British actress Emily Blunt has agreed to become the patron of a quake damaged theatre in Lyttelton.
She has starred in films like The Adjustment Bureau, Young Victoria and The Devil Wears Prada, and now she wants to help the Loons theatre raise $600,000 for repairs and a refit.
Loons’ artistic director Mike Friend taught Blunt at a British drama school and told Fairfax NZ he was thrilled she had agreed to lend her support to the project.
"This is great news. It is good for all of us. It is good for the theatre company and the Loons and for Lyttelton."
Blunt said in a statement she was happy to lend her name to the cause.
"What a complete nightmare. I am so sorry your lovely community was shattered with the quake.”
The theatre was badly damaged in the June 2011 earthquake, after surviving the September 2010 and February 2011 quakes.
A total of $400,000 has already been raised, but the theatre needs $200,000 more to complete repairs.
The theatre hopes to reopen on September 7.
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