The Lyceum Theatre dedicate a seat to Sam Heughan after fundraiser in his name raises over £50,000

In the lead up to Christmas fans of Sam Heughan's banded together to ‘Save A Seat For Sam’ and raise funds to help keep The Lyceum Theatre afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Over £57,000 was raised by the virtual event in December and as thank you for their “amazing” efforts, The Royal Lyceum has dedicated a seat in its auditorium to Mr Hueghan.

In a tweet, the team said: “We are thrilled to have saved a seat for @SamHeughan in our auditorium, in recognition of the amazing fundraising efforts of the Save a Seat for Sam campaign.

“Thank you for all Sam's fans who donated!"

The virtual event ‘Save A Seat For Sam This Christmas’ took place on December, 12, 2020 and gave people the chance to purchase a ticket for a “virtual seat” to a special Christmas performance.

The performance showcased close friends and colleagues talking about their experiences and stories with the popular Scottish actor.

The fundraiser was set up by two Heughan fans, Savannah Forge and Tash Pow, with the aim of saving the theatre close to the actor’s heart as lockdown threatened the arts industry.

The brass plaque is on a premium level seat in the theatre and reads: “A theatre so close to my heart – Sam Heughan”.

The Lyceum Theatre has dedicated a seat to Sam Heughan after fundraiser in his name raises over £50,000.

Ms Forge and Ms Pow put their own message of thanks up on social media to the theatre for dedicating the seat to Mr Heughan saying they are so grateful that there will always be a seat saved for him there.

The message said: “So delighted to finally share this with everyone! As a thank you to all of you for supporting the Save Sam A Seat fundraiser and a special thank you to you Sam Heughan, the Lyceum has dedicated a theatre seat in Sam’s honour.

"There will always be a seat save for Sam at the Lyceum.”

It went on to say that due to coronavirus restrictions it wasn't possible to hold an unveiling of the plaque, but when restrictions ease they plan on arranging something more official.

The plaque reads: "A theatre so close to my heart - Sam Heughan".

The message continued: “And a special thank you to Sam Heugan, who inspired us to look beyond the challenges that surround us and help such a worthy cause during these unprecedented times”.

The Lyceum’s artistic director and joint chief executive, David Greig, said: “We are delighted to have been able to Save a Seat for Sam.

"It was such a wonderful initiative – a tribute to a wonderful actor who first flexed his acting muscles in The Lyceum Youth Theatre and who has risen to global stardom.

"The funds raised by Savannah Forge and Tash Pow have been gratefully received, and we will put them to good use helping our youth theatre, our program of artist development, and our digital work as we try to emerge from this pandemic.

The Plaque reads "A theatre so close to my heart- Sam Heughan".

"We all know that theatres are not out of the woods yet, but we are looking forward with positivity.

"When all this is behind us, we hope to see Sam sitting in his seat and enjoying great theatre on the best stage in Scotland.”

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