THIS year the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton is celebrating its 45th year of existence by doing what it does best - showcasing the very best of the arts in the South West.
Officially the birthday is March 28, 1977, and closer to the date the County Gazette will do a more in depth look at some of the best moments in the theatres history.
For now though we wanted to look back at where it all began.
In 1977, The Brewhouse Theatre opened after a 30 year of struggle to find a suitable venue and the money to make our then theatre-less town a hub for culture.
John Wilkins, the then secretary of Taunton Theatre Trust, spearheaded the battle which at the time he described to the County Gazette as seeming 'impossible'.
But after years of planning and rallying, the theatre was approved and building work on the 350-seat structure finished at the end of January 1977.
So technically you could say the building itself is enjoying its 45th birthday this week.
The building itself was designed by a local architect, Norman Branson, who also designed the Merlin Theatre in Frome.
To fund the building, the Taunton Theatre Trust and members of the Taunton community raised over £90,000 which was half of what was needed to pursue the project, the rest was provided by multiple grants and donations.
For such an amount to be raised by the modest town of Taunton it showed how valued the idea of having a theatre in the town was.
Clearly it was a consensus agreed across the locals of Taunton and that can also be highlighted in the success of the theatre which now attracts some of the biggest acts available.
The first professional production hosted was Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests, which starred the then-unknown David Jason.
In 2016, the Brewhouse celebrated their 40th birthday.
In a statement then, they said: “It’s really important to us that we provide something for everyone, and have a diverse programme.
“So that means bringing in the big name comedians that people will enjoy to tribute bands and our local theatre groups.
"We want to create a legacy so that in the next 40 years or even 10 years people can look and see what we were doing."
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