Theatre onthe Steps

Halfway down Bridgnorth's Stoneway Steps stands a converted chapel that has served as a theatre since 1964. Run as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, Theatre on the Steps is community-owned and staffed largely by volunteers, with a 182-seat main auditorium and a smaller studio, the Old Green Room. It stages a year-round programme of drama, comedy, music and family shows, mixing visiting companies with its own productions, and draws more than 12,000 visitors annually. Youth theatre and artist-development schemes give local people routes onstage, backstage and behind the scenes. Because it is not council-run and depends on ticket sales, membership and donations rather than a commercial operator, the theatre sits firmly among Bridgnorth's independent cultural fixtures. Its steep hillside setting, reached on foot down the medieval steps, is part of the character.