Happy 40th Birthday Mercury Theatre
Today, Thursday 10 May is the 40th anniversary of the Mercury Theatre building opening its doors to the public in 1972 with a production of George Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer.
The 499 seat theatre, designed by Norman Downie, cost £250,000 to build, following a successful fund-raising campaign orchestrated by the Colchester New Theatre Trust (set up in 1968) and supported by a large grant from the Borough Council.
We have had a busy day with lots of lovely messages of support via facebook and twitter (insert links), enjoyed some delicious homemade birthday cakes and the local press came along to take a photo … 40 years on.
Along with firstsite and the Colchester Arts Centre, the Mercury is one of three arts organisations that are regularly supported by funding from Colchester Borough Council. Annually, the theatre contributes more than £1.8 million to the local economy. Our partnership with the Mercury Theatre delivers on the Council’s vision to make Colchester a great place to live, work, learn and visit by providing entertainment, jobs, increasing local spend, and through work in our schools and communities.