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The Octagon Theatre was built in 1974 but first started out as a multipurpose building called the Johnson Hall.

Flamenco is a hit with patrons

It was named after Stanley Johnson who left some money as a legacy for the previous council which used some of the cash to build a multi-purpose facility for the community.

However it was only until 1988 that it became a theatre when it was renamed as the Octagon by public vote after permanent seating was installed in the auditorium.

Big name comedians

South Somerset District Council subsidises the theatre with an annual grant of 拢250,000 and it's the artistic manager, Grant Sellen who decides which acts will be booked.

For him the priority is getting as wide a variety of music, theatre, dance and drama as possible.

In a typical year the Octagon Theatre can expect to have around 250 performances with a footfall of 86,000.

Grant Sellen, Artistic Manager

The size of the venue often draws in big name comedians.

"It's easier to attract comedians who are larger names because we're only a couple of hours from London, " said Grant.

"We've had people like Jack Dee, Lee Evans, Dara O'Briain, Alan Carr and they'll be maybe on a national tour.

"Quite often you'll see them at theatres of our size before they go and play Wembley Arena so they might be trying out their new routine, new gigs or new jokes before they play a larger arena; maybe it's being filmed somewhere else and they'll be honing their routine."

The downside is the venue isn't large enough to accommodate larger scale musicals which tour the country like 'Hello Dolly' because the stage doesn't have enough room for the scene sets and the auditorium hasn't got the capacity to sell the volume of tickets required for large scale productions.

Spirit of the Dance at the Octagon

'Thought provoking'

Since the theatre is council-owned, the over-riding concern is not so much making profits, but being able to provide a variety of arts performances which is as broad as possible.

"If they're just playing for one night, it's less of a risk, and by having a mixed programme you can take chances.

"We've got some smaller dramas, like The Drawer Boy, which is something we wouldn't have booked in the past, but it's something different, more deep and thought provoking,'' said Grant.