Geograph - photograph every grid square

The venue on this site started life on March 22, 1913, under the name The Kursaal and continued under that name for nearly 20 years as both a theatre and cinema before being destroyed by a fire in 1931. The venue was then rebuilt and renamed The Playhouse and continued under that name until 1950 when it became known as the Essoldo operating solely as a cinema. In 1976, the building was bought by North Tyneside Council and reverted to being called The Playhouse, with the main focus on staging shows by operatic and theatre groups. Then in 2007, the venue closed for a major refurbishment scheme and was officially re-opened in 2009 by the Countess of Wessex.