Mansfield Building Society’s Charitable Trust has donated £10,000 to Unanima Theatre, a community theatre company working with people with autism and learning disabilities.

The company aims to create unique, witty and provocative performances, based on their lives, experiences, questions, and frustrations.

The donation will allow Unanima to tour a production in 2022.

Starting out as a small community initiative in 2008, and funded by Inspire Youth Arts, Unanima brought together local secondary school pupils and adults with intellectual disabilities to collaborate on a theatre project that reflected themes relevant to both groups.

From this project, the concept grew, including an Epic Award from Voluntary Arts England for a community theatre performance of Everyday People in 2011.

Tracy Radford, creative producer, explained: “Unanima addresses the under-representation and lack of arts ambition and opportunity for learning disabled and autistic people, campaigning for a greater emphasis to be placed on diversity. This donation is crucial match funding for the theatre’s Arts Council England bids.”

Mike Taylor, head of Marketing, Products and Savings at Mansfield Building Society, added: “The society’s Charitable Trust aims to boost the magnificent work that charities are doing for the benefit of local people.

“Unanima’s application stood out to the trustees because it has put in hard yards over the years and dug deep to put on weekly theatre skills workshops, masterclass artist sessions, and touring performances. This superb initiative started in Mansfield and we are proud to support Unanima’s ongoing ambitions.”

If you work or volunteer for a registered charity in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire or South Yorkshire and have a project that could benefit from financial assistance, visit mansfieldbs.co.uk/charitable-trust