Actually, it’s not funny at all. It’s a serious blow to the Petuaria Players and how we operate.

The Forum, our ‘home’ and rehearsal space for so many decades and named by some wit as a reference to the meeting place in the Roman town of Petuaria, is on its way to being a Roman ruin.

Ok, this is a fake photo, just a bit of fun – it’s what AI thinks it could look like in the future if left to decay. However, the reality is that our treasured home is already no longer in use – we have had to abandon it as our rehearsal place due to the discovery of serious structural defects. This is a problem that can only be resolved by a vast amount of money and, as a charitable status non-profit society, it is an issue way beyond our limited funds.

Of course, we have been determined to apply the maxim ‘the show must go on’ and we have managed to conduct our rehearsals for the upcoming November production in a hired hall.

Meanwhile, serious discussions and projects are taking place to explore and review our future pathways – such as a rebuild of The Forum, a replacement building on site, find alternative premises elsewhere, hire rehearsal venues and storage space for all our equipment to name a few.

Certainly, retaining the status quo is dependent upon finding significant funding and again, the team is currently looking at how that could be achieved.

Perhaps replacing with a Roman Forum might be ambitious – making light of a serious problem for us.

As we explore our options, if you have any ideas or advice (or know any arts-loving millionaires!) then please email our society secretary Dianne at petuariaplayers@hotmail.co.uk

We will keep you posted with updates and any initiatives we have.

Meanwhile, we are determined to plough ahead and continue to provide live local drama and entertainment to the area whilst we face the current challenges so please ensure you support us at our our November production of Amanda Whittington’s Ladies’ Day. (Click the link to find out how to get your tickets.)