THE Mercury Theatre has been celebrated for its inclusivity at a national awards ceremony.

The UK Theatre awards saw the Colchester-based venue triumph over big names from across the country.

The theatre has embraced diverse casting, supported national initiatives and built strong relationships with the community through learning and participation programmes.

It also used an initiative to get more diversity in its decision making roles.

The theatre’s regional associate producer Dilek Latif expanded the organisation’s thinking and reimagined the way in which the theatre delivers its programming and engagement activities.

The two shows she chose to produce over the past year appealed to communities where the theatre had its lowest engagement rates.

It was awarded the gong for the excellence in inclusivity.

Executive producer Tracey Childs said: “The Mercury Theatre could not be prouder to have been awarded the Excellence in Inclusivity Award at the UK Theatre Awards this week.

“This national award is great recognition of all that we’ve been doing to make our work accessible to as many people as possible both on and off stage. We welcome everyone to watch, play and work with us.

“Our inclusivity journey continues in our temporary venue Mercury at Abbey Field, through our outreach work in the community and remains a priority for the reopening of our newly refurbished theatre in autumn 2020.

“We want to ensure the Mercury looks and feels welcoming to all today and for decades to come.”