One of the south west's biggest theatres has been given a bailout of almost £2 million as part of the biggest government grants to date.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England has today announced that 35 of the country’s major arts and cultural organisations – two thirds of which are outside of London – are receiving grants of between £1 and £3 million from the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

The south west alone is getting £7.4 million - including Theatre Royal Plymouth, which not only has been the closest place for generations of people in Cornwall to access touring West End shows but has also commissioned and presented works by some of the most influential new writers of the last two decades, including Jack Thorne, Abi Morgan, Moira Buffini, Neil Bartlett and James Graham.

In addition to the main theatre there is also The Drum and a developmental strand in The Lab, which focuses on emerging artists and companies from the south west region.

The theatre is getting £1,896,000.

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Adrian Vinken, CEO at Theatre Royal Plymouth, said: “This is tremendous news for TRP and a great relief for Plymouth and the cultural landscape of the far south west.

"It demonstrates that the government clearly recognises the great economic, social and creative value of an organisation like Theatre Royal Plymouth to this city and region.

"We are grateful to the DCMS and the Arts Council for this demonstration of support and confidence and look forward to justifying that confidence with a growing programme of activity across and beyond our stages as conditions allow.

"It will see real benefits for our audiences, local artists, creative freelancers and the wider community.”

Big names also getting money are Shakespeare's Globe and the Sheffield Crucible.

More funding will be announced in the coming weeks and months on applicants who applied for more than £1 million in the second round of the Grants programme, as well as recipients of the £270 million Repayable Finance programme, and organisations who have applied to the Cultural Capital Kickstart fund.