World's smallest theatre in Malvern set for summer relaunch
Volunteers say they are delighted with the progress made in revamping the world's smallest theatre - with the Malvern attraction on track to reopen this summer.The Theatre of Small Convenience in Edith Walk, which seats just 12 people, closed down in 2017.The inside of the former Victorian toilet block has now been transformed - with fresh painting, new flooring, a brand new roof and heating being installed.Volunteer Dibah Farooki said: "It's been really joyful - it's so nice to see it rising from the ashes."
The overhaul - which is ongoing - was made possible after a fundraising campaign resulted in £17,000 in donations. Last year volunteers formed a Community Interest Company (CIC) to fund the transformation, in the hope it would open in time for the school summer holidays.Loz Samuels, one of the volunteers, said: "We've been working really hard - we've had lots of tradespeople coming in, doing the bits that we can't do."Obviously it's a bit restricted because of the size - when we came in everything was covered in soot, so we've been doing a lot of cleaning."We've done a lot of painting - we're just trying to restore it back to what it was, and it's got a new roof now, so it's watertight. "Now we've got heating in there as well," added Ms Farooki. "So hopefully people will be warm and cosy when they come in during the winter for a show. "We started from the top down really - we did the roof, the drains, we cleaned the woodwork, the electrics got put in, and the walls got plastered."It's coming along great."
The venue, which opened in 1997, was officially named the world's smallest commercial theatre by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2002.It closed when the original owner, Dennis Neale, retired, leading to the building falling into disrepair.It was further damaged by a fire four years ago.Volunteer Dr Jan Birtle said the work was attracting attention from passers-by."Every time I've been here and I've opened the door, somebody's come past and you can see them hovering around a bit," she said."We can't be specific on a date, but we're hoping to launch a programme from probably August onwards - stuff like puppet artists, musicians, maybe play-reading for example. There's a lot of stuff up our sleeves that we're still investigating."There's such a lot of interest in it - it's really exciting times."
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