Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Daneside Theatre
Theatre in Congleton, Cheshire From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Daneside Theatre is a theatre in the town of Congleton, Cheshire, England.[10] It opened in 1984 and expanded in 2001. The theatre is used by several local dramatic and musical societies.[11]
 | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a particular audience. (April 2022) |
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
Daneside Theatre was built in response to the closure of the Players Hall on Eaton’s bank that was used by the Congleton Players.[5] The Players Hall was closed to allow for the construction of the Mountbatten Way inner relief road.[5]
In 4 October 1980, the first sod was cut.[5] The theatre was built by Daneside Theatre Trust Ltd. on top of the Congleton open-air swimming baths as part of the Daneside Leisure Development,[6] which led to the closure of the swimming baths.[5][11] The theatre cost £198,000 to build;[9] some funding came from local townspeople who paid to have a seat named after a family member.[11] The theatre officially opened on 3 October 1984 by the chairman of Congleton Inclosure trust, Jocelyn Solly.[12]
The first production at Daneside Theatre was Curtain Up which featured various amateur theatrical groups in and around Congleton.[5] In attendance were local members of parliament, mayors of both the Borough of Congleton and the town of Congleton, and other dignitaries.[6]
A projector from Barclays Bank's training centre in Knutsford, which had recently switched to using video units for training, was donating to the theatre, which allowed for film screenings.[6] The first movie to be screened at Daneside Theatre was Desperately Seeking Susan.[6] Among the audience that night were the mayor of Congleton Borough, councillor Joe Alcock, and Congleton town mayor councillor Mike Kitton.[6]
Refurbishment
Daneside Theatre was refurbished in 1997[7] at a cost of over £100,000.[13] The refurbishment added a foyer and disabled toilets to the theatre, with a large amount of money coming from the estate of Jocelyn Solly.[13]
Fire
The theatre was subject to an arson attack in 1998,[7] when two storage containers outside the theatre were set alight.[14] The props and scenery stored in the containers were destroyed.[14] Firefighters were able to prevent the fire spreading between the burning containers and the theatre.[7][15]
Expansion
The building was expanded at a total cost of £238,000 in 2001, of which £56,775 came as a grant from the Arts Council of England,[13] and some came though support other organisations, such as the Garfield Weston Foundation.[16] The expansion added new rehearsal rooms, a meeting room, and extra storage space.[8]
The expansion was opened by Ann Winterton, MP for Congleton, on 10 November 2001.[13]
Remove ads
Use by theatrical societies
The following theatrical societies use Daneside Theatre:
- Centre Stage Youth Theatre Company[17][18]
- Congleton Amateur Youth Theatre[19]
- Congleton Musical Theatre[20][21]
- Congleton Pantomime[22][23]
- Congleton Players Amateur Theatre Club[23][24][25]
- Congleton Gang Show[26]
The Congleton Gang Show was formed in 1972.[26][27] The Congleton Gang Show performs one performance every two years at Daneside Theatre.[26]
The Congleton Gang Show was formed as part of the 1972 Congleton charter year celebrations.[26]
Remove ads
Awards
The following is a list of people linked to Daneside Theatre who have won awards.
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads