Daneside Theatre is a theatre in the town of Congleton, Cheshire, England.[9] It opened in 1984 and expanded in 2001. The theatre is used by several local dramatic and musical societies.[10]
Daneside Theatre was built in response to the closure of the Players Hall on Eaton’s bank that was used by the Congleton Players.[4] The Players Hall was closed to allow for the construction of the Mountbatten Way inner relief road.[4]
In 4 October 1980, the first sod was cut.[4] The theatre was built by Daneside Theatre Trust Ltd. on top of the Congleton open-air swimming baths as part of the Daneside Leisure Development,[5] which led to the closure of the swimming baths.[4][10] The theatre cost £198,000 to build;[8] some funding came from local townspeople who paid to have a seat named after a family member.[10] The theatre officially opened on 3 October 1984 by the chairman of Congleton Inclosure trust, Jocelyn Solly.[11]
The first production at Daneside Theatre was Curtain Up which featured various amateur theatrical groups in and around Congleton.[4] In attendance were local members of parliament, mayors of both the Borough of Congleton and the town of Congleton, and other dignitaries.[5]
A projector from Barclays Bank's training centre in Knutsford, which had recently switched to using video units for training, was donating to the theatre, which allowed for film screenings.[5] The first movie to be screened at Daneside Theatre was Desperately Seeking Susan.[5] Among the audience that night were the mayor of Congleton Borough, councillor Joe Alcock, and Congleton town mayor councillor Mike Kitton.[5]
Refurbishment
Daneside Theatre was refurbished in 1997[6] at a cost of over £100,000.[12] The refurbishment added a foyer and disabled toilets to the theatre, with a large amount of money coming from the estate of Jocelyn Solly.[12]
Fire
The theatre was subject to an arson attack in 1998,[6] when two storage containers outside the theatre were set alight.[13] The props and scenery stored in the containers were destroyed.[13] Firefighters were able to prevent the fire spreading between the burning containers and the theatre.[6][14]
Expansion
Plaque marking the date the expansion was opened
The building was expanded at a total cost of £238,000 in 2001, of which £56,775 came as a grant from the Arts Council of England,[12] and some came though support other organisations, such as the Garfield Weston Foundation.[15] The expansion added new rehearsal rooms, a meeting room, and extra storage space.[7]
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