North Derbyshire couple's wedding in a theatre sparks kind-hearted act for Ashgate Hospice

Karl and Steven Brennan-Collis, who live in Temple Normanton, donated £905 to the hospice which provided end of life care for Steven’s father, Inspector Ray Collis, in 1994. Since his father passed away, Steven has raised money for the hospice and was invited on stage at the Sparkle Walk four years ago to share his story.

Both Karl and Steven thought that their wedding was a perfect opportunity to raise more money for the hospice by selling programmes of their big day at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.

Steven said: “We needed a venue for over 200 guests - after some searching we were lucky to find out that it was possible to get married on stage in the auditorium at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield which was perfect with our shared interest in theatre. We created a ‘show – Act 1 was the actual wedding ceremony and was followed by an interval in the theatre bar. Act 2 was a show performed by many of our closest friends and included chat show style interviews, comedy, singing and dancing. The grooms ended the show with a song and dance on stage. The reception in the theatre bar included entertainment such as a caricaturist, violinist, photobooth and a real-life escape room which is another passion shared by the grooms.”

Karl and Steven enjoyed a wonderful fortnight cruising around the Mexican coast and eastern Caribbean islands for their honeymoon.

Since their intial meeting in 2021, the couple have bonded over their love of theatre. Steven said: “The theatre is our ‘happy place’ and we love to attend professional and amateur productions as much as possible. We love all kinds of shows, but we have a particular love for the joy that is brought by musical theatre.”

Steven, 43, has been a member of the Community Players in Chesterfield since 2013 performing in an annual pantomime at the Hasland Playhouse to raise money for local charities including Ashgate Hospice. He is both a performer and the committee secretary.

Karl, 38, has been acting and singing in amateur theatre for 20 years and has performed for a number of local theatre groups. He is currently a performer, trustee and business manager for the Chesterfield Operatic Society. Karl has also directed a number of shows in Chesterfield includingThe Full Monty, Kinky Boots and The Vicar of Dibley.

Both born and bred in Chesterfield, they first met through Instagram when Steven spotted a Mother’s Day post put up by Karl. He recognised Karl’s mum as they both had worked at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and asked Karl to say ‘hello’ to his mum….the rest is history.

Steven is assistant head of adult nursing at the University of Derby (Chesterfield campus) and Karl is area development manager for Timpson.

*If you are getting married and would like to share your story and photos, email: [email protected] or call 0780 350 5734.