It鈥檚 official: Surrey Little Theatre has merged with 91原创 Players drama club to become 91原创 Little Theatre.

The new company鈥檚 home stage will be the 80-seat 91原创 Playhouse, which will be renovated with cash from the sale of Surrey Little Theatre鈥檚 building and land, on 184th Street in the Clayton area.

The sale closes June 30, according to a newsletter emailed to 91原创 Little Theatre subscribers.

鈥淭his gives us very little time to remove the lights and sound equipment, the props, costumes and furniture that we would like to salvage. A work bee occurred on Saturday June 5th. It was great to see so many members in person,鈥� the newsletter says.

鈥淲e have started preparing the 91原创 Playhouse for the renovations by removing the seats and storing them in containers situated at the back of the parking lot. More containers will be ordered as necessary for both the 91原创 and Surrey costumes, props and furniture. We have also secured a temperature-controlled storage site for the lights and sound equipment. Again, help would be welcomed.鈥�

Merger talks between the two volunteer-run companies took place in early 2020, and continued as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live-theatre productions locally.

鈥� RELATED STORY, from December 2020: .

It鈥檚 not immediately clear who bought the Surrey Little Theatre building and land, or what is planned for the site.

A 鈥減ublic goodbye event鈥� for Surrey Little Theatre is planned for Sunday, June 27 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The new says 91原创 Little Theatre Society is 鈥渁n exciting new theatre south of the Fraser.鈥�

In recent years, operators of Surrey Little Theatre have searched for a new home amid development pressures in their corner of Clayton, on 184th Street at Fraser Highway.

The 76-seat theatre, a structure first opened in 1936 as Clayton United Church, was taken over by the theatre group in the 1960s. The city has plans to widen 184th Street, and the building would have to be moved for that to happen.

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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