Westacre Theatre
Westacre Theatre is a very special theatre tucked away by a lake in the heart of West Norfolk - and one I've now had the joy of working with for several years, wearing more hats than I can comfortably list in one sentence (but I'll try).
I devise and deliver the marketing and communications strategy for each season, including the "Live by the Lake" Summer season campaign I created to capture exactly what makes Westacre different: theatre, outdoors, by a beautiful lake, unlike anywhere else in the region. From there, the work runs right through the business - writing and designing the theatre brochure, planning and promoting every season of events, creating all the digital and offline content for individual productions, updating the theatre website, running Google Ads campaigns, and keeping the booking office website current and working hard.
I write and pitch press releases and manage media relationships, helping Westacre's productions reach audiences well beyond Norfolk - including securing press coverage when their NT Connections production, Fishville, was selected to perform at The Lowry in Manchester. I also planned the theatre's summer launch party, an event designed to bring the community in and the theatre's ambitions to life in one evening.
I bring to life all the compelling stories the Theatre tells through audience-focused communications that inspire engagement, support fundraising and advance the Theatre’s organisational vision.
Alongside the back-of-house work, I write grant and fundraising applications, support the National Bursary Scheme, and lead school outreach and youth engagement - work that matters as much to me as the glossier campaigns, because it's how the theatre builds its next generation of audiences. I also created Westacre's new brand identity, giving the theatre a visual language as distinctive as the work on its stage.
The theatre's social media reach has grown significantly under this work, now reaches an audience of nearly 5K. Westacre continues to build its reputation as a destination theatre in its own right. This summer season this year was a sell-out!
Services: Marketing & Comms Strategy · Copywriting · Brand Identity · Content Creation · Press & PR · Paid Digital (Google Ads) · Event Planning · Grant & Fundraising Writing · Crowdfunding & Campaign Strategy · School & Youth Outreach
#Copywriting #SocialMediaStrategy #ContentGeneration #EventIdeas #PR #CreativeThinking #BrandIdentity #EventPlanning #GrantWriting #SocialMediaStrategy #CommunityEngagement
“We love working with Liz here at Westacre Theatre. She understands the intricacies and nuances of our complex needs as an arts venue and as a charity.
She has guided us through an exciting but stressful period of growth, with expertise, care and humour! We are keeping her… so there…”
Creative Production Lead
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I handle the Theatre seasonal brochure design; all marketing, social content creation, website updates, press, newsletters (nearly 5,000 subscribers), grant applications and fundraising ideas. Helping to turn a small hidden gem into a theatre with a sell-out summer, waiting lists for most shows, and its first profit in three years.
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Another ‘hat’ I wear is helping to write grant applications and devise fundraising ideas. Launched the “Save Us from Extinction” campaign and secured the support of theatre patron, Sir Stephen Fry. Alongside raising money to bring back Westacre’s Summer Theatre Tent.
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When I’m not creating content and marketing for the Theatre my creative skills transfer to the stage. I create multi-media engaging digital stories and effects for any production.
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Strategy, brand identity, campaigns and copy, plus the websites and tactical platforms to carry them. My obsession is engagement: cutting through a noisy digital world, and knowing when old-school methods beat another post. Creative thinking is at the heart of everything I do, and I hit the ground running.
Content creation
From content assets for the Theatre website to all social media promotion - I create it all. Design the show posters, write the copy, create the marketing strategy to promote each show, write the press, chat to influencers and roll out all the social media…below are just some examples from my portfolio of work with the Theatre.
Theatre Brochure Design
Twice a year Westacre Theatre prints their seasonal brochure, showcasing what’s on! I design, write and create the brochure which is then distributed around West Norfolk by our incredibly team of Volunteers. Below are some examples of front page design as the theatre’s brand has (and is) evolving over the past few years.
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Spring // Summer 2025
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Spring // Summer 2026
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Autumn // Winter 2026
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Autumn // Winter 2026
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Spring // Summer 2027
More Designs…
Outdoor Advertising
For the theatre’s in-house productions we advertise on an outdoor area near Waitrose in Swaffham helping to raise further awareness about this gem of a rural Theatre.
Fundraising
Save Us From Extinction | Crowdfunding Campaign
When Westacre needed to fund a major extension to secure its future, I created and led "Save Us From Extinction" - a high-profile crowdfunding campaign with a £500K target. I wrote to the theatre's patron, Sir Stephen Fry, to ask him to lend his voice to the campaign, and then wrote the script he voiced - a genuine career highlight. He said yes to all of it - recording a heartfelt voiceover from my script, which I built a full piece of content around, and sharing the campaign with his, then: 780,000+ Instagram followers.
The campaign sadly didn't reach its original funriasing target. Rather than push on regardless, I worked with the theatre to pivot - refocusing the ask on something smaller, achievable and essential: replacing the ageing summer tent that houses Westacre's much-loved outdoor season, an uninsurable structure putting £40,000 of annual income and the theatre's entire youth and education programme at risk. That reframed campaign succeeded, and the new tent is now in place for the theatre's summer season.
It's the kind of campaign that draws on every part of my advertising background - the ambition to ask for something big and get a household name behind it, and the strategic discipline to know when to change tack and protect what matters most.
Public Announcement
Sir Stephen Fry (and patron of Westacre Theatre) very kindly showed huge support to the Theatre’s Crowdfunder. I wrote the script and he lent his voice to the campaign - a genuine career highlight. I designed the full piece of content around the script, which he then shared on social media to his, then: 780,000+ Instagram followers.
For more examples of my work visit:
https://www.instagram.com/westacretheatre