THEATREGOERS now have the chance to take a peek backstage at one of the town’s best-known entertainment centres.
The Wyvern Theatre recently launched its monthly Tea and Tour initiative to give fans of the stage the chance to find out everything they ever wanted to know about the 635-capacity venue, which was opened in 1971 by the Queen and Prince Philip.
The Adver was invited to the June tour to sample the one-off experience for itself.
Groups are never any bigger than 20 and there were 14 of us on this occasion. Normally introductions and a quick history lesson would be done in the foyer, but due to an incoming production we needed to get moving.
Our tour guide was a lovely man called Steve Milson. He volunteers at the theatre in his spare time and has done so for the past seven years.
Steve took us through almost the whole of the building – from the auditorium and stage to the dressing room and the roof.
The roof is where Steve did most of his history lesson, giving details about when the Wyvern was built, reminiscing over performances from well-known faces like Victoria Wood and revealing rumours of a ghost thought to be roaming the bowels of the building. Throughout the tour Steve stopped and pointed out aspects that might be different in other theatres – like the dressing rooms being upstairs – or even some furniture that might have been left by a couple of famous names, such as a TV from Keith Chegwin.
Once Steve had wrapped up, it was time for the afternoon tea, something I’m sure a lot of the guests were waiting for. We emerged into a recently refurbished room that was decked in purple lighting and tablecloths, with name tags on the tables.
The afternoon tea itself was quite nice – finger sandwiches, an array of deserts (including an éclair and a salted caramel macaroon) and of course, a cream tea. Guests can have tea or coffee with this or, if you're in a celebratory mood, a glass of champagne.
The experience lasted for about two hours overall. The tour takes up the first hour before sitting down for the afternoon tea in the second.
There is no requirement to stay for the full second hour, but you might as well make the most of it.
For £10 – or £15 if you wanted the champagne – you really can’t go wrong with the Tea and Tour. It gives anyone vaguely interested in the theatre a great insight into what happens behind the scenes, especially if you have the company of such an enthusiastic tour guide like Steve.
To book, visit www.swindontheatres.co.uk
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