The world’s smallest theatre which almost burnt down before falling into a state of disrepair is set for a big re-opening.
The Theatre of Convenience – a former gents’ toilets – is only big enough for 12 people and has a tiny 1.5m (4.9ft) stage.
It opened in Malvern, Worcs., in 1997 and was officially named the world’s smallest commercial theatre by Guinness Book of World Records in 2002.
Original owner Dennis Neale showcased comedy productions and performed his own puppet shows in the theatre for two decades.
The tiny theatre measures just 5.23m (17ft) long and 2.8m (9.1ft) wide at its widest point.
After he retired in 2017 it passed into the hands of a college drama department but a fire started by a faulty dehumidifier caused extensive smoke damage.
The building fell into a state of disrepair but it is now set to enjoy an encore after a group of theatre fans took it over.
Friends Loz Samuels, Dibah Farooqui and Dr Jan Birtle are in the process of taking ownership of the theatre full time.
Malvern Hills District Council has agreed to pass the theatre to the trio through a council asset transfer.
The group are hoping to raise £25,000 to carry out urgent repairs to the building including fixing the leaking roof and completely rewiring the electrics.
The Theatre of Convenience – a former gents’ toilets – is only big enough for 12 people and has a tiny 1.5m (4.9ft) stage.
It opened in Malvern, Worcs., in 1997 and was officially named the world’s smallest commercial theatre by Guinness Book of World Records in 2002.
Original owner Dennis Neale showcased comedy productions and performed his own puppet shows in the theatre for two decades.
The tiny theatre measures just 5.23m (17ft) long and 2.8m (9.1ft) wide at its widest point.
After he retired in 2017 it passed into the hands of a college drama department but a fire started by a faulty dehumidifier caused extensive smoke damage.
The building fell into a state of disrepair but it is now set to enjoy an encore after a group of theatre fans took it over.
Friends Loz Samuels, Dibah Farooqui and Dr Jan Birtle are in the process of taking ownership of the theatre full time.
Malvern Hills District Council has agreed to pass the theatre to the trio through a council asset transfer.
The group are hoping to raise £25,000 to carry out urgent repairs to the building including fixing the leaking roof and completely rewiring the electrics.
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FunTranscript
00:00I'm Loz Samuels, I'm part of a group of women that are taking over the Theatre of Small
00:15Convenience. We've set up a CIC, we've got Dr Jan Birtle and Deba Faruqi who are equally
00:24as enthusiastic as I am to see the theatre restored and open it up again as an entertainment
00:31hub for the Melbourne town. We've set up a proud funding campaign on Space Hive for people
00:36to donate which is going quite well but we're a long way off our target. We've also just
00:41been given some funding for Melbourne Hills Town Council so that's a big help. We've got
00:47a lot of repairs to do, we need a new roof, we need rewiring, all sorts of work needs
00:52to be done to get this little theatre open and restore it back to its title of the smallest
00:57theatre in the world. The whole theatre is full of amazing detail and quite a lot of
01:03it is animated or it adds to the atmosphere that Denny's created. So this old puppet has
01:09lost its weight now but that would move as people come in. These lovely little bits that
01:17make sound effects. This is an old piano.
01:35So much of the theatre is made out of reclaimed bits of old furniture and the dome above the
01:41stage is made from an old rattan chair and Denny's put little sections of coloured glass
01:46in it so when the lights are on it all illuminates different colours which makes it really beautiful.
01:53These panels here, they're open from the back, little doors so Denny's would appear or put
01:59puppets out of them and they're all made out of bits of old furniture, bits of old piano,
02:04pianolas, these are old chairs, old chair legs and table legs. So everything's reclaimed
02:10and really beautifully carved.