'Local groups won't survive theatre closure'

Amateur dramatic groups may not survive the closure of a town's theatre, one of them has warned.

The Forum in Barrow, Cumbria, shut during Walney Musical Theatre Company's (WMTC) production of Legally Blonde in July 2024 after asbestos was discovered in the building.

The closure was then extended to discuss "more ambitious" plans to regenerate it as part of the government's £200m Barrow Transformation Fund.

WMTC chairman John Edwards said the venue needed to reopen urgently as groups were "losing money, and these losses are not survivable". Westmorland and Furness Council said it was a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to completely transform the town centre".

Edwards said WMTC members had been "absolutely devastated" when their run was cut short.

"We still had to pay for everything, the cast had been rehearsing for about six months, it was really hard," he said.

They have been able to use alternative venues since, including for an upcoming production of Sister Act in a church, but he said the "cracks are starting to show" with audience numbers falling for fellow non-profit groups.

"We either need an urgent reopening of The Forum or need a temporary theatre space in Barrow while a rebuild occurs," Edwards said.

"We cannot continue in this period of limbo."

The Liberal Democrat-run council agreed that the venue was a "cornerstone of culture in Barrow".

"Since we've been without it, we have all felt the loss, nobody more keenly than our passionate and dedicated local amateur performance community," a spokesperson said.

But the council said a public consultation was ongoing to "deliver a town centre that Barrovians can be proud of for generations to come".

Edwards said he found the council's lack of urgency "really frustrating".

He said they risked losing a generation of young people who may never develop an interest in theatre, and closing the door to schools and care homes that had received discounted tickets in the past.

"In an area where there aren't currently many opportunities, it's about throwing the doors open and getting as many people from different backgrounds," Edwards said.

"It's not just a theatre."

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