Cornwall’s refurbished Sterts Theater opens for business

An iconic Cornish theater which closed more than a year ago due to storm damage has reopened.

The tent canopy, which had been a feature of the amphitheater since 1994, was replaced with a steel frame building.

More than £1m has been awarded to Sterts by Cornwall Council and the Government to help pay for the new theater and improvements to the arts center and studio.

Richard Newton-Chance, chairman of Sterts trustees, said work was still ongoing, even though performances had been booked for the theatre.

“We’re in the middle of this construction project and we’re doing everything we can to get this ready for the opening of our new show, The Beast, which is mid-August,” he said.

“I think it will be quite nice when it’s finished, but (now) it looks like a big shed.

“The exterior you’ll see when you walk in will be western red cedar bifold doors.

“It’s a much bigger space now than it was originally.”

Mr Newton-Chance said the refurbished theatre, which includes a new orchestra pit, would show how effective the Good Growth Fund had been and how the arts could have a powerful influence in rural communities.

“We’re in south-east Cornwall, there’s nothing else here,” he said.

“People have to come here – there has to be something iconic that people really remember and notice.”

Nicky Brice, who has run a ballet school in Sterts for 23 years, said it was fantastic to be back in the theatre.

Her school, which has pupils aged three to 87, had its first performance at the new theater on Saturday night.

“It means a lot to us, all the adults and kids understand what a massive thing this is,” she said.