Little Theatre Gateshead

The Little Theatre Gateshead is Gateshead's only theatre. It was built during World War II, thanks to the generosity of sisters Ruth, Sylvia and M. Hope Dodds. It is believed that the theatre is the only one built in Britain during the war. The building process was interrupted by hostilities after the site was acquired in 1939, being at one time requisitioned as a barrage balloon station, and at another having windows and doors damaged by a bomb falling in Saltwell Park, just across the road. The opening performance on 13 October 1943, was A Midsummer Night's Dream. The theatre is home to the Progressive Players Ltd, who produce ten plays per year. The roots of the Progressives were in the Gateshead branch of the Independent Labour Party, but the group is now non-political.