A TAUNTON theatre has received nearly £50,000 in grant funding to 'enhance' their live performances.

Taunton Theatre Association, the group responsible for reviving the Brewhouse, has been given £48,000 from Arts Council England.

TTA delivered more than 1,000 events last year, bringing in around 70,000 visitors.

The money will enable the group to enhance shows, visual art and learning and participation programmes.

Chief executive, Vanessa Lefrancois, said: “This grant from Arts Council England validates the terrific work the team and our volunteers have done since 2014.

"We are open six, sometimes seven days a week, delivering a diverse range of activities and events, supporting artists and producing our own shows. The funding climate is extremely challenging and competitive at present, but without funding, arts organisations like us cannot deliver the variety and quality of entertainment we provide day-in and day-out.

"We are grateful to ACE for this investment which will help us continue to improve our arts and cultural offer for the benefice of the communities that we serve.”

Numerous classes and courses take part throughout the year, including youth theatre, senior dance clubs, and activities for toddlers.

Some of the grant will support the research and development of original new work by Wassail Theatre Company, whose work derives from Somerset’s rich heritage and ZoieLogic Dance Theatre whose all-male company challenges perceptions of dance stereotypes.

TTA also plans to co-commission new musical ‘Wasp Woman’, based on the 1950s sci-fi B movie, by playwright Bea Roberts whose plays ‘And then Came the Night Jars’ and ‘Infinity Pool: A Modern Re-telling of Madame Bovary’ toured to The Brewhouse.