THE curtain has risen on an exhibition which turns the spotlight on the magic of the theatre.

CentreStage, in Hartlepool Art Gallery, explores the development of the theatre from its earliest days to Victorian times, using costumes, props, memorabilia and special effects.

It will give visitors the chance to feel what life was like as actor. They will be able to wear period costumes, including Tudor codpieces and Victorian Music Hall clothing, and tread the boards on the recreated stages of a Greek amphitheatre, Shakespeare's Globe and a Victorian theatre.

There are also hands-on working models, including a wind machine, trapdoors showing how ghosts and other characters appear and vanish, and a do-it-yourself Punch and Judy show.

The exhibition is at the gallery, in Church Square, Hartlepool, until June 15, and admission is free.

It has been organised by Hartlepool Borough Council's arts and museums service, in partnership with Hartlepool's Cleveland College of Art and Design.

Students from the BA (Hons) Entertainment Design Crafts course have spent months creating the stages and costumes, based on detailed research.

Naomi Beeley, of the arts and museums service, said: "CentreStage brings the curtain up on the golden age of the theatre and explores how the theatre has grown and developed over the centuries, reflecting the social, cultural and political values of the times."

The gallery is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am to 5.30pm, and from 2pm to 5pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.