'It means everything to us' - Stockport's Forum Theatre reopens after RAAC nightmare

A theatre in Stockport has reopened after being closed for nearly a year due to dangerous concrete. The Forum Theatre, in Romiley, welcomed the public through its doors for the first time in more than 280 days, in an emotional evening which left audience members shedding tears at the end of the night.

The NK Theatre Arts-operated building was forced to close last September due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), sparking fears over its long-term future. The situation left the community devastated, but residents and campaigners got to work to find a solution.

Eventually, £300,000 was offered by Stockport council to fund temporary repairs to the roof. While more work is needed in future, to the tune of around £2m, it was enough to make the building safe and open the Forum Theatre once again.

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On the opening night, extra seating was needed in the auditorium to accommodate the huge demand of people wanting to be part of the special occasion. Guests were treated to a brilliant performance of 'Everybody's Talking about Jamie', a musical show about a teen's journey to becoming a drag queen.

The teenage NK Theatre Arts cast delivered a heart-warming display full of genuine humour and talent, ending the night to rapturous applause from spectators. Star of the show was 18-year-old Sam Jeffries who played lead character Jamie New.

The shows are Sam's last at the Forum Theatre before he moves to London to attend the Italia Conti performing arts school, which is described as one of the leading drama schools in the country. Sam has learned his craft at the Forum Theatre since being a child, and said his final performance in the building on Saturday will be difficult.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It's been very emotional, this is the first time we've been back in the building for months now. I had a moment at the start of the show when I had to take a breather - it's been an emotional day. I'm dreading Saturday, it's the last show for me before I go to London. It's going to be very hard to say goodbye to everyone, I've been here for many years.

"My favourite bit of the night was coming off after and being with the cast, there was pure joy realising that we've done it. You go through months of rehearsals and then you get in front of an audience, and to have them react the way they do is very rewarding. It's a family here, we're all so close and have such love for each other, that's a huge part of the reason I'll miss it so much."

There are around 300 members in the youth theatre at NK Theatre Arts, and some of them took part in the opening show on June 20. Behind the scenes, a number of volunteers spent long hours helping out before the opening night, working in the building until after 2am to make sure it was ready.

Darren Stannage, company manager at NK Theatre Arts, said: "It's been an incredibly difficult journey, it was such a shock for everyone initially when the theatre closed, but so many people pulled together to tackle this problem. The guys here doing the physical work have been incredible, they were here at 7.30 every morning, every weekend, they worked bank holidays, they were desperate to get this place open.

"They realised quite quickly what this building means to so many people, it's the heart of the community and it's fantastic to be open again. It's the heart of the village. This weekend we have three performances of this show, that's hundreds of people coming to Romiley, outside people will be in the bars and having a meal before the shows.

"It means everything to people here, they have tried to do anything they can to help. It's been incredible and the future is very much bright." The show was attended by Lisa Smart and Paul Athans, who are both running to become the next MP for Hazel Grove.

Mr Athans praised the work of Cassie Briffa who led the Free the Forum campaign to get the building back open. He said the theatre is the "heart of the community" and stressed how important it is for the whole area.

Ms Smart said it was 'fantastic' to see the theatre open again after all the work that was put in. She added: "Romiley Forum Theatre and the work done by NK Theatre Arts is such an asset for this community."

Kerry Day is the artistic director at NK Theatre Arts, and saw first-hand how much work was put in by the local community to get the building back open. She said for many people in Romiley and beyond, being back in the building feels like returning home.

She added: "If someone said to me a week ago that we would be open tonight, I wouldn't have believed it. "Everywhere was a complete mess, we had building stuff all around, everyone has worked so hard to get us open.

"It's been a very hard time and there's a real mix of emotions, almost a year, but we're back home and we have so many people to thank for that. The Forum Theatre is the centre of Romiley, it's a hub, a home."