Brookside Theatre

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Brookside Theatre
The entrance to the Brookside Theatre
Map
LocationRomford, Greater London
United Kingdom
Public transitElizabeth line London Overground National Rail Romford
Capacity194
Opened2012; 12 years ago (2012)
Website
brooksidetheatre.com

The Brookside Theatre is a 194-seat studio theatre situated in the centre of Romford in the London Borough of Havering, Greater London.

The theatre was established in 2012 and plays host to many full scale theatre productions; musicals and plays, tribute bands, live music, comedy and celebrity guests and has been heralded as "Romford's best kept secret".

History[edit]

The outside of the Brookside Theatre

The Theatre staged its first production in 2012; Shout! The Mod Musical, to raise money for the much needed renovation of the neglected war memorial buildings.

As well as producing in-house shows which have included Avenue Q, The Woman in Black, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Addams Family, Little Shop of Horrors, Peter Pan The Musical, and Hi-De-Hi, the theatre now plays host to touring plays, top tribute acts, concerts, comedy evenings and celebrity guests appearances. The theatre has also produced a number of UK / world premieres including Forever Dusty, Life Could Be a Dream, When Rock n Roll Dreams Come True and Goodnight Sweetheart The Musical.

The theatre and the war memorial renovation is a completely self-funded project that relies on the generosity and kindness of local companies and organisations and the support of the local community as well as the dedication of its volunteers.

The Brookside Theatre Auditorium
The Brookside Theatre Box Office

Celebrity appearances[edit]

The following celebrities and bands have performed at the theatre:

Romford War Memorial[edit]

These historic buildings were officially opened on 11 October 1953, by Lt.-Col Sir Francis Whitmore the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, to commemorate residents, civilians and service personnel of the Borough of Romford, who lost their lives during World War II.

This once popular community hall and memorial, fell into severe neglect with one of the buildings boarded up well over two decades ago – this building houses commemorative oak panels engraved with the names of the fallen; a donation from the USAF in recognition of the hospitality they received whilst stationed here during the war. Following the construction of a ring road around this historic market town, in the early 1970s, large office blocks were erected, engulfing the memorial which was soon, sadly forgotten.

Alleged paranormal activity[edit]

The feature reached the international media's attention in 2014 following CCTV footage that allegedly showed possible paranormal activity.[8][9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Brookside Theatre - Schedule of events (Jan-June 2015)" (PDF). Havering Council. p. 3. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Now on to Romford for tonight's show at the Brookside Theatre". Twitter. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. ^ Wilkin, Andy (25 November 2014). "The first x-factor winner, Steve Brookstein performs live at the Brookside theatre". Hornchurchlife. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Brookside Theatre - Schedule of events (Jan-June 2015)" (PDF). Havering Council. p. 4. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  5. ^ Nair, Ajay (18 January 2015). "Jerry Lee Lewis tribute act to shake up Brookside Theatre". Romford Recorder. Retrieved 13 May 2015. He added: "It's a really lovely theatre too – I performed at the Brookside with Anita Harris last year, which was great."
  6. ^ Richards, Lee-Ann (4 June 2013). "Chas Hodges to perform at the Brookside Theatre, Romford". Romford Recorder. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Honeycombs have the right to celebrate with a few dates". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  8. ^ "'Ghosts' caught on CCTV at English theatre". Breaking News Ireland. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Tétrico: Aseguran haber grabado a un fantasma en teatro inglés". El Dinamo. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

External links[edit]

51°34′34″N 0°11′07″E / 51.5761°N 0.1853°E / 51.5761; 0.1853

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brookside_Theatre&oldid=1056809624"