Arts Centre Spotlight: Westacre Theatre
About Westacre Theatre - Arts Centre
Hidden within the Norfolk countryside, Westacre Theatre is a vibrant, community-driven arts centre with a loyal, local audience and a rich, year-round programme. Their calendar spans theatre productions, workshops, cinema nights, concerts, children’s activities, and seasonal events.
Set across a converted chapel and outdoor performance spaces, Westacre’s programming is ambitious and varied, delivered by a small, dedicated team supported by volunteers.
Above all, Westacre values independence, creativity, and warmth. They need a ticketing partner that respects that identity, not one that tries to standardise it.
The Challenge
Westacre Theatre has worked with Little Box Office for over a decade. During that time, they evolved from a largely manual box office, to successive versions of the Little Box Office platform.
What remained constant was their need for flexibility.
Their programme is comprehensive. It includes:
Indoor and outdoor performances
Multiple seating layouts that change seasonally
Workshops and Kids Clubs with deposit and balance payments
Memberships, vouchers, donations, and multi-event runs
A mix of staff and volunteers managing box office operations
Westacre did not need a system that dictated how they should operate. They needed one that could adapt to everything they already did, and everything they planned to do next.
Westacre was an early adopter of Little Box Office and active partner. Their real-world needs helped shape a system deliberately designed around flexibility, rather than rigid workflows.
For Westacre, choosing Little Box Office was not about modernisation. It was about working with a partner who understood their reality and was willing to build alongside them.
Why Westacre Chose Little Box Office
“Because support matters as much as software.”
What stood out to Westacre was not a feature list. It was the people behind the platform.
From day one, Little Box Office offered:
Hands-on support from
Clear, friendly guidance through Westacre’s own complex workflows
A platform that adapted as their programme grew and changed
Willingness to accommodate nuanced needs like Kids Clubs and balance payments
Personal support, even during the busiest parts of the season
Sadie, Director of Westacre, summed it up simply: “The support is rock solid. Everyone is brilliant.”
The Little Box Office Experience
Westacre uses a wide range of Little Box Office tools, not because they are required to, but because the system allows them to shape ticketing around their needs.
Key tools supporting their day-to-day operations include:
Full website functionality with a custom URL
Seasonal seating plans for different spaces
Season tickets and multi-event runs
Donations, gift vouchers, and fundraising tools
Deposit and balance payments for Kids Clubs
Data capture for specialist workshops
Real-time reporting and financial visibility
Box office sales for staff and volunteers
As Sadie explains: “The capability gives us flexibility. There are almost infinite possibilities.”
Partnership in Practice
Westacre’s journey has been one of shared learning.
As a long-standing and early adopter client, their needs helped shape how Little Box Office supports venues with comprehensive programming. In return, the LBO team worked closely with Westacre to guide them through new tools and refine workflows.
Together, they evolved processes for:
Kids Clubs booking journeys
Improved data capture
Deposit and balance payment handling
Enhanced reporting
One memorable moment came when Sadie first explored the Customer Feedback report, generated from audience responses collected after bookings are made. Seeing the overwhelmingly positive ratings confirmed that, together, we had built an effective way for customers to book their tickets.
Those moments of discovery and shared success sit at the heart of the partnership.
The Impact
Today, Westacre’s box office:
Supports their complex programme
Offers greater flexibility across events and pricing
Provides stronger financial oversight and reporting
Enables faster responses to new ideas
Helps staff and volunteers work with confidence
Delivers a consistent, reliable booking experience for audiences
For them, Little Box Office is not just software. It is a partnership that grows alongside them.
What Westacre Says
“The support is rock solid. Everyone is brilliant.”
“The system has almost infinite possibilities.”
“You’ve helped us become more flexible and more capable.”