Town theatre receives stair lift

One of the South West’s most popular theatres has received a facelift, with the 664-seat venue now able to be enjoyed by a more diverse cross-section of the community than ever before.

The Playhouse theatre in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, has been completely revamped of late in order to become more accessible and attractive thanks to the sterling work of the Friends of the Playhouse – a voluntary group dedicated to improving the historic theatre that has been entertaining audiences since 1946.

Some of the innovations that have recently been integrated into the theatre include a modern stair lift and an infra-red ear-loop system, meaning that both patrons who have limited mobility and are hard of hearing will be given full access to performances for the first time in the Playhouse’s history.

A trip to the Playhouse theatre – which regularly hosts performances across the mediums of opera, music, ballet, comedy and more – will now make for a particularly pleasant day or evening out for all who attend, with a number of positive aesthetic changes also being made to the interior of the building. 

A theatre full of history

Weston’s Playhouse has had a colourful history, with the original structure having been housed in an old market building until it was ravaged by fire in 1964, leading to its forced demolition. Since the ‘new’ venue opened on the same spot in 1969, however, it has gone from strength to strength, and in 2007 it hosted the world premiere of Houdini – The Musical, which is now in line for a run on Broadway.

The general manger of the Playhouse, Mark Thompson, has expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the group behind the stair lift installation and other changes, nothing that ‘the Playhouse is incredibly lucky to have the Friends as our ambassadors’.

Image Credit: Steven Lilley (flickr.com)