Ron Drew's Theatre Page
The Little Theatre, Boldon Lane, Cleadon Village
The Cleadon Village Drama group was formed in December 1945 and productions were originally given in the village hall in Cleadon Village - a suburb of South Shields, half way between there and Sunderland. Once established they decided to aim to have a theatre in the village where their productions could be staged and in 1948 a development committee was set up. Its aim was to have a hall of their own, fully equipped with workshops and dress-making facilities.
This dream has still to be fully attained but the group's enthusiasm has not waned over the years. In August 1951 they were in a position to purchase a small, pre-fabricated structure behind a garage in Boldon Lane in the village. The corrugated building dated back to pre-war days, had been used for storage in a Sunderland shipyard and was not in in good condition.
The Group soon got the building converted into a reasonable Theatre with stage and lighting with seating for 68 theatre-goers. It had a good atmosphere and the facility is well appreciated by its patrons.
The structure is now depreciating at an increasing rate and the fund-raising committee are working overtime to enable their dream come true. The group consider that the loyal support of their patrons should be repaid by providing them with more modern facilities and a larger capacity yet still retaining the intimate character of the theatre. With £13,000 already raised the Group are hoping to arrange help from grants or the Lottery fund.
As the Chairman of the Group, Peter Calvert, says........."The theatre we have at the minute has a terrific atmosphere and the local people really appreciate it but we have always wanted something just a little bit bigger ......What we want to create is a whole community facility for the village and especially for the youngsters. There is a new generation out there and we would like to get tem involved with the drama group as much as we can"
Despite the problems of putting on productions with minimum amenities The Cleadon Village Drama Group are able to mount three productions each year usually in November, February and June.
(acknowledgement is given for material obtained from the
"Shields Gazette")
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