The Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare

The Playhouse is a 664-seat theatre in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, South West England that hosts shows all year round including opera, ballet, comedy, 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, 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 59 feet (18 m) by 28 feet (9 m) 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 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 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, 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 - Sleeping Beauty 2021 - Jack And The Beanstalk 2022 - Sleeping Beauty starring Vicki Michelle 2023 - Dick Whittington starring Linda Lusardi References External links Official Website