blackmore theatre

The Exmouth Players are celebrating taking outright control of the Blackmore Theatre - 11 years after being granted a loan to buy it.

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The Players received a loan of £70,000 from East Devon District Council to buy the Bicton Street building in December 2000, along with £5,000 grants from the district council and Exmouth Town Council.

Now, after 11 years of hard work, they have finally paid off the last of the debt and taken control of the theatre outright.

The Players’ Fred Caygill, who was the group’s development committee chairman when the loan was agreed, said that the hard work had been worth it.

He said: “It was a big challenge for the Exmouth Players to take on, and it meant we had to work extra hard to get people in the door and keep the money coming in to pay back the loan.

“We’re very pleased as an organisation that we’ve now made that final payment, and the Blackmore Theatre is in the hands of members of Exmouth Players.”

Fred says that ownership of the theatre was a dream held by Players for many generations.

“I led a committee of people at the time, but it really came about after listening to older members talking about their dreams and aspirations to one day own our own theatre.

“I think we owe a big thank you to the town council, the county council and the district council, for the faith they’ve put in us being able to pay back the loan, which now gives us an opportunity to make the Blackmore a place that can be utilised by the community.”

Current Players’ secretary Wendy Bishop said: “We are thrilled to have paid off the loan, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who, out of necessity, had the vision to make this possible, allowing the theatre to grow and flourish.

“Our current committees, whilst containing some stalwarts, are relatively new and are re-grouping to continue with the re-development of the theatre and to select productions that will continue to appeal to our patrons.

“We look forward to the future prosperity of our theatre.”

Over the years the Players have improved disabled access to the theatre, improved toilet facilities and installed air conditioning.

Their next production will be Suddenly at Home by Francis Durbridge, from March 12 to March 17.

For a full programme of events, visit www.blackmoretheatre.co.uk