Lyneham Stage Theatre’s recent production of Puss in Boots, costumes, props and scenery from which went under the hammer on Friday
The successful auction of costumes, props and equipment amassed by a Wiltshire theatre company over 40 years means the show will go on.
Cirencester auctioneers Moore Allen & Innocent were asked to sell the effects of the Lyneham Stage Club after the closure of the RAF base – where they have rehearsed and performed since 1969 – left the players homeless.
But the proceeds of the auction, which was held on Friday (June 15) means the curtain will rise on a new act of the group’s history.
Christopher Bartle, who has been a member of the club since 1979, said this week: “The auction has put us on a sound financial footing. We are now looking for rehearsal space, and it would be great to find a permanent new home.
“We were very pleased with the way the auction went. Some of the electrical stuff was quite old, but it all worked perfectly well, and it all sold. And wardrobe manager Patsy Bartlett was delighted with the interest the costumes attracted, with every item going to a new home.”
Lyneham Stage Club will now start rehearsing for its next productions, Temptation Sordid, or Virtue Rewarded, a melodrama by Winifred Phelps and For King and Country (and Me), a comedy based on a broadcast of Dick Barton in the 1940s, written by stage club member Iris Bartle.
Rehearsals will take place in the Wootton Bassett area, and the group hope the plays will be staged somewhere in the town too.
Auctioneer Philip Allwood said: “There was plenty of interest from other theatre groups in the region who will now benefit from from some great costumes and props, and new sound and lighting equipment that would have stretched their budgets if bought new.
“Meanwhile, the hammer prices exceeded all expectations, and we’re delighted that the proceeds of the auction have allowed Lyneham Stage Club to continue.
“All’s Well That Ends Well, as they say in the theatre.”
For more information about buying or selling at auction, call 01285 646050 or log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk