“FASCINATING” BOOK ABOUT SIDMOUTH’S MANOR PAVILION THEATRE, SUMMER REPERTORY SEASON, FINALLY PUBLISHED - Paul Smith

“FASCINATING” BOOK ABOUT SIDMOUTH’S MANOR PAVILION THEATRE, SUMMER REPERTORY SEASON, FINALLY PUBLISHED - Paul Smith

Following 2 years of painstaking research, I have finally completed, and had published, my book celebrating the Manor Pavilion Theatre in Sidmouth, home to the longest running weekly repertory season in the UK. ‘COMEDY TOMORROW, TRAGEDY TONIGHT’ is the said book.

How did I take on something like this? You may ask. Well, the answer is quite simple – when I was invited by a friend to see one of the plays in the 2018 season, in which he was appearing, so enamoured was I of the modest little theatre but also by the whole idea of repertory, that I immediately committed to review the whole of the 2019 season. 12 plays in 12 weeks. 5 days rehearsal. Tech, Dress and First Night all on the same day. At the midpoint of the 2026 season I have reviewed all 72 productions that have been presented since the opening play of 2019.

Two years ago I floated the idea of writing something to the theatre manager. He confirmed that nothing had been produced like it before and looked at me as if to say; “I suggest you get on with it!”. Asking for their archive, I was provided with a few old programmes from the early 2000s and that was it – there was nothing else! So the hard work began.

So, what did it take to produce the book? I tracked down over 930 weeks of productions since the rep season began in 1958 – it has run annually since, except for 2020. I have read over 4,500 copies of the local newspaper – the Sidmouth Herald – at the local library and museum and at the British Library in London. I have carried out around 70 interviews of different lengths with past and present actors, directors, designers and others who have been part of the story. I have uncovered 100s of old programmes and photographs which have added so much to the book, not forgetting the discovery of an archive film from the 1970s.

In its nearly 70 years,  the Sidmouth Summer Play Festival has only had three producers – Ronald Govey who ran it from 1958-1986; Charles Vance, 1987-2012 and Paul Taylor-Mills 2013-2025. Quite something. A real breakthrough was locating Ron Govey’s daughter at her home in France and, following meetings and discussions, I was lent his archive to work with. It was rich with detail and memorabilia which augmented everything else so well.

Interviewing one of the performers from the very first season in 1958 was also another highlight which helped complete the story for me. Other treats along the way were finding the names of people who had performed at the venue before the rep seasons got going – Margaret Rutherford and Stanley Holloway both appeared in Sidmouth before they became well known and yet no one locally appeared to know this.

The ups and downs of the 1891 building are also documented; many times it has faced threatened closure and somehow it has managed to bounce back – Covid too hit it hard, as it did with so many theatres. The theatre was on its last legs when the decision was taken to appoint a manager – it took the local council till 2005 to make such an appointment, and it made all the difference.

The Manor Pavilion Theatre in Sidmouth in 2026 is a thriving local theatre, little known outside the immediate area, even only 15 miles away in Exeter, where the main theatre has little awareness of the history of repertory on their doorstep.

To discover and uncover the history of this important venue has been a real labour of love; it is a niche subject and no one has investigated it in such depth before, thus it has been a real privilege and immensely fun. The book won’t hit the bestseller lists, but the reactions have been uniformly positive and I like to think the job has been well done. With 500 pages and well over 300 images it is quite a piece of work!

For anyone who may be interested, the book is for sale online here - https://www.theatreplays.uk/new-books/

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR BOOK - COMEDY TOMORROW, TRAGEDY TONIGHT! - https://www.theatreplays.uk/product/comedy-tomorrow-tragedy-tonight-by-paul-smith/