Get Creative Takeover

Opened in 2016, Gosforth Civic Theatre (GCT) is an independent arts venue, café bar, events space and community hub three miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne city centre. GCT programmes high-quality theatre, memorable live music events and diverse performances.

It was founded by disability arts charity Liberdade community development trust (pronounced lib-er-dar-jie). Founded in 2003, Liberdade began as an apprenticeship scheme to support and enable a group of young people with learning disabilities to set up and run their own theatre company. In 2012 the company members wanted to open a theatre where everyone was welcome, they wanted to have jobs in their theatre and to provide the opportunities they’d had for other young people, so Gosforth Civic Theatre became a reality. Now, those company members play an essential role in its governance and future direction.

GCT is a unique social enterprise; income from ticket sales, space rental, donations and food and drink sales is used to provide opportunities for young people and people with learning disabilities to train, perform, and belong, ultimately creating the world they want to live in.