Kent News - Artists' film tribute to lost theatre

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Artists' film tribute to lost theatre

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Billy Childish in the theatre

Tile detail

Balcony detail

A group of artists from Medway have made a poignant film to celebrate the crumbling beauty of a 19th century theatre.

Final Curtain at the Theatre Royal by Dave Wise features the painting, poetry and music of Billy Childish, Lupen Crook and Oliver Burgess and is set to premiere in Chatham on August 12.

The film was shot just days before the theatre was demolished earlier this year and the artists said they wanted to give people a final glimpse before the beauty and elegance of its interior was lost for good.

"It was genuinely beautiful and you can see remnants of what it must have been like," Mr Wise said.

"We went up there because it is so beautiful and really just nice to be there. I thought it would be good to record that because no one else is.

"It would have been nice if some of the tiles could have gone to a local museum but the demolition crew said they could sell everything off. Now, it’s never going to be seen by anyone in the towns again."

The Theatre Royal on Chatham High Street opened in 1899 with 3,000 seats and provided audiences in Medway with entertainment for more than 50 years.

It was shut down in 1955 and all but forgotten about until the 1980s when a campaign was launched by the local community to restore the building and reopen it as a theatre.

But in 2003 the campaign to save the theatre ran out of steam and the building was sold into private hands.

It was left to deteriorate and was torn down this year after it became a safety hazard.

Mr Wise said: "Billy, Lupen and Oliver performed their songs and poems all around the interior, downstairs and up, highlighting the stunning plasterwork and tiles, which have now all been lost."

The film questions why Medway Council never stepped in and attempted to save and preserve the theatre.

Mr Wise said that the theatre was just one example of other historic buildings in the Medway towns that are being sold off and demolished.

He said regeneration work should make the most of historic assets.

A spokesman for Medway Council said the local authority spends around £500,000 a year on the two theatres it runs and was never in a position to take on another loss making theatre.

Ten years ago the council gave the Theatre Royal Trust £50,000 for their fundraising but the campaigners were not able to raise the rest of the money needed.

He said: "The trustees were not able to raise enough money at the end of the day and the truth of the matter is that if the theatre had been vibrant and successful it would not have closed.

"Latterly, the building was in imminent danger of collapsing and we had to agree to the partial demolition to protect the public from any danger."

Final Curtain at the Theatre Royal premieres at The Command House, Chatham on August 12 and will also feature live performances by local poets. The evening starts at 8pm and entrance is £3.

The film can be viewed online after the showing at www.hakimslater.com and www.davewise.biz.

POSTED: 02/08/2009 11:00:00