Theatre

Blackpool Grand Theatre is in need of nearly £500,000 worth of repairs following rainwater damage.

Plans for renovation work to the dome of the Grade II listed theatre building have been submitted by the Grand Theatre Trust, which owns the venue, to Blackpool Council for approval.

The proposals suggest bidding for Arts Council England funding in the autumn and if successful, undertaking renovation works next spring without impacting the theatre’s programme.

A spokesperson for the theatre told the BBC the Blackpool Grand is “bearing up well considering its age” at now 130 years old.

“A building condition survey was commissioned by the Blackpool Grand Theatre Trust earlier this year and found some issues with rainwater leaking in, with the potential to damage the roof timbers and decorative plasterwork of the auditorium ceiling.”

The Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds has reopened after a sudden closure last week due to a fire safety issue.

The venue closed to the public on 3 August on the advice of fire safety officers.

The Suffolk theatre reopened on Friday evening, a day after its closure, following work by a fire protection service.

The swift reopening meant that only a single performance - of Ghost the Musical by Suffolk Young People’s Theatre - had to be cancelled.

The theatre thanked fire protection company Pyrodec LTD for rearranging its schedule to complete the work as quickly as possible.

“If you had tickets and haven’t yet been contacted, you can email us at booking@theatreroyal.org to let us know if you would like a refund or for your tickets to be transferred,” a theatre spokesperson said.

“We’d like to thank all our customers and the cast of Suffolk Young People's Theatre for their patience and understanding.”

Live entertainment company Trafalgar Entertainment has announced details of a strategic investment with Imagine Theatre, one of the UK’s biggest pantomime providers.

According to a statement released by the parties, Trafalgar’s investment will help to unlock future growth opportunities for Imagine and build on its 25-year legacy.

Imagine supports productions in more than 50 venues across the UK, from the hiring of set and props through to the staging of entire productions. This year the company will produce or co-produce 19 pantomimes across the UK.

Trafalgar Theatres CEO Helen Enright said: “With fun-filled family values at the heart of everything they do, Imagine has always led from the front, whether in the development of new technologies or through building relationships with producers and theatre owners. 

“There’s great synergy and many common values between our two companies, and as we both look to expand our regional portfolios, this new investment will help to secure an even brighter future for Imagine.”

“This exciting new partnership with Trafalgar is a natural step forward in our continuing journey to deliver exceptional family pantomime,” Steve Boden, Joint CEO and Managing Director at Imagine Theatre, said. 

“Having worked with Trafalgar over the past few years, producing pantomimes in many of their wonderful venues, we are very excited about the future and what this investment means, supporting us to continue to create world class, innovative theatre for families across the UK.” 

The Alun Armstrong Theatre in County Durham is set to close this week due to repair costs that outstrip the town council’s budget.

Stanley Town Council, which leases the premises from Durham County Council, said the theatre no longer meets health and safety requirements due to problems including broken boilers, a leaking roof and damp.

The council said it was told that it would cost more than £100,000 to replace the boiler system, which would be “outside the realms of [its] financial capabilities”, the BBC reported.

“In addition to this, the roof in areas needs replacing, there is flooding in the cellar, damp throughout and the sewage blocks up regularly,” it said.

“Unfortunately, the building is not as it was in its heyday. However, the town council has endeavoured to keep the building open to the public and service users for as long as possible.”

It said it had given notice on the lease in February and would “look forward to investing into the community more without the burden of paying for a large, aged building”.

The theatre has been operating at the venue within Stanley Civic Hall since 1961. 

Local amateur dramatics groups expressed fears that members would be left with nowhere to perform once the venue closes. Chair of Oxhill Youth Club Gale Wilson called the closing of the theatre “the death knell for the town”.

Building owner Durham County Council said that it was assessing options. 

“Until the lease ends, any operational decisions regarding the building, including its use by community groups, are made by the town council,” said the council’s Asset Strategy and Property Manager Anna Wills

“We know the building is used and valued by the community and any feedback from the public will be carefully considered in determining the site's future.

“We are currently working with the town council to carry out surveys of the building to identify any repairs or investment that may be needed to make it suitable for future community use and we will not be making any formal decisions until these assessments are complete.”
 

Belfast theatre company Bright Umbrella has announced plans for a £2.6m two-theatre complex in the east of the city.

The 150-seat Sanctuary Theatre and the Little Theatre, which are both part of the same arts centre, will become the permanent base of the company, which has signed a 50-year lease and aims to use drama to improve cross-community relations.

Housed in Mountpottinger Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church, which dates from 1875, the theatres are located between the predominantly unionist areas of Castlereagh Street and Albertsbridge Road and the largely nationalist Short Strand.

The location is a short way from the peace line in Cluan Place, where sectarian rioting was once a nightly feature, the Belfast Telegraph reported.

“The church sits directly on what is arguably Northern Ireland’s most notorious interface,” the theatre company’s mission statement says.

“Many buildings and sites in the vicinity are derelict. Levels of paramilitary influence are high. Violent incidents and murders ramp up community anxieties, but despite this there remains a strong sense of community belonging.”

Bright Umbrella plans to refurbish the historic church, with backing from both sides of the community. The planned upgrades will preserve original features including the stained-glass windows, pews, vaulted roof timbers and the plaques and monuments honouring soldiers from the First World War.

“The original plan was to tour classical plays to other people’s theatres, but when we started to rehearse at Mountpottinger we realised it would be a wonderful performance space,” said artistic director Trevor Gill.

“We know funding’s tight but we are quietly confident that we can get the money we need,” he added. “We hope construction work will start in January 2025, with the opening a year later.”

Theatregoers were evacuated from a matinee performance of The Lion King in London’s West End on Sunday after a bomb threat.

The area around the Lyceum Theatre on Wellington Street was taped off as police searched the building. 

In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said confirmed nothing was found. “Staff have returned and the incident has been stood down,” the spokesperson said.

The police have released no further details about the incident, which occurred at around 4pm. A spokesperson told The Independent that the force doesn’t discuss bomb hoaxes.

Crowds of evacuated theatregoers and passersby waited outside the theatre as the search took place.

“The Lyceum Theatre got evacuated mid-performance yesterday but we managed to meet the Lion King cast in full costume,” one audience member tweeted.

The theatre has yet to release a statement but on Monday another Twitter user who had been evacuated asked the venue, the official Lion King account and Ticket Master whether theatregoers would be refunded or allowed to rebook.

Ticket Master’s customer service account responded to the query asking him to check his direct messages. The company has made no official statement about whether or not audience members should expect to be refunded for their tickets.

Other theatregoers contacted the Ambassador Theatre Group on Twitter to request information about whether or not tickets would be refunded, but did not receive a public response.