Weymouth Pavilion
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The Weymouth Pavilion, formerly the Ritz, is a
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in
Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third l ...
. The complex contains a 988-seat
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, 600 (maximum) capacity
ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
known as the Ocean Room, the Piano Bar restaurant, Ritz Cafe and other function and meeting rooms. The original pavilion, constructed in 1908, was destroyed in a fire in 1954 and the current theatre was built in its place in 1958. It was owned and operated by
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council Weymouth and Portland was a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consisted of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southill ...
until 2013 and is now operated by a
not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
Community Interest Company A community interest company (CIC, colloquially pronounced "kick") is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social ente ...
. The theatre is located at the end of The Esplanade between Weymouth Harbour and
Weymouth Beach __NOTOC__ Weymouth Beach is a gently curving arc of sand in Weymouth Bay, beside the town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Immediately adjacent to the beach is The Esplanade. The beach is a popular destination for sea bathing, and was frequ ...
.


History


The Pavilion and The Ritz (1908-1954)

The original pavilion was built in response to Weymouth's increasingly popularity as a seaside resort. Following calls for an entertainment venue, a site at the southern end of the Esplanade was chosen and an architectural competition launched in 1907 for the design of the theatre. It was built in 1908 of timber, with a steel frame, for a cost of £14,150, which included the reclamation of land on the esplanade. It was officially opened on 21 December 1908. In 1914, the council began leasing the theatre to Ernest Wheeler, who continued to run it for twenty five years. It later saw competition with the opening of the Alexandra Gardens Theatre in 1924. In response, the pavilion also began screening films. The pavilion was requisitioned by the military during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and was largely used by the newly-formed
No. 4 Commando No. 4 Commando was a battalion-sized British Army commando unit, formed in 1940 early in the Second World War. Although it was raised to conduct small-scale raids and harass garrisons along the coast of German occupied France, it was mainly emp ...
. During 1940, it was used to house 800 Moroccans from the French army and was then later used as a medical centre during the evacuation of the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
. The pavilion saw bomb damage in an air raid during April 1942 and was afterwards taken over by the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
, who retained it as a naval post sorting office until 1947. In 1947, the council leased the venue to the Buxton Theatre Circuit. After a new cinema projection room was installed in 1949, the tenants re-opened the theatre as ''The Ritz'' in May 1950. A new management company, Melcombe Productions, took over the venue in September 1951. Later in January 1954, some restoration work began on the building, including the renewal of the roof and the redecorating of its wooden exterior. However, on 13 April 1954, the building caught fire, which destroyed much of the building within an hour. The fire was sourced to the misuse of a blow-lamp and the damage costs were estimated to be around £80,000. The council claimed on the venue's fire insurance policy and its remains were demolished.


Weymouth Pavilion (1958-1960)

After much debate, the construction of a new theatre and ballroom began in September 1958. The design plans were drawn up by Samuel Beverley. After running a competition to name the new venue in 1959, the council decided on Weymouth Pavilion against The Normandy. The pavilion, which had cost £154,000 to build, was officially opened on 15 July 1960. The ballroom had opened shortly before this.


Redevelopment schemes (2006-2012)

It was announced in 2006 that the pavilion and its surroundings would be redeveloped as part of a £135-million redevelopment scheme from 2007 to 2011, in time for the
2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. The site was planned to include a new
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
visitor centre, a new
ferry terminal A passenger terminal is a structure in a port which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferries, cruise ships and ocean liners. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for example) ...
, a
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
, an undercover
car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...
, a shopping arcade,
apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...
s and a
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
. However, the scheme was cancelled in 2009 due to the economic recession. In 2012, Jeffrey Heintz of London-based designers White Knight, put forward a new £160-million redevelopment plan, stating that his team could transform the pavilion into a "flourishing one" under a trust and save taxpayers thousands of pounds. However, the onset of the
2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
prevented any redevelopment scheme from going ahead.


Closure and community handover (2012-present)

In 2012, The
Borough Council A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
announced it was considering options for cost-saving on the Pavilion site. Later that year, they announced the possible option of demolishing the pavilion and replacing it with a car park. In response, local campaigners launched a petition. Further talks by the council in 2013 considered the pavilion's future. Some of the options included demolishing it, leasing it to a community interest company or selling the building. It was recommended that the pavilion should be handed over to the community as opposed to demolition. After the official decision was made on 21 February 2013, the council called for bids to manage the venue for community use. Following a formal tender process the Pavilion was closed on 13 May 2013. The following month saw the announcement that local businessman Phil Say had been successful in bidding to run the theatre as a
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
business operated by a newly formed
Community Interest Company A community interest company (CIC, colloquially pronounced "kick") is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social ente ...
. The new lease was signed on 5 July 2013 and Weymouth Pavilion reopened to the public on 13 July 2013. In January 2015, it was revealed that the pavilion's figures had more than doubled under its new management, having in excess of 300,000 visitors and selling over 60,000 tickets in 2014. The following January saw the pavilion's most commercially successful show, the Christmas
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
, which topped box office records set by the previous year's pantomime
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
. The theatre now provides a wide-ranging programme including stand up comedians, live music, tribute acts, plays, opera and touring musicals such as Blood Brothers and
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...
.


References

{{reflist


External links


Official Website
1908 establishments in England Theatres in Dorset
Pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
Pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
Pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...