Dome closes but the rows rumble on
Even though the Millennium Dome itself is now closed, disputes and rows continue. It has now emerged that the preferred bidder (the only one!), the Legacy consortium, has been involved in talks about selling off part of the land for luxury houses, a move which could, accoprding to The Times, net them up to £200m. The consortium has agreed to buy the Dome for £125. Lord Faulkner has recently announced that the government will take a share of any profits from the sale of houses built on the land.
The Tories have accused the gvernment of "cronyism" because the founder of Legacy, property developer Robert Bourne, is a Labour Party donor.
In a separate development, the lead story in The Stage this week reports the concerns of stage equipment vendors that the planned auction of equipment from the Dome, which, it is estimated, could raise £10m, could put smaller firms out of business.
Customs House wins Twankey Award
South Shields venue the Customs House has won the Twankey Award, given by the regional newspaper "The Northern Echo" to the best professional panto or Christmas show in Tyne and Wear and North Yorkshire. Reviewers from the paper saw thirteen shows altogether and gave each a mark out of fifty: ten for kids' reactions; ten for the star of the show; ten for the funniest moment; ten for the costumes and props, and ten for overall entertainment value. Aladdin at the Customs House got 48 marks.
Other theatres in the "competition" were the Darlington Civic, Middlesborough Theatre, Billingham Forum, Newcastle Theatre Royal, the Arc at Stockton, York Theatre Royal, Newcastle Opera House, Sunderland Empire, the Harrogate Theatre, the York Grand Opera House, Newcstle Playhouse and the Gulbenkian Stuio, also Newcastle. Just two marks behind the Customs House were Newcastle Theatre Royal (Dick Whittington with Lesley Joseph and John Nettles) and York Theatre Royal (also Dick Whittington)./p>
The show's writer, director and comic (playing Wishy Washy), Ray Spencer, who is also the theatre's director, pronounced himself "absolutely thrilled".