SOUTHAMPTON’S newest venue will be the city’s first fringe-style cabaret theatre which will host touring theatre companies and productions put on by local groups.

The Stage Door, formerly The Cellar bar, off West Marlands Road, will have 100 seats, its own restaurant run by a former chef from The Savoy Grill in London, as well as a speakeasy-style bar.

Work to overhaul the venue has cost an estimated £150,000, of which £50,000 was awarded through the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership’s Daily Echo-backed Bridging the Gap scheme.

While today’s grand opening is ticket-only, the venue has already signed up a number of performers for the coming weeks and months.

The tragicomic Two will kick things off on March 20, before musical comedy Pageant has a run at the venue between March 25 and 28.

A burlesque show featuring well-known performers such as Mister Joe Black is being lined up for the end of April while West End veteran Velma Celli, who recently starred in Eastenders, will put on her own cabaret show on Good Friday.

Comedy There will also be comedy, with Jason Manford’s Comedy Club taking up residency with monthly stand-up performances, while improvisation act Rubiks will also feature.

The Theatre Tots group will bring its Excuse Me Mrs Pardon performances to the venue over the Easter holidays for youngsters to enjoy.

And downstairs in the kitchen, former Savoy Grill chef Laura Masterson will put on a menu of British favourites while the bar will hark back to the speakeasy character of Prohibition-era America.

From March 16 to 19 the venue will have a special offer allowing customers to taste the menu for £1.

Daily Echo:

The venue’s artistic director, Julianne Watling-McCarthy (see pictured) , said: “Lots of people have worked so hard to get the venue ready in such a short amount of time – we are most definitely all running on adrenalin and very little sleep.

“We are all thrilled to be bringing this exciting new venue to the city to offer a whole evening’s entertainment under one roof – we feel that Southampton has been crying out for this kind of place for a long time.