Cronton students tread the brand new boards of the Cronton Playhouse

Talented performing arts students and staff at Cronton Sixth Form are celebrating the grand opening of the brand new Cronton Playhouse Theatre with an outstanding performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical, The Phantom of the Opera.

The impressive theatre was unveiled to excited students and staff days before the opening of the show to allow them to set the scene for the first production to take place at the fantastic new venue.

The 320 seat theatre is home to the very latest technology, with an advanced technical booth, offering new spectacular effects and high impact sound. The facility is a wonderful addition to the Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts at the College, providing the talented students an opportunity to learn and perform in an outstanding performance space.

The sold out audiences attending The Phantom of the Opera were not only wowed by the stunning new theatre, but were also captivated by the outstanding cast who have been working hard in preparation for the special first production. The whole cast and crew produced three breath-taking performances lead by the incredibly talented Emily Sharples as Christine Daae, Christopher Grave as The Phantom and Ethan Turton as Raoul.

The official opening was then honoured by two stunning performances from West End stars Carl Sanderson; who appeared as the Phantom in the West End, and the Patron of the Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts, Zoe Curlett, who has performed as Christine in the famous musical. Zoe then went on to officially open the new Cronton Playhouse with a ceremonial unveiling of the plaque.

Matt Plant, Head of the Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts said, “The Cronton Playhouse is the product of a great deal of team work with students and staff over the years. We are hugely grateful to all of our talented past students whose time and dedication to our projects went some way in enabling us to have this wonderful venue.

“The Phantom of the Opera production was an enormous success and a fitting beginning to our new performing arts journey in our brand new theatre. We are now looking forward to start work on our next major production of A Chorus Line which will take place at the Cronton Playhouse on 26th and 27th June.”

The audience feedback from the first show has been exceptional, with one spectator commenting, “Amazingly talented students. Fabulous stage presence and performances all around. The band did a superb job; huge congratulations to everyone involved, LOVED the new theatre too.”

Another audience member said, “The show was fantastic. Totally jaw dropping performance, absolutely stunning honestly. All involved should be so proud, the opening performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the Cronton Playhouse Theatre was totally amazing.”