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Felixstowe Spa Pavilion closes after final Aladdin show | Felixstowe Spa Pavilion closes after final Aladdin show |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The curtain will come down for the final time later on a 100-year-old Suffolk theatre staging its last production. | The curtain will come down for the final time later on a 100-year-old Suffolk theatre staging its last production. |
The Felixstowe Spa Pavilion will close after the final performance of Aladdin on Sunday night. | The Felixstowe Spa Pavilion will close after the final performance of Aladdin on Sunday night. |
The council ended its subsidy and a buyer has not yet come forward. | The council ended its subsidy and a buyer has not yet come forward. |
Manager Julie Howes said she "hoped it wouldn't come to this" but it was a credit to staff that they wanted to see it through to the end. | Manager Julie Howes said she "hoped it wouldn't come to this" but it was a credit to staff that they wanted to see it through to the end. |
"They've all given so much to this venue and they wanted to be here right until the last day," she added. | "They've all given so much to this venue and they wanted to be here right until the last day," she added. |
"They really are a superb bunch of people." | "They really are a superb bunch of people." |
Without the £250,000 subsidy from Suffolk Coastal District Council, the theatre could not carry on. | |
'Good crowd' | 'Good crowd' |
Geoff Holdcroft, cabinet member for leisure, said it conducted a review in October 2011 and decided it did not have the money to support the Spa Pavilion in its current format. | Geoff Holdcroft, cabinet member for leisure, said it conducted a review in October 2011 and decided it did not have the money to support the Spa Pavilion in its current format. |
"They've got 35,000 people coming though the doors in a year, that compares to 90,000 in Cromer, 160,00 at the Regent in Ipswich," he said. | "They've got 35,000 people coming though the doors in a year, that compares to 90,000 in Cromer, 160,00 at the Regent in Ipswich," he said. |
"It just doesn't compare." | "It just doesn't compare." |
The Spa Pavilion opened in June 1909, with flags put up around Felixstowe to celebrate the opening of a new venue for the east coast. | The Spa Pavilion opened in June 1909, with flags put up around Felixstowe to celebrate the opening of a new venue for the east coast. |
Folk musician Charlie Landsborough, who has performed at the theatre many times, said it would be sadly missed. | Folk musician Charlie Landsborough, who has performed at the theatre many times, said it would be sadly missed. |
"I'm as sick as everyone else," he said. "It was always a place we always looked forward to playing, the staff there were fantastic. | "I'm as sick as everyone else," he said. "It was always a place we always looked forward to playing, the staff there were fantastic. |
"The theatre had a great ethos about it and we always got a good crowd." | "The theatre had a great ethos about it and we always got a good crowd." |
It has also hosted several theatre shows for BBC Radio Suffolk. | It has also hosted several theatre shows for BBC Radio Suffolk. |
All 43 staff have been made redundant. | All 43 staff have been made redundant. |
The final show is the 47th pantomime staged at the venue by the Dennis Lowe Theatre Company - named after its founder who died in 1999. | The final show is the 47th pantomime staged at the venue by the Dennis Lowe Theatre Company - named after its founder who died in 1999. |
Suzie Lowe, his daughter and current director of the company, told the BBC in December that the show would ensure the theatre "went out with a bang". | Suzie Lowe, his daughter and current director of the company, told the BBC in December that the show would ensure the theatre "went out with a bang". |
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