Looking at ways to save theatre

Interested parties met to discuss a way of saving the Robin Hood Theatre, Averham, which has been closed for a year after it was declared a fire hazard.

About 35 people attended the meeting hosted by Newark and Sherwood District Council at Kelham Hall.

They included representatives of the sole trustee of the theatre, Nottinghamshire County Council, the Robin Hood Theatre company, Averham, Kelham and Staythorpe Parish Council and residents.

The aim is to not only re-open the theatre but to also use it as a community centre for the three parishes.

This might attract grants and it is also hoped that the county council could make a large one-off donation.

About £170,000 is needed to re-open the theatre, with another £100,000 to follow within five years, and that is without any renovation work.

Questionnaires were collected at the end of the meeting.

Many who filled in the questionnaires offered their expertise in skills such as accountancy or management.

Mr Steve Emeny is leading the fight to create a new board of trustees.

He said: “If you were to build a theatre today ideally it would not be at the end of a country lane.

“Local residents, the wider community, the theatre company and the county council need to work together.”

The Robin Hood Theatre company director, Mrs Jose King, hoped the 150-seater theatre would be back in use soon.

“My hope is that the villagers will be happy to join us,” she said.

“The new studio at the back of the theatre lends itself to this sort of community use.”

The company is continuing to stage shows elsewhere.

The head of leisure at the district council, Mrs Sarah Dawes, said that the council had no set view on the future of the theatre.

Its commitment to theatre was with the Palace Theatre, Newark, but it wanted to help find a solution.

A representative of Npower was at the meeting.

The company is spending £600m on a new power station at Staythorpe and it is hoped the company might donate towards the theatre.

The Npower representative said the company was assessing whether it could use the building for meetings during the construction period, although this would mean Npower would have to carry out remedial works that would benefit the theatre in the long term.

The theatre was built in 1913 and fell into disuse in 1951. It re-opened in 1961 and in 1966 a trust was set up to run it.

In 1980 a charitable trust was set up to run it under the leadership of the county council. It closed in December.