Harborough school which previously hosted Spotlight Theatre Company says the group is welcome to return in 2023

The school which previously hosted Spotlight Theatre Company has said it is welcome to return after a £2.5million development is completed.

The 30-year-old company – recently rebranded from Market Harborough Youth Theatre – met at Welland Park Academy.

But it was forced to close and cancel its upcoming performance of Peter Pan due to post-pandemic issues and difficulty finding a new venue.

Some parents whose children were members hit out at the school saying their sons and daughters have been left ‘heartbroken’.

They also raised concerns about previous community funding for tiered seating at Welland Park.

But headteacher Julia McBrearty says local shows will only not be able to use its facilities in the short term while it undergoes a multi-million pound development including a building new canteen and sports hall.

She said the company was told in advance the site could not host Peter Pan due to limited access and no parking, but will be welcome back when it is completed.

Miss McBrearty told the Mail: “The school is further developing facilities to enhance provision at the oversubscribed academy.

“Despite the extensive building work reducing the academy’s ability to accommodate local shows in the short term, just under ten different community groups have worked in collaboration with the school as alterations are made to the usual programme of facilities available for this year.

“We gratefully received some public funding for the tiered seating 25 years ago. A plaque in the Octagonal Hall celebrates the fabulous fundraising work of several community groups at that time. The seating was never designated for one specific user but has been enjoyed by many community groups and this will continue to be the case.

“We look forward to opening our site to meet additional community use requests again in 2023 with access to our fabulous new facilities.”Spotlight Theatre Company formed in 1993 to bring accessible theatre to the town, and since then more than 1,000 members have performed on its stage.

A group spokesman said: “It is with extremely heavy hearts we are announcing we will not be continuing with our production of Peter Pan and that Spotlight Theatre Company will be closing down. Next year would have been the 30th anniversary of our inception and it has been our passion and privilege to showcase the young talent of our town and entertain Market Harborough.

“Post-pandemic, new access restrictions at our performance venue have made it even more challenging to stage productions of our scale and quality. We have tried to adapt and overcome these but it is not sustainable.

“Prior to starting Peter Pan we believed we’d found a new venue but this has recently become unviable.

“We are heartbroken to have to make this decision but with no suitable local community space which can home us we are left with no choice.

“Thank you for the last 30 years. We have loved performing for you and bringing accessible theatre to our lovely town.”

In recent years the theatre has put on shows including Grease and Jack and the Beanstalk at Welland Park Academy.