The auditorium at The Mill Arts Centre in Banbury has sadly been out of action for the last few weeks due to recently discovered water damage.
This meant that, sadly, the arts centre has had to make other arrangements to reschedule, relocate or cancel the programme of live performances up until 14th April 2024.
A statement on its website continues: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the customers and production companies who were due to visit The Mill during this period for their support and understanding during this difficult time, and we now have a further update to share with you.
”We initially understood that a localised repair would be possible, meaning that the work would be completed within a few weeks. However, over time, further inspections have revealed that more extensive works are required, not only to fix the damage to the auditorium floor but to future-proof against the issue happening again.
”We are grateful for the support of our landlords, Oxfordshire County Council, whose insurers are progressing with the repairs, and we are working with them to confirm the timeline for repairs to be completed as soon as possible. However, at this stage, we understand that the programme of work is likely to take in the region of a further 3 months to complete.
“We have, therefore, needed to take the difficult decision to make alternative arrangements for all events scheduled to take place in the auditorium until the end of June. We are working hard to relocate or reschedule the affected events so that as many of the planned performances as possible can go ahead.
“We also hope to be able to share details very soon regarding plans for a temporary performance space in Banbury to house The Mill’s theatre programme whilst our auditorium remains out of action.
“Thank you for bearing with us – we will be in touch with ticket holders as soon as we can to confirm the arrangements for each performance, and we really appreciate your patience.
“We hope you will consider supporting us through this difficult time, and we look forward to welcoming you back to The Mill very soon.”
With live performances being the lifeblood of the centre, the management team are working as hard as they can to resolve the issue so that they can welcome audiences back through the doors.
Despite the challenges with the auditorium floor, the rest of the building remains open as usual, including the Café Bar and the programme of creative classes and workshops taking place throughout the building.
Andrew Lister, Chief Executive, said: “We are enormously grateful for the patience and support of our audiences whilst our team undertakes the mammoth task of trying to make alternative arrangements for each individual show.
“Our auditorium may be temporarily out of action, but we will be doing everything we can to go ahead with as many of the affected shows as possible, albeit at a different time or place.
“Furthermore we are working closely with our landlords to ensure that we have the auditorium back up and running so we can welcome audiences back through our doors, enjoying live performance again just as soon as possible.”
