"North Pier Theatre will be closed in the short term as we begin a schedule of essential refurbishment and specialist restoration that cannot be carried out during the harsh winter months," Sedgwick told the Stage. "I sincerely apologise to all our patrons who have booked tickets to the shows and a full refund policy is currently in place".
The theatre plans include a full refurbishment of the dressings rooms, stage door entrance, green rooms and back of house areas.
Child's Play - Kinks singer Ray Davies has used his band's hit songs to write a musical play tracing the last 60 years of cultural and political life in the UK. But while bands such as Abba and Queen have had their music turned into hit West End shows, Davies' production is being performed by school pupils. Students from John Ruskin School in Coniston, Cumbria, performed Child's Play for the first time on Sunday at the Southbank Centre in London.
The soundtrack features Kinks tracks and songs from Davies' solo catalogue, including All Day and All of the Night, Waterloo Sunset, Dead End Street and Do It Again. The show "provides a commentary on the aspirations and disappointments through the decades of modern Britain, since the Festival of Britain in 1951", according to producers Grizedale Arts.
Off Stage - Adele was forced to cancel the first two shows of her UK tour because of a severe cold and chest infection. The 23-year-old had been due to perform at Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday evening and at Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) on Monday. BIC operations manager Alfredo Abad said the concert would be rescheduled and original tickets would be valid.
Pukkelpop Fund - Organisers of Belgium's Pukkelpop festival have announced the creation of a fund for families of people killed in a violent storm at the event. Staging collapsed and giant screens fell when the storm struck Hasselt, eastern Belgium last month. Five people died and more than 70 were injured. The three-day event was cancelled.
Organisers vowed that "the full amount of every donation, large or small, will go to the victims". A statement on their website announced the creation of the Steunfonds Slachtoffers Pukkelpopstorm (Support Fund for the Victims of the Pukkelpop Storm). It urged the public "to support the victims and their surviving loved ones by contributing" to the fund.
Olympic Countdown - An "unprecedented gathering" of global performers and artists is to be revealed later today (Monday) as part of the World Shakespeare Festival. Next year's festival, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, is part of the Cultural Olympiad, a series of artistic events for the 2012 Olympics. Festival director Deborah Shaw has said it will explore "tectonic shifts in society" through the bard's plays. Performances will take place both in London and across the UK.
(Jim Evans)
