Image demonstrating Grand opening weekend of events planned for Alnwick Playhouse and community hub 

Grand opening weekend of events planned for Alnwick Playhouse and community hub 


Alnwick Playhouse, one of the town’s most popular and well loved buildings is to re-open to the public on Friday January 3rd.

A grand opening weekend of events has been planned to mark the occasion following the 
£3.3 million renovation which has also created a community hub in the building with a cafe, library and tourist information centre on the ground floor. The  bar, gallery and auditorium have also been refurbished.

Over the course of the weekend, Friday 3 to Sunday 5 January,  there will be broadcasts of the musical productions, 42nd Street and Cats,  which are now almost sold out. There will also be public tours of the building and a celebratory evening will be held on the evening of Saturday 4  with some traditional music from Alistair Anderson and band. 

The Alnwick Forum will also be holding a special drop in session on Saturday 10am - 4pm and this will include a presentation in the auditorium together with the Playhouse between 10am - 11am.   The presentation will provide an opportunity to hear in more detail about the aims and future challenges for the Playhouse, it is free but tickets must be pre-booked.

Both the town’s library and Tourist Information Centre are now up and running in The Playhouse.

Over the grand opening weekend the library, which has relocated from Green Batt, will be running cartoon drawing workshops, story sessions and a meet and greet with Mog the cat for younger children.

Northumberland County Council has contributed £2.5 million towards the cost of the work, with the Playhouse raising a further £800,000. 

Cath Homer, cabinet member for arts, leisure, culture and tourism said:

“  The building is set to become a real focal point and hub for the town,  bringing the community together under one roof.

“ By relocating some council services into the building we have been able to secure the future of the Playhouse which I am confident will continue to be well used by local residents and visitors for generations to come.

Jo Potts, Manager of the Alnwick Playhouse said:

“ The closure of the Playhouse has allowed this well-loved arts centre to be restored and repaired to the highest of standards, bringing the whole building back to life.  We trust the new and improved Playhouse will continue to entertain Alnwick and the wider community for many years to come. We have a full programme of events planned over the grand opening weekend and throughout spring, so please take a look on our website to see what is on offer and come along and join in the fun.”

Local Ward Councillor, Gordon Castle said: “ Having been with this project since its beginning I can hardly express my gratitude sufficiently to those who have helped bring it to fruition as a partnership to bring the arts community and town visitors together under one roof. Thanks to major public investment and enthusiastic joint planning The Playhouse retains its complete independence as an arts venue but the council provides a modern library and TIC  alongside, so each benefits from the other.”


While some events are free, others are ticketed. For full details, times and ticket prices go to www.alnwickplayhouse.co.uk
 
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