Jeffrey Holland heads back to his roots to battle for funds to save theatre group

He started acting with The Grange Players in Walsall and now, as a patron for them, they need his help after they have racked up a £60,000 maintenance bill for their base in Broadway North which threatens the groups existence.

He will be putting on two performances of the one-man performance he co-wrote alongside the award-winning playwright Gail Louw called And this is my Friend Mr Laurel.

Holland will play the part of Stan Laurel as he looks back over years he has had with Oliver Hardy and recounts one of the greatest cinematic partnerships f the century.

There are 150 tickets available for each performance at 8pm on June 8 and 9 that cost £10 at Aldridge Youth Theatre, Noddy Park Road.

He said: "It means an awful lot to me. I started my acting at the grange and went on from there to do professional acting. It is heart breaking but there is a lot of enthusiasm around fundraising. My performances are just the tip of the iceberg. It really is the least I can do.

"We go back a long way. Once they get back on their feet, it will be fine. It is the only kind of theatre in the area, it is unique. We need to get it back on track."

He started with the players when he was 17-years-old in 1965.

To help raise more money, a quiz is being held on at 7.30pm on March 23 at The Saddlers in Walsall plus they are doing a performance of Funny Money at Bloxwich Library Theatre at 7.45pm from May 18 to 26 but not including Sunday.

She said: "We have already started work, which is fantastic. We are still short of our total but at least we have managed to raise enough to start the wheels in motion.

"We have also managed to secure a venue to bring our audiences our first play of the season. We are very excited to be able to do this, it will also help raise much needed funds for the theatre."

Tickets for the shows can be bought by contacting 07909 036835 or emailing box.office@grangeplayers.co.uk