A historic North East theatre and hall will both reopen this autumn after repair work was undertaken at the properties. 

This week, Hartlepool Borough Council announced that the Town Hall Theatre and Borough Hall will be welcoming back shows and audiences from September.

Both venues have been temporarily closed since March to enable the Council to carry out inspections of, and repairs to, the old original plasterwork ceilings.

That work is on track to be completed in time for both venues to reopen for a sparkling programme of autumn and winter events.  

Councillor Pamela Hargreaves, Chair of the Council’s Economic Growth and Regeneration Committee, said: “We would like to thank everyone for their patience, support and understanding while we have been carrying out this essential work.

“Since the new administration came into office following the local elections in May, one of our key focuses has been to ensure that we can get these venues back open as soon as possible and it’s great to see that the doors will be reopening in just a matter of weeks.

“We are very much looking forward to welcoming people back to the Town Hall Theatre and the Borough Hall for an exciting and varied programme.’’

The Town Hall Theatre will reopen with Looking For Me Friend: the Music of Victoria Wood - an amazingly funny homage to one of Britain’s best loved comedians - on Tuesday 17th September and there’ll be the side-splitting return of Hartlepool’s favourite Hot Potato Comedy Club with MC Nina Gilligan, Brennan Reece, Chris Stokes and Adrian Hanlon on Saturday 28th September.

The council has said more shows for the rest of the year and into 2025 will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Get the latest news, sports, and entertainment delivered straight to your device by subscribing to The Northern Echo here. 

In conjunction with the promoters, two shows planned for September - The Elton John Show and Joe McElderry: the Classic Collection Live Concert - will now be moved to the new year, giving people more time to purchase tickets. Existing ticket holders for these shows will be contacted directly by the Council within the next week.

A spokespresn for the council said: "Anyone who had previously hired one of the two venues for a show or had previously been in touch regarding planning a show or event at either venue will be contacted directly by a member of the Council’s Creative Hartlepool team to discuss the next steps.

"The 2025 event booking diaries for the two venues are now open – people interested in putting on a show or event at either venue should email creative.hartlepool@hartlepool.gov.uk."