Final Curtain Call? Av Rodney Hardcastle

In 2022, my first book, ‘Fire! Fire! The Theatre’s on Fire’, was published. It focused on the devastating effect of theatres impacted by fire. It was nominated for ‘The STR Theatre Book Prize 2022’ which is awarded each year by the Society for Theatre Research. I was delighted with the compliments I received from the many people who bought my first book. Hopefully they will be just as complimentary about my second book! The chosen subject for this book are theatres which are still standing, (just!), but are extremely vulnerable. The majority of these theatres are identified in the official ‘Theatres at Risk Register’ published annually. This was created in 2006 and it records theatres that are in need of considerable help, effort and support from many organisations. If they do not receive this they will be lost forever. Thankfully, having had the much needed support, some theatres are no longer on this list. My first experience of a theatre closure was the sudden demise of my local