to be able to come along and join in this wondeful community hobby. They are taught the craft of stage performance and the joys of singing and the discipline of performance art.
We produce shows at the Gala Theatre with an audience capacity for the week of performances of 3100. We want as amny people as possible to have access to live theatre performances and therefore try to keep ticket costs as l;ow as possible.
Features and Benefits
Sponsors will get a full page advert in our programme. Our programme for “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” has been deemed to be one of the top three nationally, by NODA (the National Operatic and Dramatic Association). The results are to be announced in Winchester in September. Sponsors would also receive two tickets to whichever performance they would like to attend. We can also place adverts for the sponsoring company on our website (www.dmtc.co.uk)
Other Partners
At present we have some sponsorship from Steven Conway of Foster DeNovo Financial Consultants from North Shields.
Investment
Anything from £500 – £5,000 would be very useful to us