THE Frome Memorial Theatre has bounced back with sold-out shows following a £70,000+ renovation.
The theatre welcomed a full house on Saturday 17th February for Ward Thomas and for Sir Ranulph Fiennes on Saturday 2nd March after a major renovation to the theatre’s stage rigging.
Will Davis, theatre stage manager said, “Over the last few years, as part of the annual thorough inspection of stage equipment, the allowable load rating of the stage rigging equipment was being reduced due to its age and it being connected to the roof structure.
“It came to a point that shows such as the pantomime, Danceworks and more would not be able to continue, and the groups and acts that played at the theatre had a limited capacity to erect lighting rigs and props.”
The decision was taken by the theatre’s trustees last year to have a longer ‘dark period’ when the theatre would be closed for major maintenance and upgrade. Once the stage crew had cleared the stage area, a large scaffold was erected to enable access for builders to form pad stones and carry out repairs to the nearly 100-year-old fabric of the building, to be ready for a new structural steelwork support system.
During this time, the steelwork design was being refined to ensure there was a support structure independent of the roof, but also to ensure the fly lines had the maximum headroom. The steel work was delivered during the third week in January and installed to achieve the critical handover date of 29th January to the specialist stage rigging contractor.
Will added, “Fortunately, when 125 theatre volunteers attended the annual lunch hosted by the theatre trustees on January 28th, we were able to report that we were on track to re-open the theatre, which was critical as we had two sell-out shows to start the year.”
Richard Lines, chair of trustees at the theatre said, “To control and limit the cost of the project it was necessary for the theatre to use the skills of its many volunteers as much as possible, but it still cost in excess of £70,000. The theatre set out to use local businesses and we send our thanks to the hard work of West Wilts Scaffolding, Paul Donson Building and Renovations and Curtis Engineering who fabricated and supplied the new steel structure.
“We are very pleased at completing these substantial works to enable us to open to a sellout performance. I was able to thank our many dedicated volunteers for their support over the last year at our volunteers’ lunch. We have some fantastic shows coming to the theatre as we approach the tremendous milestone of our centenary.”
The foundation stone of the Memorial Hall was laid in September 1924 by the Marquess of Bath, with the hall opening in March 1925, although it was not complete. The theatre is planning to celebrate this milestone and the many significant events in its history, including the saving of the theatre in the 1980s when it was scheduled to be demolished.
