A volunteer-led theatre in Wigton is appreciative of donations but more help is needed to help fundraise for solar panel batteries to reduce energy costs. 

The John Peel Theatre is crowdfunding to raise £30,000 to help make the theatre more sustainable and ultimately reduce the newly-faced business-threatening costs.

So far the fundraiser has brought in £1,500 but concerns are being raised as the price of the batteries stand at £6,000 a piece. 

Kate Jensen, from the theatre, said: "The number of supporters has been quite small so far but their donations have been incredibly generous, so we are really grateful for that. 

"We will start putting batteries in as soon as we can afford them, we need six really in order to be self sufficient, we're quite a long way from our first battery yet.

"It's been so nice and lovely to see that people are willing to support us and even with a few names on the donation list we don't recognise. 

"We've had a very generous donation of £500 from Futamura Chemical UK. 

"We're not in any imminent danger but we can't sustain the level of bills we will are facing over the next few years. 

"We're just getting the ball rolling, the money received is nothing to sneeze at but we're still quite a way off," she said. 

The theatre will be running their production of Lesley Gunn's Harvey's Wallbanger as of May 12 - May 14 at 7:30pm with a 12pm matinee showing also on offer on May 14. 

"It's an audience participation murder-mystery and every night there will be a different murderer, leaving it up to the audience to decide on the killer each evening. 

"It's a very good fun evening, and Lesley's a great writer, so we're very much looking forward to it," she said. 

The play is set in a cocktail bar, so the audience will be greeted with a cocktail or mocktail upon arrival included in the ticket. 

You can donate to the John Peel Theatre via their website or visit their latest Crowdfunder via their Facebook page. 

READ MORE: Theatre in fear of 'closing doors' amidst energy price hikes