It's showtime! Chorley Little Theatre reopens following makeover

Chorley Little Theatre has dusted down and opened again following a major face lift to update its seating.
Chorley Little TheatreChorley Little Theatre
Chorley Little Theatre

The playhouse in Dole Lane had a tight turn around for the refurbishment before it reopened again in time for its production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

Contractors had to lay new flooring and the new seating in a four-week window before the show’s opening night on Monday, September 11.

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Ian Robinson from the team at the theatre said he was “delighted” with the outcome.

Chorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatres grand reopeningChorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatres grand reopening
Chorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatres grand reopening

“Everyone worked very hard,” he said. “It was against the clock and the team have done a brilliant job.

“It seems to be going down very well, we’ve had a great response from the audience.”

Chorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatre’s grand reopening on Monday.

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Estelle Bryers, Little Theatre volunteer, said: “They were very impressed with the new seats. They asked about how many volunteers had been involved and thanked everyone for all their efforts.

New seating at Chorley Little TheatreNew seating at Chorley Little Theatre
New seating at Chorley Little Theatre

“The mayoress was presented with a bouquet containing a prize-winning Hydrangea head that had been exhibited at Trinity Flower Show and fresh Sweet Peas. She also drew the raffle in the interval.”

Volunteers at the playhouse launched a fundraiser to help pay to replace its 238 seats, which were decades old, before they fell apart.

They hope that the new seating installed by National Stage will be more comfortable and will mean more leg room for theatre goers.

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Almost the same number of seats, 230, have gone back into the space, with a slightly different layout, losing one aisle.

Chorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatres grand reopeningChorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatres grand reopening
Chorley mayor councillor Mark Perks and mayoress Pat Haughton were present at the theatres grand reopening

Posting on Facebook after the reopening Dean Brocken, of Design and Building which undertook the construction work, wrote: “Chorley Little Theatre is refurbishment works complete.

“All cleaned, Ian Robinson has put the drinks in chilling. Air conditioning and heating is working a treat.”

Ian said: “We’ve been wanting to do this for a while. If the chairs broke, we couldn’t fix them, so we couldn’t fill the auditorium and we would lose income and people missed out on shows.

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“People will come to the longer shows if they know that the seats are more comfortable.

New seating at Chorley Little TheatreNew seating at Chorley Little Theatre
New seating at Chorley Little Theatre

“We needed to do this now to ensure the theatre has a place in the future.”

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is on nightly until Saturday 16.

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