00:00It's been over three years since these seats have seen performers on stage at Dartford's Orchard Theatre.
00:08Fears about rack, a dangerous concrete which was found in the theatre's roof,
00:13brought the curtain down on productions back in September 2023,
00:18and the theatre's been undergoing refurbishments ever since.
00:23Initially supposed to cost £16.8 million,
00:26this total has now been pushed up to £28.4 million.
00:31It's an investment, not a cost.
00:33You either have a theatre or you don't have a theatre.
00:35It's a binary thing, and if you're going to have a theatre,
00:38you've got to invest in it, you've got to spend.
00:40There's no getting around it, you've got to make it happen.
00:42So that's what we did.
00:43Yes, it has been expensive, but bear that, you've got to put it in context too.
00:48£6 million is the amount of money this building generates for the local economy.
00:51It doesn't take very long to get that back.
00:53The theatre was due to reopen in May last year,
00:56but was delayed after more work was needed to meet safety regulations.
01:02I'm sat in the newly refurbished stools of the Orchard Theatre,
01:06but as you can hear from the noise around me and all of the protective gear I'm wearing,
01:11it's still very much a building site.
01:13But those in charge say they are confident that they will be ready for the reopening.
01:18You know, there's an awful lot of work still to do, but it will happen in the time period that
01:23we've got.
01:24We've got so many contractors on site working, you know, kind of around the clock.
01:27So, yeah, we will be here for Christmas.
01:30Performers are set to return to the Orchard Theatre in December for pantomime season,
01:35bringing a tale of transformation into a newly transformed space.
01:39It's, yeah, it's so lovely to be sort of part of that first cast that gets to kind of reignite
01:44that theatre.
01:46So, yeah, really special.
01:47And to have a story about transformation as well, it's really fitting for the Orchard Theatre.
01:50The pantomime will star comedian Joe Pasquale, who is currently on voice rest,
01:56but who will take to the stage as Baron Harder.
01:59I'm super excited to be working with Joe Pasquale this year.
02:02I've looked up to him as a comic for so many years.
02:05I've seen him on tour and it's so exciting for me to be learning off a master.
02:11He is a comedy genius and we're going to be doing a lot of comedy stuff together.
02:15Can't tell you too much.
02:17As December approaches, cast and crew are hoping that Curtains Up on Cinderella
02:23will mark the start of the theatres happily ever after.
02:27Sophie Denny for KMTV in Dartford.
