Picture caption: Katherine Jenkins accepts a cheque for £6000 on behalf of the Children’s Theatre Appeal from the evening’s sponsor Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa Company. From Left to right: Rhea Blakeley, Jenny Mather (Opera House Business Development Officer), John Smith on behalf of Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa Company, Katherine Jenkins, Nathan Lomas & Harry Gibbons.

The new £1.7 million venue – to be known as the Pavilion Arts Centre – will be a flexible multi-user venue, suitable for large and small performances, workshop and participatory activities, conferences, meetings and lectures, and a wide programme of fairs and other events and attractions. It will consist of a 100-seat studio theatre (the Opera House’s “Children’s Theatre”) on the stage of the Paxton Suite, and 367 seats in the main auditorium. The two will be separated by a removable soundproof partition, so that for certain events both spaces can be used at the same time, or – with the studio seats retracted into the wings and the partition out – the new venue can serve as a 367-seat auditorium, ideal as a complement to the Opera House during the Buxton Festival and Gilbert & Sullivan Festival seasons.

In the main body of the Paxton Suite the current false ceiling will be removed, exposing the original vaulted roof, and the the balcony will be reinstated, along with its 160 seats. On the ground floor a single level will be created out of the current two, and there will be retractable seating for 207, which can slide away to create a large flat-floor space for workshops, meetings, fairs and other events. The ground floor will be partitioned off under the balcony to create a small bar and foyer area for the new venue.

As well as housing the Opera House’s Children’s Theatre programme, plus the Summer Festival and Fringe programme, and all of the events which currently take place in the Paxton Suite, the new arts centre will also hopefully act as a part-time lecture hall for the University of Derby Buxton, and as a venue for a range of new small-scale conferences in the town, and both the studio and main auditorium will be available for a host of community uses and community hires throughout the year. The range of potential uses is the result of a large consultation process with local stakeholders, interested parties and members of the public.

The project is currently the subject of an application to Derby & Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DDEP) for half of the £1.7 million cost. A decision is expected from DDEP by the end of September, and much of the 50% matching funding required is already in place. The Opera House is also continuing with its appeal to raise funds for the “Children’s Theatre” element of the project. The anticipated three-month capital project will take place either immediately before or after the summer 2009 festival season, and will dovetail perfectly from the Council’s £500,000 refurbishment, in Spring 09, of the restaurant and café areas, incorporating a new TIC, retail space and ice cream parlour.

Opera House chief executive Andrew Aughton said: “I am delighted that the Children’s Studio Theatre project, which we have been planning for so many years, and which will still go ahead as planned, has led to this hugely exciting and much larger partnership project with the Borough Council. As well as fulfilling all the Opera House’s ambitions for an expanded programme for children, teenagers and families, it also opens up an enormous range of possibilities for everybody else interested in using the Paxton Suite – the Council, the university, local community and arts groups, conference organisers and many more. I am certain the new arts centre will be a fantastic development for the community, and for arts and events in Buxton”.

Tony Kemp, HPBC Executive Councillor for Regeneration, said: “I am confident we will obtain the necessary funding for this exciting project, which will be a major step in the ongoing restoration and development work at the Pavilion Gardens. The refurbishment of the Paxton Theatre to its original glory, but with a modern take on the facilities available will make it a venue of which local people can be really proud and an asset to the community. I think what is also really encouraging is that the project builds on the valuable partnership between the Opera House and the Council to keep our town’s historic buildings in the uses for which they were intended. The opportunity to bring the University into the partnership is equally exciting, as it helps us to build on a theme to encourage young people to make more use of these heritage buildings, in the new auditorium, the Children’s Theatre and also by following our new plant “trail” in the Conservatory.”

This year’s Buxton Opera House pantomime is set to provide more fast-moving comedy action, toe-tapping pop songs, dazzling dance routines and fairy dust than ever before, making Cinderella the perfect seasonal treat for the whole family.

Channel Theatre Company’s presentation of Cinderella runs from Friday 12 December 2008 to Saturday 3 January 2009. Tickets are on sale now and priced from £13.50 to £18 and discounts are available. To book tickets or for further information, please contact the Box Office on 0845 127 2190 or visit www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk.

Jenny Mather, Opera House Business Development Officer gave members an incentive to spread the word about the wide variety of marketing opportunities on offer by introducing a ‘Recommend a Friend’ scheme – with money-saving benefits for those present. During the night attendees were also encouraged to make a special offer, exclusive to fellow Opera House supporters via a fun ‘2-minutes on the microphone’.

This successful event was the inaugural networking evening for Buxton Opera House supporters and members, and will be repeated in the future.

For more information about the Cavendish Business Club or Sponsorship at the Opera House, please contact resident Development Officer, Jenny Mather (Tel: 0129872050, email: development@boh.org.uk )

Sponsored by Pizza Express and The University of Derby Buxton and presented with support from High Peak Borough Council, the Festival welcomed a record 7,230 customers to its 19 concerts (10 in the Opera House and 9 in the Gardens) over its ten-day run, taking just over £150,000 at the box office. The programme featured an incredible five sell-out nights in the Opera House – Marc Almond, who opened the Festival on Friday 15th,The Stranglers, Richard Hawley, Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings and Boy George, who brought proceedings to a close on Sunday 24th. There were also near sell-outs for Freeborn John starring Maddy Prior and The Levellers, and for Scottish celtic heroes The Peatbog Faeries.

In the Pavilion Gardens Lounge there was an eclectic mix of: jazz from The Gary Boyle Quartet & Zoe Rahman, folk from Ashley Hutchings & The Larkrise Band, poetry and music from The Ian McMillan Orchestra, the very best of Buxton’s own music-makers in Bla-Bla-Bla, and a sell-out for BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year, Julie Fowlis. A total of 900 people came to see the nine concerts in the Pavilion Gardens Lounge.

Andrew Aughton, Chief Executive of the Opera House, said: “This was a stunning Festival with some unforgettable performances, especially Marc Almond’s and Richard Hawley’s. The bar has been raised by our new record total attendance of 7,230, which is over 10% more than our previous best in 2006, and to have five sell-out concerts in one week, all by very prominent names on the live music circuit, was a fantastic bonus for the Festival and for our audiences. Needless to say, we are already busily planning for next year!”

Four-Four Time 09 will run from Friday 13 to Sunday 22 February 2009.