Broadway Theatre to be renamed due to troubled past

The troubled Broadway Theatre has been renamed the Peterborough Theatre to “draw a line on its history”.

The theatre has had years of financial difficulties, with the latest problems leading to the previous management company Performance Art Ventures C.I.C (PAV), whose chief executive was Mark Ringer, being removed.

PAV owes £68,000 in business rates to Peterborough City Council and is alleged to owe thousands of pounds to promoters.

The theatre is now being managed by the Dawe Charitable Trust, and trustee Pete Dawe said its renaming “both draws a line on its history and emphasises that it is Peterborough’s theatre.”

Mr Dawe added that the theatre, which has had to cancel shows, leaving some customers out of pocket, has now scheduled several community events and is taking bookings for private events.

He said: “We are also in discussion with a national promoter who may take on the theatre permanently, but that is early days. All future ticketing by the trust will be through an online platform so people can be assured that they get their ticket money back if it is cancelled, for whatever reason.”

Meanwhile, customers left out of pocket by the cancellation of the Christmas pantomime of Cinderella at the Broadway are being offered free tickets to either Robin Hood at The Cresset or certain performances of Peter Pan at the Key Theatre.

Customers should contact either theatre to secure their seats.