Sell-out crowd enjoys comedy, cake and a cuppa for Wolverhampton's Light House
A sell-out crowd saw some of the finest comedy talent in the Midlands take to the stage to help a closure-threatened city venue.
Light House Media Centre, the Black Country's only independent cinema and a registered charity, could be forced to close its doors after 25 years following cuts to its funding.
Well-known comedians rallied round to donate their talent as part of an afternoon show, called Comedy with Cake on Sunday.
Comedy legend Barbara Nice hosted the family-friendly show, which also featured star of several Peter Kay shows Jo Enright,The Fizzogs' Craig Deeley and Black Country Musical Comic Bob Gessey.
It was a family-friendly setting and the audience enjoyed their show with cups of tea and slices of cake.
At least £2,000 has been raised from the event, which took place at the historic Chubb Buildings venue.
Kelly Jeffs, chief executive of the Light House, said: "We had a sell-out crowd which was absolutely fantastic.
"Barbara Nice got the crowd warmed up straight from the off and got the kids dancing.
"All the comedians were brilliant. The good thing was they were all from the Midlands, so they had a good understanding with the audience.
"Barbara Nice is a really proactive member of the arts community and has been really good to us.
"She obviously doesn't want to see us close, and offered to get in contact with the other comedians.
"We are really grateful to them for giving up their time and offering their talents. So many people said afterwards that we should do shows like this more often.
"This was a charity event though, and it's quite difficult to organise something like that given our limited seating and the cost of booking. All the money raised will go towards our running costs to help keep the venue going.
"We're doing all we can to try and find new ways of generating income for the venue after the cuts to funding last year."
Soon the centre will be unveiling its new signage and lighting, a necessary upgrade which was made possible by more than £5,000 raised via a crowdfunding campaign.
The Light House in Fryer Street has run from its base at the Chubb Buildings since 1987, screening films from around the world and hosting art and cinema exhibitions.
The venue saw its funding cut amid Wolverhampton council plans to save millions of pounds.
