{"id":2174332,"date":"2026-10-01T15:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T12:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2174332"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T12:17:07","slug":"community-laments-terribly-sad-sterts-theatre-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2174332","title":{"rendered":"Community laments ‘terribly sad’ Sterts Theatre closure"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/3121\/live\/253ff990-bda1-11f1-8373-27235719cf2a.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ali Fenn said she was “very saddened” by the closure<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Performers and show goers across Cornwall have said they were “devastated” to learn about the closure of a community theatre. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On Wednesday, Sterts Theatre CIC said it would be placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation amid an “exceptionally challenging time for cultural and arts organisations”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nicky Brice, former ballet teacher at the theatre at Upton Cross on the edge of Bodmin Moor, said it was a “huge loss” for the area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Former trustee, Ali Fenn, said she was “very saddened” by the closure, adding it had been a “fantastic asset in south east Cornwall” for young people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Heartbreaking’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“I hope, my heart seriously hopes and I’m sure everyone would say the same, we really, really hope that there is some future for the theatre, for the site, for Sterts,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Brice, who taught at the theatre for 25 years, said its closure was “heart-breaking”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s an iconic theatre that showcased the best of local Cornish talent,” she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Rebecca Mordan from Scary Little Girls theatre company has performed on its stage previously and said it was an “amazing venue”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m just devastated and I think it’s terribly sad,” she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The theatre was founded in 1986, and had been significantly renovated in recent years after major damage from storms and hot weather.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Aerial<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Sterts Theatre was founded in 1986 on the edge of Bodmin Moor<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Playwright Laura Horton, who has had shows including Cinderella played at the theatre, said she was “really shocked” by the closure. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“You just felt the love for the sector there,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s just really scary to think that something that brings so much joy to people’s lives is being eroded.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Brice said the “sadness” in these situations was that people do not hear about these organisations “being in trouble until they’re closing”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I think it’s maybe about finding ways to communicate how bad it is,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Because people will often come forward and say ‘I would have gone to that venue a bit more’.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Paula Every, who was previously involved with the theatre in Upton Cross, said: “It’s a lovely theatre now and it would be really sad if it wasn’t used by the community which is who it should be being used by.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The BBC has contacted Sterts for further comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC Cornwall on <\/i>X, <\/i>Facebook<\/i> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i>. Send your story ideas to <\/i>spotlight@bbc.co.uk<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c6lyqyj1j15lo”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/3121\/live\/253ff990-bda1-11f1-8373-27235719cf2a.jpg”] BBC Ali Fenn said she was “very saddened” by the closure Performers and show goers across Cornwall have said they were “devastated” to learn about the closure of a community theatre. On Wednesday, Sterts Theatre CIC said it would be placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation amid an “exceptionally challenging time for cultural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2174332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2174332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2174332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2174332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2174332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}