Jim Davidson says he’s willing to perform for nothing if it means his planned show at the troubled Whitehall Theatre goes ahead.
The comic who is said to have been following developments on this website has pledged his support for the campaign to reopen the venue, which closed its doors two weeks ago after its management company went into liquidation.
The good news for fans of both the comedian and the theatre itself is that the Whitehall is set to host its first production since the shock news, on September 1, with Me & My Girl.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier, Jim said: “I love the Whitehall I’ve had some great times there and if they want me to come there for nothing, I will.
“I’ll do the gig and if there’s any money in it at the end, great. If not, it doesn’t matter.”
The comedian, who is due to play the Whitehall on September 6, added, “Dean Park, who is doing support for me on the Scottish tour said the same. I told him the venue was in a bit of trouble and he says, ‘I’ll be there.’
“The Whitehall reminds me of another venue at Great Yarmouth they’re always breaking and there’s never enough money to fix them. We’re in a big recession right now and the public don’t have the money, so it’s a downward spiral.
“And you don’t stand a chance of lottery money unless you have four heads or something.
“The unfortunate thing is that these business plans work great when they are put down on paper but if the public decides not to come there’s nothing you can do about it.
“It’s up to the public, they decide what they go to.
“It’s not the only place that’s in trouble a beautiful little theatre in Peterborough has gone into liquidation as we speak.’No doubt'”We’ve all been there but the great thing is there’s no fiddling, nobody is lining their pockets the people that run these places work their fingers to the bone trying to keep them going.”
He added: “I’m coming, there’s no doubt about it. I’ll be there we’ll do the show in the car park if need be.”
Whitehall Theatre Trust chairman Derek Shaw said he was “overwhelmed” by Jim Davidson’s comments, and the overall support shown to the theatre since the shock news.
And he revealed the good news that the theatre will reopen for Me & My Girl on Thursday, September 1.
“Every day I just get more and more amazed at the people who love the Whitehall and it’s difficult to put into words how much support we have had. That’s wonderful from Jim he’s a big star and he doesn’t have to do that.
“Things are coming along fine, there’s been a lot of work done behind the scenes and we’re going to have a show on September 1 with Me & My Girl.
“We’re talking with the insolvency practitioners but it’s all good news and we’ve had lots of great support. I’ve been blown away by the amount of support we have had.
“As far as Jim Davidson’s show goes, it looks like it will go ahead and people have got to buy tickets now. And we’ve got the Lady Boys of Bangkok there’s been unbelievable support from them.
“All I know is we’re doing the right thing. The city council is supporting us as well and we’re working on lots of things including licences. But it’s all good news so far.”