WE don't know who the local businessmen are who have ploughed money into Bolton's Octagon Theatre, but we applaud their actions.

As reported in the BEN yesterday, a £150,000 funding package means that in the autumn the theatre will return to producing their own shows.

This newspaper has consistently opposed using the theatre as a touring venue. We have pointed out that it is not suitable for many productions and that other theatres who have gone down that road have not survived.

So it is excellent news that the Octagon will be back in business with in-house productions.

But there is much to be learned from what has gone on in the recent past.

Rightly or wrongly, many people have seen the Octagon as an elitist venue. When this newspaper interviewed people in the town, it emerged that many of them had never been to the Octagon and did not intend to go there.

While we don't expect every person in Bolton to be a theatre-goer, we believe that more people should be attracted to the Octagon.

The theatre should become much more part of the community and provide productions which draw large audiences.

This does not mean dumbing down, but staging shows which appeal to a wide variety of people.

There is a place for experimental work at the Octagon, but it should be in the Bill Naughton theatre not in the main auditorium.

We believe the Octagon can, and should be, at the forefront of successful, regional theatre.

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