ONE of the country's best know actors officially opened a North-East theatre following a £7.2m development yesterday. (fri)

Timothy West unveiled the new wing at the Theatre Royal, which has been on Grey Street in Newcastle since 1837.

He was joined by 11-year-old Emily Deck of West Allotment Village, Newcastle, who won a competition to declare the new building open.

Mr West, who is married to actress Prunella Scales and was awarded the CBE for service to drama, said: "The Theatre Royal is very special and one of my favourite theatres in the country.

"I have played King Lear here, I've done Pinter here and I've directed

Gilbert and Sullivan here too. In 1961 I even appeared in a farce at the

Theatre Royal.

"The last time I was here, five months ago in Coriolanus with the RSC and I could see then the development was going to be an enormous success.

"I'm delighted to have been asked to open the Theatre Royal's new wing and I encourage everyone to come and have a look at the wonderful addition to this beautiful Theatre."

The development has taken 13 months to complete and includes a new box office, a new bistro called Caffà Teatro and corporate room, the Olivier Suite.

A new dedicated learning space has also been created which will greatly increase the theatre's tradition of delivering outstanding education and outreach work to community groups from all over the region.

Work first began on the project in July last year when the theatre closed its doors for three-and-a-half months while the stage wings were extended by 76 square metres and a new fly tower and flying system was installed.

During this time, the Friends of the Theatre Royal commissioned artist and stage designer Phil Daniels to paint the safety curtain.

Philip Bernays, chief executive of the Theatre Royal, said: "Refurbishing a building of this age is a very complex procedure and the build itself was not without its problems.

"I'd like to thank the staff at the Theatre Royal and particularly the audiences for their patience and perseverance.

"I'm sure everyone will agree it's been worth the wait and the final result is an enormous success."