PERFORMANCES at The Rose Theatre in Kidderminster have been suspended after the Government's advice to avoid social contact.

The theatre says that the unprecedented situation will put arts charities such as themselves under a lot financial pressure.

A spokesperson for the theatre said: "Following the recommendation from the UK government on March 16, we have taken the difficult decision to suspend all performances at the Rose Theatre until further notice.

"If you have pre-booked tickets, we will be rescheduling events wherever possible and will transfer tickets that have already been booked to the new dates.

If you can no longer make it, or if we are unable to reschedule, refunds will be issued.

"However, this unprecedented situation will put arts charities like The Rose Theatre under a lot of financial pressure.

"We would be very grateful if you would consider donating some or all your ticket money or accepting a refund in the form of an Rose Theatre gift voucher to help us continue to provide an exciting programme for our community."

"As you can appreciate, this is a fast-moving and still developing situation, and we will update the information on our website, and via our Facebook page.

"The health and safety of our staff and visitors is our number one priority and we will continue to follow any recommendations from the relevant authorities and implement all appropriate instructions accordingly.

"We would like to thank all of our customers for their support and understanding at this difficult time and we look forward to welcoming you to the Rose Theatre in the future."