The Playhouse is a 664-seat theatre in Weston-super-Mare,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, South West England that hosts shows all year round including

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

, music and pantomime performances. In 1946 an old market building, designed by Hans Price, a local architect, was converted into a 500-seat theatre. For the next 18 years this theatre, The Playhouse, provided the town with a great variety of entertainment. Stars included

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

, Bob Monkhouse and Ken Dodd. On 21 August 1964 a fire destroyed most of the theatre and the unsafe structure had to be demolished. In 1969 at a cost of £230,000 a new theatre opened and has been in continuous use ever since. The stage measures by and can be extended by covering the orchestra pit. On 6 June 2007 the theatre staged the world première of ''Houdini—The Musical'', which is based on the life of the escapologist Harry Houdini. The musical includes Houdini's famous trick the '' Chinese Water Torture Cell''. The theatre suffered a major flooding incident on the evening of 27 April 2017 whilst hosting the North Somerset Schools Dance Festival. A rising water main burst on one of the upper floors leading to the evacuation of over 200 children and over 600 members of the audience. The fire brigade were called with 6 tenders attending to pump out the basement level which was completely flooded.

Pantomime

The following is a list of recent annual pantomimes: *1996 - Jack and the Beanstalk starring Keith Harris with puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey *1997 - Dick Whittington starring Sophie Lawrence (Eastenders), Simon Parkin (CBBC Presenter), Mike Nolan (Bucks Fizz) *1998 - Aladdin starring Stefan Dennis *1999 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves starring Anne Charleston *2000 - Cinderella Starring Andrew Linford, Adele Silva, Jack Douglas *2001 - Jack and the Beanstalk starring Antonio Fargas, Paul Moriaty and Katy Reeves *2002 - Peter Pan starring

Derek Griffiths Derek Griffiths (born 15 July 1946) is a British actor, singer and voice artist who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1970s to present and has more recently played parts in television drama. Career Griffiths was ...

and Sonia *2003 - Aladdin starring Peter Amory, Bindya Solanki and John Pickard *2004 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves starring Bernie Clifton, Danielle Nicholls and Kim Hartman *2005 - Cinderella starring Jimmy Cricket as Buttons, with children's TV personalities Lucinda Rhodes-Flaherty and Jacqueline Boatswain. *2006 - Dick Whittington starring Jeremy Edwards, Anna Kumble and Shaun Williamson *2007 - Jack and the Beanstalk starring Bruce Jones and Sue Hodge *2008 - Peter Pan with Timmy Mallett and David Griffin *2009 - Snow White starring Peter Duncan and Vicki Michelle *2010 - Cinderella starring Sean Wilson, Kelle Bryan, John Lyons *2011 - Aladdin starring John Challis, Cat Sandion, Craig Daniel Adams, Simmons and Simmons *2012 -

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

starring Lorraine Chase *2013 - Jack and the Beanstalk starring George Sampson *2014 - Peter Pan starring Dean Gaffney, Gemma Bissex, Jordan Fox, Sophie Adams *2015 - Cinderella starring

Joe Swash Joseph Adam Swash (born ) is a British actor and television presenter from London, best known for his role of Mickey Miller in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and various presenting roles with ITV2. He won the eighth series of '' I'm ...

, Sophie Adams *2016 - Beauty and the Beast starring John Challis *2017 - Aladdin starring John Altman (Eastenders) *2018 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves starring Linda Lusardi *2019 - Cinderella starring Linda Lusardi *2020 -

*2021 - Jack And The Beanstalk *2022 -

starring Vicki Michelle *2023 - Dick Whittington starring Linda Lusardi

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare Theatres in Somerset Buildings and structures in Weston-super-Mare