{"id":50660,"date":"2025-04-25T23:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T23:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/50660\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T23:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T23:41:11","slug":"reassurances-over-raac-as-performances-return-to-major-solihull-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/50660\/","title":{"rendered":"Reassurances over RAAC as performances return to major Solihull theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deputy leader says The Core theatre is on track to reopen next month\"SolihullSolihull Council deputy leader Councillor Karen Grinsell(Image: Sam Greenway LDR)<\/p>\n

The deputy leader of the council has offered reassurance there will be no more RAAC disruptions ahead of the reopening of a major Solihull<\/a> theatre.<\/p>\n

The Core Theatre in Solhull has been closed for more than a year after the crumbling concrete was discovered.<\/p>\n

Officials identified RAAC – the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – in the roof of the theatre in Homer Road, Touchwood, following a routine inspection<\/a> in September 2023.<\/p>\n

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That year the RAAC crisis made national headlines forcing the closure of more than 100 schools and public buildings including crown courts.<\/p>\n

When Solihull\u2019s venue closed arts lovers were forced to make a 30-minute journey to Bromsgrove<\/a> \u2019s Artrix Theatre to watch performances.<\/p>\n

Councillor Karen Grinsell said: \u201cRAAC was found at lots of buildings across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Core only had a very small section above the staging area which was quite difficult to get to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough situation to close but we had to do it, there was no choice – safety comes first.<\/p>\n

“The rest of The Core building has remained open – we inspected all our council assets and there are no other buildings affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have made sure, no more surprises that we can see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The councillor said both Solihull and Bromsgrove benefited from having performances at The Artrix during that period, and they also made the best of the situation in other ways.<\/p>\n

(Image: Sam Greenway LDR)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt led us to expanding our theatre offer outdoors – with \u2018Fresh Air Theatre\u2019 we took small productions out into the community,” the councillor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would love to keep that going as it takes arts out to different parts of the community who may not come into a theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 18 months since the closure remedial works to remove the RAAC took place but it was also decided to take the opportunity to upgrade the theatre with a new \u2018fly and winch system\u2019.<\/p>\n

In the Studio – another space used by performers – further upgrades have included new flooring, furniture and a new dressing room designed to provide top-class facilities for performers.<\/p>\n

(Image: Solihull Council)<\/p>\n

The deputy leader said everything was on track for the grand reopening on Sunday, May 4, when the 336-seater main auditorium will be used for the first time in 20 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people will have missed it, people have regularly been asking \u2018when is it back open, can we come back\u2019 – and they will be very happy now,\u201d the councillor said.<\/p>\n

The first event is expected to be a sold out \u2018We are Solihull\u2019 show – a variety performance featuring music, dance and spoken word being hosted by Solihull Council’<\/a>s mayor Councillor Shahin Ashraf celebrating her year in office.<\/p>\n

The mayor said: \u201cI can think of no better venue than The Core Theatre to host it (the last of her year of events).<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the home of culture in Solihull, it has been sorely missed and I know the acts we have in store are going to go down a treat.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Image: Solihull Council)<\/p>\n

The mayor has remained tight-lipped over who a special VIP guest performer will be on the night but there have been promises of a big name.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the deputy leader said there was lots to look forward to as a full calendar is planned for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

Shows already in the diary include the Take That Experience, a 1980\u2019s night Calling Planet Earth, a 1960\u2019s celebration Twist and Shout, the D-Day Darlings helping to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and the return of pantomimes with Aladdin set to close out the year.<\/p>\n

For more details of the shows at the theatre, and to book tickets, visit thecoretheatresolihull.co.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deputy leader says The Core theatre is on track to reopen next monthSolihull Council deputy leader Councillor Karen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,2671,8919,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-50660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-solihull","13":"tag-solihull-council","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114401252862530921","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}