SOUTHAMPTON’S historic Mayflower Theatre is to undergo a £3.9 million refurbishment in 2018, its 90th anniversary year.

Staff have today launched the Mayflower 90 Auditorium Appeal, a public fundraising campaign which aims to raise the £1.35 million still needed for the project to go ahead.

The theatre has already secured £2.54 million towards the cost of the work, which will close it for 12 to 15 weeks next summer, but as a charitable trust it needs help to raise the remaining funds through theatre lovers buying a seat plaque or making text or web donations.

The refurbishment of the Grade II listed auditorium will see the 1,659 seats in the stalls and circle replaced and seats in the balcony reupholstered. The whole auditorium will be repainted, the orchestra pit will be moved under the stage and a host of backstage improvements will be made.

Three years in the planning, the project aims to benefit the more than 500,000 people who visit the theatre each year, providing them with higher levels of comfort and better access.

It is the biggest project since the venue reopened

30 years ago as The Mayflower.

Back then a year-long £4m refurbishment saw the stage gutted, an orchestra pit installed and a host of other changes made to the dock, dressing rooms, front of house, offices, bars and foyer, which has since been modernised and extended.

Michael Ockwell, Mayflower Theatre chief executive, told the Daily Echo: “Our wonderful theatre comes to life when our audience are sat in the auditorium, and now it is in need of a major refurbishment programme to secure its future.

“We want to make it more comfortable for future generations. It will bring audiences closer to the stage, which will make it a better experience for the performer and for the audience.

“I’m a realist and asking people to donate money to the theatre when our hospitals need money is a big ask, but I’m hoping people who use the theatre and feel a part of it would like a seat plaque as something tangible.”

Actor Shane Richie, a Mayflower favourite and regular performer over the years, added: “Mayflower Theatre is a fantastic venue and I have loved playing here many times over the years. I genuinely ask that the public support the theatre in making the auditorium the very best in the country.”

The foundation stone of the theatre, previously The Gaumont and originally The Empire, was laid on February 1, 1928, and the theatre opened on December 22 the same year with a performance of Winona.

l To make a £10 donation to the Mayflower 90 Auditorium Appeal, text MAYF10 £10 to 70070 . You can also donate at mayflower.org.uk