THE SHOW must go on – that was the mantra of Knowle Musical Theatre Society when fears the curtain would remain down on its show after The Core was forced to closed over safety concerns.
The closure came after the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) was a bodyblow for the Society which had just started Crazy For You rehearsals ready to take to the stage in March.
However, Knowle Musical Theatre Society remained optimistic as a meeting between amateur groups that use the theatre and Solihull Council gave a glimmer of hope for the spring season.
Annette Nuttall, chairman of the Society, said: “We weren’t cancelled straight away, there was still hope that the survey would come back with the result that the theatre could reopen and anything after November 2023 could go ahead as planned.”
But a further meeting sealed the fate of The Core and left the Society questioning whether its production would be able to make the move to The Artrix in Bromsgrove, where Solihull’s pantomime was moved to.
Annette said: “The attitude all the way through from our cast and production team was, as expected, that the show must go on. We weren’t sure if we could also make the move to Bromsgrove or if we would have to look for another venue. Enquires for alternative venues was already underway.
“It was a tense time. Full of uncertainty.
“Everything was very uncertain, we carried on rehearsing but all the usual preparations to sort out the other aspects of the show had to be put in hold. Many technical aspects are venue specific, with no known venue we couldn’t look into these.”
But all was not lost – after getting approval from the rights holders, another group who were performing the same show 10 miles away from The Artix, and the cast it was agreed that the show would go on.
Since then rehearsals and stage preparations have been in full swing, ready for curtain up on March 12.
Annette said: “We are all excited and can’t wait to bring the show to the stage. It’s a fun show full of great songs, dance routines and comedy. Despite everything we have enjoyed rehearsals.
“It’s the last amateur musical from The Core at The Artrix.
“Usually in the Spring season there are six amateur musicals. Not all have managed to find a new venue.
“We do consider ourselves lucky to have this chance to take to the stage, but at the same time very sad that our friends in other amateur groups have not had this opportunity.”
