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One evening in 1990, a very wet evening, all interested parties were gathered together in a former beer-brewing house in the centre of Burton under the one, very leaky roof… and plans were put in place to raise the money to convert the building into an Arts Centre.

The ‘Brewhouse Arts Centre’, as it was dubbed, is now a custom-made home to a wide variety of arts in the area - even though, as I have said, the former Bass Brewers site was handed over to the Council as literally 4 walls and a roof!

First year

All the hard work by local companies and local user groups culminated in the Brewhouse opening in January 1991, incorporating a 233 seater auditorium, a 55 seater cinema, dance studio, drama studio, exhibition galleries and bar/bistro area. Recording and video editing suites have since been added.

I’d been involved in Amateur Dramatics and Theatre since leaving school, and was chairman of a local drama society (the Little Theatre Company) when our existing theatre closed due to funding, and so the opening of a new arts centre in town was long overdue and very welcome.

Our first production at the Brewhouse in March 1991 was Mike Harding’s “Fur Coat and no Knickers”, followed by “Children of a Lesser God” and ending the year with “Chorus of Disapproval”.��

We have since continued to produce 3 plays a year, and have now incorporated a Youth section that has their own production each April.

Work

Then my involvement with The Brewhouse moved up a gear.

In December 2004 I had taken early retirement… and found my dream job. I was offered a part-time job at the Brewhouse working in the Box Office, but also maintaining the website and expanding the publicity base. I was being paid for something I would have done voluntarily.

It was not all easy going though. A fire in the Box Office in May 2006 closed the centre for 6 months.

The flames of the fire were kept to a minimum by the fire doors, but the smoke damage throughout the building meant a refurbishment to the ground floor public area and re-decoration throughout the first floor. You can imagine the amount of electrics and cloth materials in a theatre environment!

Very unusual surroundings

This time was very hard on the user groups of the Brewhouse, as plays and concerts were already well into rehearsals, but thanks to a lot of hard work and help from local schools and other leisure centres, the majority of performances still went ahead, albeit, in most cases, in very unusual surroundings.

Things got back to normal in December 2006 with a re-wired and refurbished theatre auditorium, a new Box Office area and a redesigned modernised bar/bistro.

The Little Theatre Company had the honour of re-opening the Brewhouse with their production of “The King and I”.

The Future?

For me, it is time to move on again. At the end of 2008, I stepped down from paid employment, but this time slipping easily into the role of voluntary supporter. Yes, the Brewhouse remains my second home still.

I’m glad to say The Brewhouse (now run by East Staffordshire Borough Council) grows from strength to strength.

The building holds theatre and live music in the auditorium, numerous events in the Bar/Bistro, Saturday morning dance, art & drama classes for children, continuous art exhibitions, as well as providing additional space for Burton College and other groups who wish to use the many facilities.

The Community Arts Team has their base at the Brewhouse, providing arts events throughout the borough.

Perhaps I will see you there one day?

Ken Brown

If you would like details of all the events at the Brewhouse, then please call the Box Office on 01283 508100 for a brochure, or visit the website by clicking the link below: