TWO of Barnard Castle’s county councillors took their place in the spotlight when a new performance area at the town’s arts complex was unveiled.
Cllrs Richard Bell and Ted Henderson each gave £5,000 towards the £11,112 cost of developing the new smaller venue at The Witham.
The stage has been installed in the upstairs Witham Room, which has a capacity of about 60 people, compared to the main music hall, which can cater for a 250 all-seated audience. Portable staging, permanent sound and lighting equipment and special curtains have been installed to convert the Witham Room into a venue.
First on stage were the D’ukes of Scarth ukulele group, who treated their audience to a selection of festive favourites.
Shelagh Avery, chairwoman of trustees, said a second performance area would widen the appeal of The Witham.
“The team has been generously supported by Teesdale Action Partnership and the councillors in order to create a second performance space which is really suitable for smaller gigs and particularly for emerging artists,” she said.
“That said, we were delighted to welcome the D’Ukes of Scarth, who are a well known group and far from emerging to give a hugely entertaining concert for all those present.”
The Witham Room has been used occasionally in the past to host performances, using borrowed staging and temporary lighting and sound equipment and without the benefit of acoustic curtains.
Ms Avery said the new arrangements gave The Witham the opportunity for an additional income stream and would save technician costs on installing equipment each time there is a gig.
The Witham stages more than 100 performances a year, with tickets sales of 15,000.
